Gap Year: Attending the College of Life
Convinced that taking a year off before college will make you look like a slacker and decrease your chances of getting into college?
Turns out you’re wrong! In fact, Ivy League schools do see the benefits of a “Gap Year”: taking time off (usually a year, but not always) before college.
But don’t start dreaming of a year-long Spring Break getaway just yet… the gap year is not your free ticket to a year of partying or lounging on an exotic beach. Colleges believe that taking a year off can give you life experience, make you more worldly and mature, and therefore help you when it’s time to devote yourself to your college education.
Mind the Gap
The gap year is a staple in the UK. Students have been taking a year off before heading to college since the 1960s. It was popularized during the hippie revolution when the Beatles took off to India to “find themselves.” And colleges in England followed suit, claiming that students would grow as individuals and actually be ready for the college experience.
Taking a year off used to get a bad rap. To parents, it meant that you weren’t serious or focused enough, and worse, it would ruin your chances of getting into college.
But now many colleges actually support students who want to take a year off of school before their freshman year. In fact, even Ivy League schools are opening up to the gap. William Fitzsimmons, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Harvard College, recently raised eyebrows by suggesting that most kids would benefit from taking a gap year.
Also in February 2008, Princeton University’s President Shirley Tilghman announced plans to create a program to send a tenth or more newly admitted students for a year of social service work in a foreign country before they even start school as freshmen. This program is set to start in 2009 and Princeton won’t charge tuition during the gap year (and is even offering to financial assistance to those in need of it).
What’s in it for them?
Sounds too good to be true, huh? Well, these Ivy League schools seem to believe that many students don’t know what they want to do for the rest of their lives when they apply to college. The gap year lets you try a few things on, see what you like, and also get to know yourself outside of a school environment. These colleges believe that the time off makes for better students that don’t constantly change their majors or decide not to finish their education halfway through, so it benefits them to have more dedicated and productive students. Kind of a win-win situation for everyone.
Princeton is the first university to formalize a gap year program, and it is definitely an up-and-coming trend. Many colleges now offer one-year deferrals to students they admit and consultants and programs are popping up all over the United States, to help place students in work or travel experiences in foreign countries.
Working at the Gap?
For the rest of you who don’t have a formal gap year program in place, here are a bunch of options for making the most out of your “college of life experience.”
It’s good to know that there are consultants out there who will help you plan your gap year. Obviously the service costs money, but it’s a great way to learn about available resources.
If you don’t get a consultant, you can talk to parents, friends and older siblings to get the ball rolling. Talk to your school counselor, check out travel guides and look for programs online.
Here are a few options for your gap year:
Travel: There are lots of organizations that offer group programs where you share your room and board and even activities with others. Or you may go the route of choosing your own adventure.
Internships: Spend some time working in a field that interests you. If you find out you really like it, then you will have even more incentive to succeed in your chosen college major. And hey, if you don’t, then you’ll have avoided investing your future (and thousands of dollars) in studying something you don’t enjoy.
Volunteer Work: You might discover that you would like to pursue a career that involves helping others (plus it looks good on your college application.)
Academics: Taking a year off before college to study might sound weird, but students who are not pleased with their high school records might consider a postgraduate (PG) year. The goal is to get your marks up so that you have a better chance of getting into the college of your choice.
Work: Whether you work close to home or far away, working will provide you with real life experience and some cash to help pay for your college education.
You don’t have to make a commitment to these programs for a full year. For instance, you can combine different options, like going to Italy to learn Italian in the fall, coming back home and visiting your family for the holidays and then heading off to Kenya and working for a human rights organization. It’s up to you!
What about College?
Once you’ve decided to take time off, you may be tempted to forget about applying to college all together. But actually, it is way easier to apply while you are still in high school. You’ve got access to all the school resources including your guidance counselor and teachers to write you your letters of recommendation. You don’t want to be searching for an Internet connection to get in touch with them when you are off trekking in the Himalayas. So apply and if you get into the college of your choice, you can inquire about deferring your admission for a year.
Closing in on the Gap
The whole thing about the gap year is that it’s supposed to prepare you for college… but on your own terms. It may even aid in your college application process by setting you apart as an independent thinker.
So if you are having trouble convincing your parents that you want to take a year off, just tell ‘em that even the colleges are for it. They can’t argue with that.
This entry was posted on Friday, March 21st, 2008 at 10:16 am and is filed under What's Hot. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
