<p>Parents, I’d love to hear about your kids’ successful (and unsuccessful!) gap year experiences!</p>
<p>I’m a college sophomore (rising junior) who’s planning to take this year off and possibly transfer to a different school for the fall 2009 semester (probably to a school that offers block scheduling). </p>
<p>I know that there are plenty of search engines out there for gap year opportunities, but I’d like to think outside of the box a little bit. I’m skeptical of how meaningful various programs can be if they focus on how much sightseeing the volunteers get to do on the side, plus I don’t have a ton of money to work with. </p>
<p>I’ll probably have to spend some time at home working to save up more money, but I ultimately I want to do meaningful work away from home. The US isn’t out of the question, but I’d prefer to volunteer or work abroad. I’m more interested in somehow making a difference than I am in hiking or sightseeing. I also want to try to integrate myself into a community and get to know people rather than moving around too terribly much. </p>
<p>Also - I’d prefer to use as little parental financial support as possible so that I don’t have to answer to them in terms of what I decide to do. I’ve studied abroad before (high school exchange student in South America), so my parents aren’t THAT uptight about letting me travel, but I don’t know how to convince them that Africa (for example)/ is a safe place to travel/volunteer. Thoughts, parents? </p>
<p>I really appreciate any help you can provide!</p>