After high school I took a year off from school and did multiple things like work, volunteer with Planned Parenthood, traveled a bit around the country, hiked, worked out and read A LOT. I decided I didn’t know what I wanted to major in and found it best to take a year off to decide instead of jumping into college.
They emailed me saying “We are in the process of reviewing your application. Before we can complete our review and reach an admission
decision, we need a more detailed explanation for the gaps in your educational history”
They also allowed room for documents to be attached. Should I treat this like a whole new application and write a “beautiful” essay explaining what I did or just list things out? Also what kind of documents should I attached? All I have are personal photos and nothing official.
I would suggest writing a brief, but well-crafted, essay about your gap year that shows them why it was an important learning experience for you. My son took a gap year that sounds similar to yours (in his case worked part time, volunteered at a local Food Bank, and pursued some creative writing projects). There was a space on the Common Application for explaining/describing any gaps in educational history, and he saw this as an opportunity for the college to hear his voice and assess his writing skills a second time with another mini-essay. I’d also suggest only adding extra documents if extra documents are relevant to your gap year experience.
I took a gap year and used the additional information section for another essay describing what I am doing / have done over the gap year. I’m surprised you didn’t utilize that space while applying.
Basically, I explained the reasons for my gap year and listed my accomplishments in a numbering format.
My advice: Don’t over think it, but naturally explain your doings for the past year.
For my application I wrote about how I was torn between taking a gap year or not because my family was strongly against it. In the end I worked up the courage to go against my patents because I saw this as a better route for me. I guess it would have been smart at the time to talk about what I did during my year off.
This is a great opportunity for you to buff your app a bit with the extra info, as others have suggested.
One reason they are asking is to make sure you aren’t hiding any previous colleges. Its not uncommon for someone to start at a college, not do as well as they want, and come here to ask if they can just start over as a new frosh again somewhere else. As far as documenting this, you should have a tax return that showed that you worked and ought to be able to get a confirmation letter from Planned Parenthood that shows you did volunteer there.
I don’t have taxes from work because I basically was paid under the table because my boss never put me on the payroll. But I am sure I’d be able to get a letter from my PP mentor.
Well, he mostly wrote about his job working at the local public library–kind of an imaginative piece about some of the details of his day, and tying in into his creative writing.
So I shouldn’t really attack anything because I don’t have any relevant documents? Someone else suggested I attach a confirmation letter/letter of rec?
If you don’t have any relevant documents, then no. A confirmation letter isn’t a bad idea. Something your boss/mentor can sign confirming that you were there is good. A letter of rec, if not readily available to you (as in, you already have one because you asked someone for it a while back) should not be pursued now. UCLA wants the clarity on your gap year as soon as possible so you shouldn’t rush the LOR writer into compiling something for you. A confirmation letter though is a much better route.
I thought they sent out all decisions already but I am not in the UC system.
If they are evaluating you for admission, then I would send a letter of recommendation from a supervior. As for rushing it through, I would have a talk with your supervisor and ask for a recommendation. If your supervisor is pleased with your work and says something along the lines of I would give you my highest recommendation, then you can perhaps give him some suggested things that would be of benefit to be highlighted and stress to him that you are on a time crunch. If your superviser is not interested in helping (which you should already know based on your relationship) you then I would just get something to confirm employment or volunteer work
