I think this would depend on the gap year reason…and the college.
- If the student is deferring enrollment after acceptance, that student needs to contact their college about this.
- If the student is taking a gap year and will be applying anew for the following year...they need to be careful that they are applying as incoming freshmen, and not as transfer students...especially if merit aid is a consideration and is awarded to incoming freshmen only. Also, some colleges accept a much lower %age of transfer students than first year applicants.
Again…the student needs to make sure that they find out the policies that would affect them at each college of interest.