<p>My youngest son is a junior. Very bright, creative, funny, etc., but not organized. ADD.</p>
<p>He won't turn 18 until the end of his senior year of high school. If we were able to find a really valuable gap year experience for him, and thought that a year of experiences would better prepare him for college, should he apply to colleges anyway and then defer his admission for a year if the colleges allow that, or should he wait a year and apply with the gap year on his record?</p>
<p>He'll have lots of AP courses, probably mid 1400's M/V SAT (possibly higher) and around 4.25 weighted GPA. But I KNOW that all that doesn't guarantee success as a freshman.</p>
<p>My D might want a gap year. She's old though. I thought if she took a gap year, she would never want to be living in a freshman dorm! But maybe a freshman dorm experience is not essential to life! If your son really wants a gap year, and has an opportunity he is excited about, he should do it! Don't think so much about the college application process, but how it might help him grow in general, become more organized...</p>
<p>Definitely better to apply to college as a h.s. senior, then defer. The whole process is easier if you are still around the guidance counselor, teachers writing your recs, and all the other kids going through the process. Apply so that your kid has options in May; if he is not happy with his acceptances he can take a gap year and reapply, if he decides he is not ready for college he can take a gap year and reapply. If the outcome is reversed, (didn't apply, but then decides he want to go right on to college), it would be a major disappointment.</p>
<p>S didn't apply to college until his gap year. His gap year in which he lived at home while volunteering fulltime with Americorps taught him a lot about himself, his interests, and about what kind of college would best suit him.</p>
<p>The college that he now happily goes to is one that he hadn't even considered until his gap year. If he had selected a college as a h.s. senior, that probably would have been a very different kind of college and one where he wouldn't have been as happy.</p>
<p>And it wasn't that had to apply to college during his gap year. He was living at home, and had no problems getting recommendations or transcripts. He also took complete charge of his college apps. I did nothing to help with them.</p>
<p>Of course, if a student were doing a gap year abroad or far away from home that would make things more difficult. Still, a student with such a life expanding experience may not wish to attend the college that they had selected as a high school senior.</p>
<p>In my S's situation, he took a gap year because he was a very bright student who was all over the map in terms of interests. He also was an academic underperformer who just didn't get around to applying for college even though he started several applications. After the deadlines passed for the colleges that he was considering, he was able to get an Americorps position at a place where he had been a longterm volunteer. Community service was his passion, and it was his idea to pursue it for a gap year.</p>
<p>My older S had skipped a year and went to college as a 17-year-old. He would have been better off taking a gap year, working, and learning more about himself and his interests. He ended up flunking out of college due to some immature decisions, and still hasn't returned to college even though he's almost 24 and was a National Merit Commended student, and had gone to the college of his choice on a virtually full ride.</p>
<p>My oldest son also made some very poor choices early in his college career, which had him on the verge of dismissal, grades-wise. That's one of the reasons I'm wondering whether a gap year might be a good choice for DS#3. DS#1 is still there, and back on track, but his grades will never be what they could/should have been, and playing catchup is no fun.</p>
<p>"should he apply to colleges anyway and then defer his admission for a year if the colleges allow that"
In my opinion Yes. Many colleges willl allow deferred matriculation, and it can be far more difficult to try to get great teachers recommendations if you no longer in daily contact with your teachers. Plus the hassles of trying to apply, especially if you are abroad-filling out the application forms, writing essays, getting transcipts sent from the HS, sending SAT scores, etc.. can really eat into time that was intended to be spent on Gap year activities.</p>
<p>Be very, very sure to choose colleges that state clearly on their website that they will defer admissions. </p>
<p>If the website is silent, call and get a clear answer from the Department of Admissions (not the intended major department, a dean, or any other campus official!).</p>
<p>Some college websites say they'll consider it on a "case by case basis"; others say you must reapply (so that means no deferral or place is held);
others embrace it. Some will honor military service for a gap year, but not travel. Check into each and every college with care.</p>
<p>I understand the dilemma, because you'd think the Gap Year provides some of the most interesting material for considering the applicant. So applying with it only in mind seems like a less exciting application.</p>
<p>A different possibility is to complete all of the applications in the summer after h.s. graduation, then go off to the gap year in September. That depends on when they publish the CA questions, as well as the Supplement questions from some individual colleges. Still, most of the application could be finished at home during summer, to be filed by Mom on Sept. 1 or so.</p>
<p>Trying to write essays from abroad or while involved in the gap year seems very hard to achieve.</p>
<p>My impression is that a favorable gap year would include a project, mission, program that included both academic learning or project production, PLUS the travel or domestic community service that helps a kid gain maturity.</p>
<p>Perhaps if you had the opportunity to fly a kid home from December-Jan for 6 weeks, in the middle of the gap year, there'd be time from home to write applications midway through the gap year.</p>