The majority of students go directly from high school to college. However, some students may be best served by an alternate path. A Gap Year is a planned and purposeful time off between high school and college and can be beneficial for students at both ends of the academic and ambitiousness spectrum. Many colleges allow students to apply for admission, then, if admitted, apply for delayed admission in order to take a Gap Year before enrolling the following fall. If a student can demonstrate they have a plan—and would likely grow and be challenged by their plan—it will likely be approved by the college.
Even if you are confident that you will go straight to college after high school, it is good to know this is an option. It can also be a great talking point about parent expectations and the purpose of investing in college. If a student cannot express why they want to go to college and what their goals are, they are not as likely to be successful or to graduate in four years as those who can (I ask my students to write down why they want to go to college as part of their exploration and research!)
The easiest way to set up a Gap Year is to apply to college, then after you are admitted, apply for a Gap Year to your chose college. First, it will be important to find out if the schools on your list allow a Gap year without making you reapply to the college. Do this by searching the college website or asking admissions. Colleges set their own policies and these can change year to year. For example, UC Davis allows a Gap Year request but UC Berkeley states they “rarely” grant Gap Year requests.
After finding out if Gap Year deferrals might be an option, look at the resources at the end of this blog to help you articulate why you want a Gap Year, what your goals would be during the year, and what the Gap Year would look like. To be considered for a Gap Year request, students will have to apply for one by selling their plan and goals. Colleges want to know that students will be productively gaining skills that will make them more focused and motivated once they arrive on campus.
The other Gap Year route is to delay college applications until the gap year or repeat them, if necessary. This is a common route taken by students who do not know if they want to attend college at all, or who do not get into a college that they want to attend and choose instead to take some time off before applying to colleges at a later date. This process is more involved, so weigh your options carefully.
It is also very important to explore what restrictions colleges have for Gap Year students. Some will not allow students to earn any college credits on a Gap Year program; others have a limit.
While it is certainly possible (and most common) to create your own plan for a Gap Year, there are many wonderful Gap Year programs available. They might include travel, language immersion, outdoor adventure, community service, or internships.
Resources
Read here for great planning tips and things to consider when contemplating a Gap Year.
Use this next link to review a large number of free, streamable events from last February’s Gap Year Exploration Month. These include topics such as “College Credit in Your Gap Year” and “How to Pay for a Gap Year.”
If you are interested in the Year On program in particular, here is a new viewbook for 2020 (2021-2022 program information should be available soon) as well as a “Parents Guide to Gap Years.” Year On runs September to June, it takes place over multiple phases, and it’s for college-bound students who want to go abroad as well as focus on practical skills and personal effectiveness.
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