<p>After a lot of thought and talking with my family, I have decided to take a gap year. It first started as a knee jerk reaction to only being accepted at my "safety," but after really getting to know the possible value of a well-structured gap year, it seems like the best thing for me. I'm in the planning phase right now, and I believe I'll be volunteering abroad and learning a language abroad. I'll also be further developing my business and reading some of the classics I've always wanted to read but never quite had the time. I think it will be a great learning and growing experience, and I will definitely let everyone know how it goes!</p>
<p>As far as diving back into the application game, I'm picking a mostly new, more diversified list of colleges this time. The combination of an overly optimistic list and not making time to start my applications until December last time surely didn't help me, but I've learned from that experience. I also may have the chance to actually visit some of the schools this go around, which is exciting!</p>
<p>Any general or specific advice?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>P.S. I know some schools give credit for AP and CLEP tests. Could/should I take some of those toward the end of my gap year?</p>
<p>Student "profile:"
* Was homeschooled my whole life
* 3.9+ UW GPA
* 33 ACT
* 800 SAT II Math 2
* 800 SAT II Physics</p>
<p>Hi there! I am doing the same thing (taking a gap year and applying to colleges again in the fall), but for slightly different reasons (I’ve talked about it in past threads if you’re interested; I won’t type it all out here). I would definitely recommend emailing your admissions counsellors for the colleges you think you may apply to - introduce yourself and what you’re doing, and ask for any tips on things to do during your year or application tips. I’m applying to selective northeastern LACs, and they’ve all been super supportive and helpful.</p>
<p>Since you’re taking a gap year, you’ll have to write an extra essay for the Common App explaining what you’re doing and why - you may as well start that now.</p>
<p>Also, keep in touch with the teachers you want to write recs for you - it’s important that they know the current you in addition to the you of one year ago.</p>
<p>I know absolutely nothing about CLEP tests, but for APs, since you would be taking them after you knew where you were going, they would just be used for placement and/or credit. If you think you can self-study them well, then I guess it’s worth it, but I see one of the benefits of a gap year as getting away from formalised education, so I guess on a more personal note, I wouldn’t bother.</p>
<p>The colleges I’ve talked to recommend staying in touch with academics over the year, but it sounds like your foreign language education will accomplish this.</p>
<p>A note for future reference - admissions readers hate the “service trip” personal statement (generally), so though I don’t doubt that your volunteering will be an amazing and transformative experience, I would recommend you stay away from that topic while writing your college essay, unless you think you’ve written something truly unique and personal relating to it.</p>
<p>I hope you have a great year, and good luck with this application cycle! Gap year class of 2015 FTW :D</p>
This is actually huge. Many colleges keep their electronic files for three years just in case student’s reapply. So, if you apply to the same school’s that rejected you, Admissions Officers can refer back to your original file with the original teacher recommendations and essays. If you don’t know why you were rejected, you cannot correct the issue, nor have a good chance for a better outcome.</p>
<p>@LAMuniv Thanks for the advice and encouragement!</p>
<p>@"Erin’s Dad" I’ve revisited my “safety” choice and found a few that I really like. </p>
<p>@kandcsmom I applied to several “reaches,” several “low reaches,” several “matches,” and of course the “safety.”</p>
<p>@gibby I’ll only be reapplying to one school (two at the most), and the rest will be new. However, if it’s not too late, I’ll try to get some feedback from those schools as to why I didn’t make the cut, which I’m sure will be useful next go around.</p>
<p>I actually have a related question. I was accepted at Wellesley College, which I know is really good, but I just never really clicked. I mean, I like it enough, and I know that wherever I go I will make the most of it. </p>
<p>Just to clarify, there are reasons that I’m not in love with Wellesley. I feel like it has a sort of Tufts syndrome (people rejected from Ivys), which gives it a certain air. I also am pretty quirky and I feel like it is so main stream. I don’t love the all-Womens thing. I <em>hate</em> the numbers of politics/econ/international relations majors. I hate that they say you can cross-reg at MIT and do research there, but make it really difficult to do so. There are things about it that I really love, but they don’t really out way the cons. I didn’t really love it before I applied, but my parents did, so I just applied and was happy to get into a school. </p>
<p>But how realistic would it be for me to reapply to colleges during my gap year (I’m taking a gap year anyway to experience the real world). I know I would have to give up my spot at Wellesley, which is what scares me. What if I don’t get into a “better” school? Also, I applied to all my top choices last year and was rejected, so is there any hope? Or should I just hold on to the Wellesley offer?</p>
<p>@cutiedida Would you be reapplying to the same schools you were rejected from last time, or would you be applying to new schools? Or a mix? The truth of the matter is that if a college rejected the first time around, there is a very good chance they will reject you again. If you can identify why these colleges rejected you and make an effort to fix these things, you may have a small chance. If you reapply, you’ll definitely want to include at least one safety, preferably several. Know that there is a very good chance that you will not be accepted into one of the top colleges you applied to this time around.</p>
<p>About making the actual choice: I decided by making a list of colleges I would be applying to if I decided to take a gap year (which I did) - with safeties (this is important). The school I was considering saying yes to was also a good school, and I still have nothing but the best opinions of it, but I didn’t feel like it would suit my interests as well as other schools would. So, I compared to to the school on my list that I was MOST likely to get accepted to - my safety - and realised that my safety would suit my interests better than the other college I was considering. So I said no.</p>
<p>If you do end up deciding to take a gap year, make sure that you apply to colleges you actually want to attend!</p>
<p>Good luck, and let me know what you decide!</p>