First year students Deciding to Defer... or not

How are families advising their students about the option of deferring for a year due to the pandemic?
ie: Are you encouraging your student to do a gap year?
Make the best of an atypical first year?
Waiting for more info from a specific college about their response plans?
Would love to hear from other families about how they are managing this tough/ unexpected decision with imperfect info…

There are several threads on this topic in the Parents Forum, so take a look there. A lot of students and families are thinking about this!

I’m letting my child make the decision. She is eager to start her first year in college after she’s been through, so will go if allowed.

I’m a rising senior, but my mom and I have already talked about what would happen if the pandemic is to continue for my freshman year of college. She’s really pushing me to continue on with my learning and not take the gap year. I agree, bc even though it may be harder, at least I’ll still be learning and won’t have to struggle with getting back in the routine of classes.

DH and I discussed the option of a gap year privately before broaching the topic with D20. We decided there wasn’t anything to offer her in terms of a gap year (no job, no travel, etc) and the thought of her just hanging around the house didn’t make any sense. Plus, she got a really good FA package. When we initiated a conversation with her, she immediately said she was going to do whatever the college was planning, in person or online, and she wasn’t at all interested in waiting it out.

I think if the student has a strong preference either way, it is best to work out a plan that takes their desire into account. Forcing her to stay home would have been a disaster and I imagine forcing a student to enroll and take the classes would play out just as badly if they weren’t on board.

I keep hearing about this in a way that suggests a request for a gap year is usually granted. An admissions rep from the University of Chicago told us they are not going to approve any more gap years than they have previously despite a big increase in requests. To do so would negatively impact the rising high school seniors. Has anyone else heard of similar policies at other colleges?

@GoldPenn - you are correct that many schools are now saying that if students take a gap year, they won’t guarantee them a spot next year and they may have to reapply.

Faculty are spending time this summer improving online classes beyond the remote versions of lectures offered on an emergency basis. Online classes have the potential to be excellent ways to deliver education for many subjects.

Along with challenges for science labs and performing arts, I think the biggest issues are social life and extracurriculars. Some colleges are coming up with creative ways to address these.

Typical gap years don’t offer much right now.

This is so complicated: thinking about the effect on rising high school seniors as well as the financial survival of some colleges.

Every university has a different policy on freshman deferrals and gap years right now. My freshman requested a deferral of her enrollment after the deadline and it was granted after submitting a written outline of how she planned to spend the year. They were enthusiastic in accepting and the next email was welcoming her to the class of 2025. I think it really just depends on the school’s deferral/gap year policy and how much they need to de-densify the campus.

I am curious what young people are going to do instead, since everything else is also restricted. At least staying in college online means some stimulation, interaction and progress toward a degree. If there are worthwhile alternatives, I would love to know what they are.

@compmom, my D is taking a gap year (approved pre-Covid) and she plans to dance and work. She’ll also take two courses (3 is the limit for her college to retain her scholarship upon matriculation) at a very affordable community college next year just to keep her toe in school work. Those courses were always intended to be online. We hope she’ll dance in a studio during the year, but zoom ballet has been workable and she would continue that way during any shutdowns. She is already accepted into her college of choice, so she can relax and enjoy her training next year, and earn some spending money for when she starts at her college in fall of 2021 (she has an academic scholarship, so it won’t be affected by her earnings).

I know some Outward Bound programs are a go, including ones in Costa Rica, which is supposedly going to open its borders soon.

My D19 would have the option to also continue with her internship for the year too.

The kids we know are working…doing internships…volunteering with non-profits…and many, many are working on political campaigns, voter registration initatives, etc. Many are hoping to travel in Spring 2021 in areas where it seems more likely.

My daughter’s high school (independent boarding & day school) offers a pretty robust Post-Grad year (advanced coursework, internships, TA opportunities, etc.) She wouldn’t have considered this option in a ‘typical’ year, but now it feels like an attractive option to her…

But don’t the same restrictions from COVID that motivate gap years, also apply to these activities?

Outward Bound type programs like NOLS might make sense if all the participants were tested first.

@milgymfam one of mine did a gap year for dance, ten years ago. I cannot imagine doing class via Zoom (though I have been doing Tai Chi that way lately; dance takes a lot more space!). But she was also in a company, and dance companies aren’t functioning much these days.

I guess you are all more optimistic about work and internships. To me, if those things were possible safely, so would college. I am trying to understand!

Are your kids going to work or intern online?

I wonder what is going to happen for this coming year’s applicants, and also about the survival of some schools with so many deferring.

Schools really have to avoid liability if students get sick. Giving families the choice of online, in-person or hybrid seems reasonable. But if many defer/gap, I think some schools will have to require reapplying for survival. And those on waitlists are in luck.

@compmom --I should clarify my D is not taking a gap year to avoid getting COVID-19. I think the risk is the same whether she goes to college in a communal living situation or takes a gap year to work/intern. She’s taking a gap year to pursue some opportunities and hopes (fingers crossed) that Fall 2021 will be somewhat closer to the college experience she seeks. The idea of sitting in a single dorm room with a laptop, zooming all her classes, eating all her meals to go, with no extracurriculars and no “student life” is depressing (to her). Her internship is in person…just like her current summer job and she will practice social distancing, wear a mask, wash hands, practice increased sanitation just like she does now. Travel for Spring 2021 will depend on a lot of factors but one trip she has already scheduled for December just requires a negative test result within 10 days of travel.

Thanks for the clarification. You covered exactly the reason for my inability to understand why anyone would defer. I have kids with health challenges and they would be more limited not doing college (even if at home). Until the virus is gone, that is.

So the idea behind taking a gap year is that some measure of normalcy can be achieved. I am just not so sure about that, even for healthy kids.

There is also the impact on the next class of seniors, and the impact on school finances. If a school is going hybrid, would you consider that?

My daughter is going to defer. She is going to work as an EMT, continue with her sport and continue doing on-line SAT tutoring. The experience that is currently being offered at college just isn’t what she wants for herself or what we want for her, and we are fortunate that she was able to put together a plan that makes sense for the year. FWIW, her school isn’t approving any more deferrals than they usually do, it’s just a different group of students deferring because the usual travel options mostly don’t exist.

My daughter’s school has indicated that they will still accept the same number of incoming freshman for Fall 2021. They are encouraging freshman to defer if they can put together a gap year that meets their needs. I think they are anticipating that there will be some attrition with people who don’t return due to illness, travel issues (international visas), or an unwillingness to pay private school tuition for online classes.