…what is the general expectation of what you do with that year? Is there any expectation?
Note I am not talking about athletes sent to BS for a PG year of extra seasoning.
I’m talking about some fairly selective universities which do this on occasion. What do they want/expect you to do that year?
That’s a good question. Is this something that happens often apart from athletics? Is it a case of we’d love to have you, but we don’t have room in the class? I’ve heard of guaranteed transfer (1 year elsewhere and then you are in) or only being admitted for Spring semester but not a full gap year.
Well over a decade ago, Princeton University admissions noted that it viewed gap years as a positive. No recommended activities. Valued for the extra year of emotional growth/maturity and to gain a sense of purpose.
It is a thing that happens apart from athletics. Not sure about “often” however. Guessing not as it seems to be a thing at schools which yield protect, which we generally understand isn’t an overly large group.
I think I’m asking something about different maybe from what you’re saying. Like, I think Princeton in your example was talking about a gap year that was the kid’s idea, and how Princeton feels about that.
I’m asking about when it’s the school’s offer of admission, but only when tied to a (non-athletic/BS seasoning) gap year, i.e we don’t have enough beds to want you this year, but somehow we know that we would love you next year.
I was referring to a general statement made by the then head of admissions at Princeton in an effort to promote students to consider the option of taking a gap year before entering Princeton University.
Regardless, the point of a gap year is to give the student a chance to mature further through any endeavor of interest to that student.
I understand. Still different than what I was asking giving the specific context.
In answer to your specific question: The general expectation is that the student will mature further and be able to add more to the campus community as a more mature, more focused, young adult.
Is there any particular reason a school would do this? It seems strange. I’m assuming this offer is made at decision time?
Yes and I’m not asking about general expectations, thanks.
Some sort of medium term yield situation. Presumably.
It’s like a back end commitment of sorts (as opposed to committing up front with ED).
OP: Please reread your original post in this thread. You specifically ask for “general expectation”:
“…what is the general expectation of what you do with that year ? Is there any expectation ?”
You have not provided enough specific info about the school or the candidate for anyone to make specific recs beyond either travel or work for a year.
However, the specifics do not matter–the purpose does.
UChicago does this. The cynic in me says it is for yield protection.
What college is this?
This is what interests me. Given some supposition about why they do it, I wonder what if anything they expect of the kids. My guess is little/nothing other than to write a check in a years time.
A few schools (Chicago, Harvard. – not sure who else) were doing this some years ago through their Z list process. It was used most for (donor) legacies and often after they had been WL but was not exclusive to that group.
OP, if you get an offer like this, it’s fair to ask the school that gave it to you if it has expectations or restrictions for the year. Iirc, the only thing you can’t do is enroll at another university, but otherwise, it’s up to you.
Accepted students are often provided with info on gap years as well, but it’s not mandated.
USC, Boston U, Northeastern, Middlebury, UF, FSU, have various forms of this.
In some cases it’s “enroll in any college and manage to pass and we’ll admit you but right now we have concerns&figure that it could go either way so don’t fail out of another college and we’ll be okay”.
In other cases it’s a soft reject for alumni kids or donors kids, the idea being they will backpack around the world (or fly from luxury hotel/resort to luxury hotel/resort) and find another college to apply to.
The mandated gap semester can also be for full pay kids, when the class is full - some freshmen will fail out or transfer, upperclass students will graduate in December or go abroad, and the “mandated gap semester admits” will fill the dorm space&university coffers while not affecting ranking with their lower stats.
Students didn’t know what to do (the typical occupation used to be a menial job like fastfood or retail but fewer students in general and very few full pay students have part time jobs in HS nowadays compared to the 80s 90s, so it’s no longer either a given or acceptable. ) Colleges have seen a moneymaking opportunity, hence programs like NU.in.
Many colleges offer a semester or year abroad to these students, optionally.
Cornell University also offers a guaranteed transfer option.
My D18 got this offer from Case Western Reserve her year. She applied EA and was deferred. Then she was waitlisted. CWRU starts asking weekly if you want to stay on the WL. Then they create a mock financial aid package and ask if you were admitted and this was your package, would you accept? Finally, they offer her an acceptance for the fall of 2019, not 2018. Must come to CWRU as a true freshman, with 0 credits from another school/ community college. They mentioned working and travelling. I am sure if we wanted to discuss it further, they would have. But it was clear they did not want the student taking credits. It was grueling.
In hindsight, super moderator on CWRU threads acknowledge that year as a very tough one for CWRU (tough in a way that only benefitted them) because they ran out of beds. Some students they would have normally accepted got caught in this different type of offer. It’s a tough situation emotionally for a kid who is not expecting such an option. My D had toured, went back for an all day open house, sat in on classes, did the optional interview. Very high achieving having applied with a 5.0 w at time of application with a 1500. Admissions told the GC that she was recommended for admission at the EA stage and wasn’t sure why she wasn’t admitted. It was a situation that didn’t turn my Ds way, and that was too bad.
However, looking back, if your kid is applying to competitive schools, prepare for these types of offers. If your student really wants to graduate from a place and gets this type of offer, it can be totally ok. If you are open and expecting these offers ahead of time as possibilities, they don’t knock the wind out of sails then.
Same kid got a Transfer Option from Cornell. But she would’ve been allowed to take classes and that’s actually a part if the TO plan. Start at another school, take specified classes, then join Cornell as a sophomore in your program ready for the 2nd year classes in your program. Interestingly, TO is technically not guaranteed, but I think they say that in case the kid winds up being a bad fit for any reason.