<p>My son is contemplating doing a gap year (he is a senior in high school). Should he apply to schools as planned in the fall and then when he decides which school he wants to go to just apply for a deferment? Or should he wait until he comes back and then apply to schools? Generally, how does a deferment effect scholarship/financial aid money? Is each school different in this regard, or is there a standard way they do things?</p>
<p>Are you concerned he’ll change his mind about not going to college in the fall and decide he wants to go? If so, then yes it might make some sense to go through the application cycle and see what happens. He would go through the process and then speak with the college that accepted him about that college’s policy on deferring entrance and the impact on any college based financial aid. “Gap year” is not a “formal program” that is unilaterally administered across the spectrum of colleges and unis. Gap year is a term used to describe the time between high school and starting college for kids that decide to wait a year and not head off the fall after high school graduation. </p>
<p>Federal aid will be based on the FAFSA filed for that college year (you would file again the winter before he would actually attend and federal aid would be based on that FAFSA.)</p>
<p>I just wasn’t sure how it worked. Up until a month ago he was adamant about applying ONLY to BFA programs (acting). But he has many interests and I was hoping he would come around to doing a non-audition BA program and double majoring in something. It seems that he has warmed up to the idea. At the same time he’s been thinking about a program in Israel that would be the equivalent of a semester and then he’d come home and work/take some core credits somewhere - so that would be his gap year. I wasn’t sure if it would be better for him to apply to schools as planned or wait until the following fall.</p>
<p>There is no “standard” way, so you should check with the schools. However, the issue of taking college credits after graduation can be tricky - make sure that neither the Israel program or the local core credits won’t upset the eventual school. </p>
<p>I’d think that it would be much easier to apply in Senior year, and ask the college for a deferral. That’s what my son did. (His gap year was just living at home and doing an unpaid internship.) Especially since he’s going to be in a foreign country, it would possibly be difficult to get in touch with teachers asking for recommendations and the highschool asking for transcripts and the colleges asking for whatever he needs to ask them for. Is he thinking of going to specialty schools for his BFA, or just getting a BFA in a university that offers those as well as other degrees?</p>
<p>He is all over the board with where he wants to apply. If he goes the BFA route, his dream is DePaul (he absolutely loved it). But CalArts is also on his list, as is the Guthrie BFA program (we’re in Minnesota, so that would be great) and U of M BA. Then he’s thinking Vassar (which is way out of our price range), American (which he had visited and liked, but took off his list because he heard not-so-great things about the theatre dept, but now it’s back on because of the international relations), Marymount Manhattan (not a stand-out academically, but he loves the theatre program and would love to be in NYC), Northwestern is back on the list now, Emerson, not sure where BU stands at the moment, and Columbia, just to see if he could get in. He goes to a performing arts high school and has pretty good stats for where he is applying. I’m not worried about him getting into a school he will be happy with. I’m more concerned with the financial aid/scholarship side of things. It’s been interesting to see what’s going on and off his list - it seems to change weekly!!!</p>
<p>I am guessing many BFA programs require auditions of some sort. If that is the care for the schools your S wants to attend, and he still wants the BFA over the BA, then i would suggest applying now so that he can worry about the auditions before he leaves the country for the gap year. He can then ask that his admission be deferred a year.</p>