<p>OK, so I was curious if other people took gap years, as I did. I am curious about your experience with the gap year so far.
I, for one, had to take the gap year half-willingly and half forced by circumstances. That is because I liked the idea of the gap year, even though it's practically unheard of in Romania (conventional wisdom goes that only losers who cannot get into a Romanian university end up a year at home). On the other hand, going straight to college would not have been that bad either, but I had to pay the price for my vacillation in the end. I only decided that I wanted to study in the US after New Year so it was gap year or university. There was also the option of going to university here and then applying as freshman to US colleges. Nevertheless, most said that one could not discount college credit so that option was actually not feasible.
After I took my SAT tongue-in-cheek in May and earned a nice score (1420), I decided that the US were the way to go. Luckily my parents understood why I wanted to do this - something rarely seen here, because of the conventional wisdom mentioned above. After I had finished my national examinations I had the luxury of watching my class-mates struck by exam-madness as they were running from one entrance exam to the other, while I was carefree. This summer was the most exciting I ever had. I traveled about 10,000 miles through Europe, and I managed to win some awards to put on my application. When I finally returned to Romania, on November 1st, I was genuinely tired of travelling. Afterwards, the nitty-gritty process of application started and that was absolutely exhausting, but you already know that. In January I got a very cool job - I am currently doing a TV show about books, which means I get to know lots of interesting people, and get a salary.
I have absolutely no regrets about my decision. None whatsoever. This is because I got to see my ex-class-mates being disappointed one after another by their universities. Now everyone is asking me about study abroad programmes and I find it sometimes hard to explain that I am not an encyclopaedia about the matter. An encounter I've had a few months ago strengthened my conviction - when I took the SAT for the second time I ran into a former high-school acquaintance, who was one year older than me. He was applying as freshman in the US, and he actually lost 2 years in an university here. It seems that most people realize how uncompetitive universities here are only after admissions.
How about your experience? I am eager to hear about it!</p>
<p>well i'm a senior in high school, but your probably know that the 12th grade in romania is already like a gap year.
you are right about the low quality of university education in romania, i feel that EVEN an american community college education can be better than a romanian university education. most people realize how uncompetitive universities here are only after admissions. that's so true!!
what did your teachers/guidance counselor say abot your plans to study in U.S ?</p>
<p>I will be taking a gap year and although I had considered it before, it was forced on me due to a bad guidance counselor. I was supposed to spend the academic year of 2005-06 still in school, taking my 13th year nice and slow but here we are and I'm graduating in June. I'm happy with the result now, but things going like this, I'm quite uncertain about the next year, what to do etc. I'll probably get a job and take some courses in the open university or something. </p>
<p>The way I see it is that everyone should take a gap year after high or secondary school because you've been studying for 12 years straight at that point and you really haven't had the chance to experience life outside the classroom, so I think that working or traveling for a year will definitely only enhance the student's strenghts and he'll really take a step away from the parents and the world of high school. Entering the university world is a huge step away from the high school so I think that a year spent gathering experience on a different area than academic will help the student to make the transition to university or college. Also, the extra year will give some time to really ponder about the choice of school and major and with that, save many years off some people's lives when they realise before med school and not four years into it that they might want to do history instead.</p>
<p>what is a gap year</p>
<p>A year out between school and college.</p>
<p>Would gap yearS affect an international student's application?</p>
<p>Be careful not to have the gap year slip into two gap years etc. Keep a focus. I have seen that happen to very good students. One gap year is a great idea.</p>
<p>Arseus here. i took a gap year here in pakistan, something highly unconventional and doubtful. my father still regrets my taking it. first, i wanted ti regive the sats and apply to a decent university in the states with a lotta aid. i also wanted to test my independence for a year and see what i could and couldn't do. it seems i've had a lot to do and am enjoying every bit of it. my job, comicbook artwork, research etc. i think evryone should take a gap-year to escape their booksih lives and see the world as practically as possible.</p>
<p>I totally agree with you, Arseus - the experience of the real world should be mandatory.
Mrtambourineman, my guidance counselour did not have very much to say about my gap year. Something like, if it's your decision, you know best - go ahead with it. Whatever she said would not have mattered, and she knew this, because she was like retiring and did not have many clues about studying abroad.</p>
<p>I'm on mine. I'm spending it learning Chinese in Beijing, and more importantly learning to fend for myself - before I have to worry about maintaining a GPA at the same time. So far my only regret is that I couldn't spend more time travelling, but it's been a fabulous experience nonetheless. I think it should help me learn to deal with being on my own at college, and I'm pretty sure it helped my application.</p>
<p>
[quote]
so I think that working or traveling for a year will definitely only enhance the student's strenghts and he'll really take a step away from the parents and the world of high school. Entering the university world is a huge step away from the high school so I think that a year spent gathering experience on a different area than academic will help the student to make the transition to university or college. Also, the extra year will give some time to really ponder about the choice of school and major...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>exactly! currently, im taking a gap year by joining this exchange program sponsored by youth for understanding. im in tokyo, japan..</p>
<p>I'm currently on a gap year working so I can save enough to attend univeristy in August. I was already accpeted the year before and just deferred my entry so I could get enough financial support.</p>
<p>Sounds cool, but in Bulgaria (where I am from), the moment you stop your education, you are immediately called by the military service, isn't it the same in Romania?</p>
<p>Almost the same. I finished school at 18 and they call you for military service once you are 20 - which I will be this summer. I suggest anyone considering this option in a country with compulsory military service for his/her gender to be very careful about the regulations.</p>
<p>That's bad, in Bulgaria it the required age is 18, and I am 19 now. Do you have some information about people going to country universities and then trying to get as freshmen in the US - are the chances slim, can you still compete for financial aid?
Thanks</p>
<p>Well, there are some people who did it. You can compete for financial aid, but some Unis&colleges won't allow you to apply as a freshman once you've earned academic credit (i.e. Wesleyan). You should send an e-mail to the institution and ask them.</p>
<p>Wow....great stories in this thread. Its amazing, really. Everyone else who has responded to my questions about a gap year have really advised against it -- reasons are EXTREMELY low odds, retaking SAT's won't be seen in the same light (because you won't be senior anymore -- you're just coaching yourself for a higher score), you're not improving your're resume THAT much because colleges only see first semester, and traveling isn't nesseccarily a 'hook' by any means. But hey, if it worked for you guys that's great. I just don't know why people are telling me to transfer IF odds for transferring are so low and people have obviously had success taking a gap year. </p>
<p>Comments? Advice?</p>
<p>Ok, here is the thing that sealed my decision to take a gap year - I was browsing the Internet listening to music on the computer and snap, the playlist jumped to a song in Romanian which went like this:
Let your fears aside,
Play all by a dice,
Nobody has ever flown,
Without even trying.
It was all sealed. Actually, my resume improved hugely during the summer holidays - I went to three international debating tournaments and I won one, I won the national debate tournament and did lots of traveling which is not a hook, but which can provide lots of inspiration for essays.
The SAT scores could improve A LOT - my first one was 1420, or somewhere in the top 5%. The second was 1580, or the top .2%(according to my estimates). I don't know how scores were viewed, but I suspect that adcoms do understand that you come from a different educational background and that maybe you did not have the time to prepare for the SAT in senior year.
From my experience, transfer is possible, but only to places like Harvard and Yale which are super-selective anyway. Otherwise, transfer is very unlikely for a needy international.</p>
<p>what's the name of the song?
is it a 'vama veche' song by any chance?</p>
<p>No, it's "Lacrimi in zadar"(tears in vain) by Semnal M!</p>