After a very difficult senior year and some resulting mental health difficulties, I’ve decided to take some time off to recuperate. I had an idea of things I wanted to do but no set plan on what my priorities would be. Now it’s of course only a few months away from college and I have little to show for what I’ve done. I began writing but I’ve only written about a fourth of a book (about 250 pages so far), not enough to get it done by the year’s end. I also am considering making a website, though I’m not sure that would suffice for a year’s worth of work. I could potentially get a job or internship, but there isn’t anything that particularly interests me at the moment and it might be a bit late. I’ve already been accepted into a college, before I took the gap year but I imagine graduate schools aren’t fond of relatively empty gap years and I’ve also been considering transferring schools in a couple of years. Should I continue with the book or pursue something else and will my apparent dormancy have some future repercussions?
I don’t even know if the graduate schools will know about your gap year or what you did. Generally they care about how you did in undergrad. Have you checked with your schools to see if they would let you defer your acceptance?
If you had mental health difficulties, taking a break and catching your breath before college begins is not a bad idea.
Are you currently on a deferred year? If so no problems. You don’t need to reapply. Grad schools don’t care what happened before your UG experience.
From a parent…if you are content with the college acceptance you have in hand, then there is no need to try to do things you think will impress college admissions counselors. Use this time to work on you. Are you meeting with a counselor, taking your meds, working on whatever issues need some attention?
Being ready for college stresses, learning time management skills, and working on social interaction skills will serve you well once you make it to your college campus.
If you feel unprepared for college academics, then spend some time with the subjects that most frustrate you. Math skills in particular can be lost easily if you aren’t working with them regularly.
Be honest with yourself and your parents regarding your mental health status. College is huge, and will stretch you way out of your comfort zone. Don’t be afraid to admit if you really aren’t ready yet when the time comes. Lots of posts on this site tell the story of late bloomers who go on to great things after postponing college due to a number of issues.
Getting to your best mental health is the best preparation you can have for college.