<p>I am a student from Italy who considered applying for higher education in the U.S. I am concluding my 13-year highschool curriculum in June 2006 and apparently I am too late for application procedures such as SAT, etc. if I want to enter as an undergraduate in Fall 2006.</p>
<p>Since I would like to study at an ivy league university, I thought of taking a "gap year" and do all necessary standardized tests etc. during this time.</p>
<p>The problem is the fact that I'm already 19 years old. Plus gap year would mean that I would enter university aged 21 (I'm becoming 21 in October 2007).</p>
<p>Would that mean that I enter as a "mature student"?
Would it bring disadvantages and reduce the likelihood of being admitted?</p>
<p>An alternative I was thinking about...
to attend one year university here in Europe and then transfer to the U.S.</p>
<p>Taking a gap year and applying from there will hurt you in the fact that you will be out of school. You need teacher recommendations and a school report. If you have already graduated getting those will be more difficult. As well as the fact that you will be less prepared for the tests- especially the SAT II's. </p>
<p>Some top universities don't accept transfers. I think it would be harder to transfer from a European university than an American one, with credits and such. I would suggest you make a list of universities you are interested in and do some research. Almost all of this information will be on their website- what they expect for admission- rules for mature students, for transfers and for gap years.</p>
<p>You need teacher recommendations and a school report. If you have already graduated getting those will be more difficult.</p>
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<p>Do the recommendations have to be written at the time of application?
As for the school report, can't I use my graduation report? e.g. the "Abiturzeugnis"?</p>
<p>But still, given that I manage to get recommendations and school report, how do THEY (the admission officers) usually judge the situation?</p>
<p>They don't have to be written at the time of the application, but that makes it much easier. Many people at my school take a gap year, but they are encouraged to get everything done while they are still in school. If you come back to the school a year later, the teachers have moved on, will have a hard time writing a specific and current letter as they have not taught you in a year and have new students. Trust me it will be more difficult to get these. </p>
<p>You can use your graduation report, but your school also has to include information about the school, your transcript and a guidance counselor's recommendation. </p>
<p>I don't know how they would judge your situation. You would obviously be looked at differently. All the kids I knew who took gap years were admitted to university first, then deferred their enrolment for a year. I would suggest doing that- but it is probably too late. </p>
<p>Like I said earlier you should check each of the school's websites and see what they say about mature students. They are likely to have differing policies.</p>
<p>Alero, I took a gap year and now here I am at Amherst :) I am 20 though. Mature students are at least 23, for all I know. Your age will not bring dissadvantages, especially because your circumstances explain it very well. You're just finishing high-school right now so you might want to do something else after 13 years.
About transfering, it depends on whether you would need Financial Aid or not. If you do, then you should be aware that the competition is 10 times as intense. But even if you don't, you would still need recommendations from your professors, so I would advise you to go study at an university where you'll have close interaction with your profs (or assert yourself if you're at a bigger uni) so that you'll have whom to ask for a recommendation come spring.
You should contact Stauch, he is a freshman here in the US at 21, after completing the Abitur and taking a gap year, and he has no problem with it whatsoever, for all I know.</p>
<p>well alero86 all I can say abt this is that from India half the applicants are gap year students.
And as they know we get to many places with scholarships
Besides the Indian selected to MIT last year was a gappy. and so was a girl selected to UC Berk with scholarship..NOw how do u like that.</p>
<p>So I guess if u utilised your gap year well and did productive stuff even if it was studying for exams your chances are only increased.</p>
<p>I have many friends in Amherst who didn't apply when in high school. (Virtually all of them are at least 20 as freshman).
Here in Dartmouth, international freshman at the age of 20, 21, 22 are quite common.</p>