@momma2a Oh yay! It was seriously the best decision of my life. I was able to really focus on my auditions and its proven to be the most rewarding thing for me. Well senior year I had some health issues so I knew I wasn’t physically strong enough to do my best with auditions, which is why I made the decision early in my senior year to take the year off. I’ve gotten so much stronger physically, and brushed up on my vocal/dance/acting trainingI Also I was able to easily complete my college applications with the mind set of doing just that- no homework or essays to worry about! I devoted all of my time to that for a while. I suggest doing this if u choose to take a gap year, because then u are able to schedule ur auditions and get first dibs! I love sharing my story with people - I actually struggled a lot with stress my junior year and was diagnosed with anorexia. I starved myself because I thought that was the only thing j could control since I was unable to control my stress. It got to a point where I needed treatment so I went through treatment and came out stronger than ever. Senior year, I was still recovering, and knew I needed to be mentally and physically stronger for these auditions. I’m so glad I took the time that I did! I’m all recovered and am grateful for all of the support from my parents and family. I swear it may feel like the wrong decision but it was a risk I knew I NEEDED to take because it was my life and there is no specific or “normal” or “correct” pathway to success or ur future! U need to make decisions that will be in ur best interest and make u the most happy and fulfilled. Do what’s best for u, not what u think is the most “popular” college path! Also, I recommend taking Ballet since it is the foundation of everything. Tap is always a great thing to have in ur back pocket but not imperative. Jazz is also the foundation for all of the choreography I have learned this year at all of the college auditions I have been to.I wish u the best of luck! If u have any questions or want to talk about anything let me know!
But what about the question regarding the difference in scholarship possibilities for students straight out of high school vs those w a gap year? Is it harder for the latter to get good merit scholarships?
I would have conversations with several schools to understand individual policy. Your transcript doesn’t change because you took a year off. Your GPA is the same and your text scores are the same. Colleges want kids who are ready for challenges, and I think most gap years are looked at as a candidate knowing themself well enough to know they need (or want) the time /opportunity for growth to be the best possible college candidate. Showing you used that time wisely shows even more maturity and preparedness for what comes ahead. I think most schools award merit aid to the best of the candidates regardless of if they apply immediately after HS graduation or a few months later.
@choirsandstages from my experience, I actually received MORE money for scholarships awarded when I applied after enior year since all of my grades were sent instead of the first half of the year only. I applied to colleges academimcally as a senior to see where I would be accepted academically, so that is how I use the two scholarship amounts to compare. If you have any other questions, please let me know!
@limbo2019 yes, true that everything remains the same, yet most colleges only receive your HALF YEAR report since you apply to college early December through January. I sent in my FULL YEAR REPORT when I applied this year on my time off. And you are correct- I had more time to solely focus on my applications instead of having to rush when I was a senior in high school. Please let me know if you have any questions!
@broadwaybabyyy Thank you for the info! Just curious, did you use a coaching service during your gap year?
@momma2a yes I did! I could not have done it without them. I used “MTCA”- coaching services loated in nyc, yet they have students from all over the country! It is a collaborative team that rooted for me (and still roots for me) throughout the whole process, and worked with me on choosing my material. They never gave me a ine reading, nor did they ever tell me I was doing something “wrong”. They simply had suggestions, and critiques. They even had a mock audition season, where you would be able to go into the city and go through a NYC UNIFIEDS mock audition the whole day- which was extremely helpful, because I knew what to expect when the real NYC mock auditions came. It was also really nice to have support at every single audition I went to- I aalways saw MTCA students, and we all became a family instantly. They assign you to coaches that meet your personality, and work with you. I even found my voice teacher through them which I now study with. I absolutely love them, and I could not have gotten through the college audition season without their guidance. If you have any questions, please feel me to PM me! I would love to answer them.
Just an fyi Megan Hilty took a gap year or two before going to CMU. If you feel its best for you do it! Her advice was that it wont hurt you, it will only help you be more prepared
@brightstaral - did she take a gap year or did she defer acceptance?
“Hilty was born in Bellevue, Washington on March 29, 1981. Drawn to music at a young age, she explored a career in opera before deciding to pursue musical theatre. After graduating from the Washington Academy of Performing Arts Conservatory High School in Redmond, Washington, she moved to Southern Oregon and spent two years waiting tables and working odd jobs while performing in shows such as Jesus Christ Superstar, Hello Dolly!, and My Fair Lady. She then enrolled in Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she performed in a variety of college and regional productions.”
http://www.rpo.org/s_7/s_290/p_2000/Megan_Hilty/
Sounds like a few gap years.
Also, @momma2a - search @soozievt on these threads and read about her D. She was very young when she entered college and has been quite successful (both in school and beyond). It will give you another perspective.
I’ve mentioned before that 3 of my kids did gap years. None were impacted negatively for merit/need based scholarship offers–they all got strong offers. Many colleges liked that they did the gap year. Their gap year wasn’t fancy. My kids stayed home, and worked real jobs. Depending on the kid, they also acted professionally, semi-professionally, took a couple of community college classes (don’t go over 12 credits if you want to apply as a Freshman), took acting classes, traveled with their own money.
The gap year enhanced their application in multiple ways.
@toowonderful She actually took a couple of years. My daughter & I went to NYC last week. Through a program she was involved in she got to have a Q&A with Ms Hilty and her husband Brian Gallagher. She was making the point that everyone’s path is different. You need to do what’s best for you. She said that those years made her feel better prepared to deal with life on her own because she worked every crappy job known to man and she knew how to balance work, laundry, grocery shopping, finances etc before she applied to Carnegie Mellon. That was what was best for her, everyone needs to follow their own path. She wanted the kids to know that the industry is high pressure enough without adding pressure to yourself to do something you may not be ready to do. It was great to hear. I have a very type A D who puts so much pressure on herself and won’t turn 18 until mid July right before college begins. I hope she heard that the gap year is always an option and that your path can change and it’s ok :). Sometimes it’s better when someone else says it rather than mom LOL.
Sounds like your gap year was such a terrific decision for you! All great programs u auditioned for! Have you decided where u r going yet? My daughter is deciding right now between Montclair, Marymount, and Hartt. Visited campuses this week to shadow MT and acting students. Waitlisted at NYU and Emerson. So hard to decide!!!
@duxellen thank you so much! Congrats to your daughter. What wonderful options she has!!! I have finally made a decision (the decision process is hard!) and I will be attending Point Park University in Pittsburgh! I wish you and your daughter the best of luck. I auditioned for all of the schools that she is considering, and have visited all of the campuses, so if you need any help in the decision process, please let me know! Shoot me a PM or reply below. I’d love to be of assistance!
Welcome to Point Park @broadwaybabyyy! Congratulations on making the final decision.
@connections Could you pm me and could I pick your brain for a bit about Northwestern and gap years?
@lisebet, you only have this one post, so I don’t think I can pm you yet 
But it’s ok to ask in this thread–then other folks can chime in with their own opinions as well!
I would love to hear more about your experience with taking a gap year. I am just starting my senior year and I feel that taking an extra year would be really beneficial to me throughout the entire process. I also think hearing your experience would help with convincing my mom that this is the best option for me.
As I wrote in #4, the gap year experience worked very well for 3 of my kids, two of whom majored in theatre.
We did not do any gap year program. Instead, my kids lived at home, & worked in a ‘regular’ job. One was a diner hostess, one a children’s librarian at the municipal library. (My S’s experience was a bit unique as he was a professional regional theatre actor, & had steady work that year.)
But my D worked as a hostess, auditioned (& landed a few roles), took adult acting classes at the local regional theatre (around $200 for each class), & took a few community college classes to beef up her academic resume. (Don’t do more than 12 credits in community college if you want to go in as a Freshman. And also be aware that BFA programs typically don’t accept many outside credits as transfers.) You can also take more time working on your audition, & hire a coach if you’d like. My D ended up at Northwestern, & my other non theatre D at Williams, so the gap year certainly didn’t hurt their admissions chances. Don’t know if it helped, but it didn’t hurt.
Honestly, before you know it, you’re doing the college audition circuit. It happens very early in your gap year. The pressure of auditioning is a lot less if you do it in a gap year, that’s for sure!
The downsides are: Your parents have to be ok with you living at home, and you do too. I told my kids that working was not optional–they had to work to stay with me. The working was good not just to earn money–they gained important skills, & the colleges even commented on it. The other downside is that you have to be totally ok with it. There’s a lot of bias against it if you’re not doing a ‘program.’ People called my kids ‘dropouts’ & they were also isolated from their friends, all who were away at college. You have to be sure it’s what you want to do. Finally, a lot of people say they’re afraid that once you don’t immediately go to college upon graduating high school, you risk never going–this wasn’t the case at all with my kids, & it’s not the case in Europe where gap years are common. But it’s something you’d know about yourself best.
@connections Thank you so much for your quick response. It really means a lot to hear your input.