<p>Never thought I would be posting again on college confidential. Guess I just can't stay away...
I applied to seven schools, rejected from three (Middlebury, Swarthmore, and Williams), wait listed at two (Haverford and Grinnell), and accepted at two (Kenyon and Kalamazoo). 3.8 GPA, full IB diploma program, and a 2130 SAT weren't enough I guess, but maybe a gap year will be. I don't really like either school I got in to (Kalamazoo was a safety, Kenyon I only applied to because it was free to apply to, and didn't require a supplemental essay) and I'm not naive enough to think my odds of getting off the wait list at either Grinnell or Haverford are high enough to seriously consider that as a possibility. If I'm going to go to a school that I enjoy and really want to be at, I either have to get phenomenally lucky, or take a gap year and reapply.<br>
The thought of doing a PG is not one that excites me (another year of Highschool? No thanks. Not to mention I'm happy with my stats) so that leaves volunteer work or career training as my major options. I've been thinking about a few options:
1. Teaching English somewhere in Spanish speaking South/Central America. This is something I would really enjoy doing, and it would also give me new knowledge and insight. Plus, it would probably add something unique to my application that few others have.<br>
2. Other miscellaneous volunteer work. Not really my favorite choice (not a whole lot of volunteer work apart from teaching really appeals to me) but it's always an option.
3. Acting training of some sort. I've always wanted to hone the skills I got over the course of 4 years with my highschool drama club, and maybe this will not only make me a better actor, but also a better candidate?
Obviously I'll have a great experience regardless of which one I do, but my question to you fine people of college confidential is: will it improve my chances? I'm going to be applying to more schools next time around (Bowdoin, Pomona, and Colgate are probably going to be added to the list) but I don't feel that its worth doing a gap year unless it will get me into one of these colleges. Do you, the collective people of CC, think it will?</p>