<p>How does gap year work exactly? Im a senior considering taking one year off before going to the college partly due to my family's finacial situation and partly because of my unsatisfactory grade to get into college I want to attend. My parents are starting a new business this year that might need my help and I will seriously need to get a full scholarship to go to any college. So my plan is that I might be working and studying during one year and apply for a full ride with a higher SAT score and all that.</p>
<p>Does taking a year off affect my admission later? How hard is it to get accepted? Is gap year common? Do I get disadvantaged from the competition with other students who are a year younger than me? </p>
<p>Would it be better if I just go to a relatively easier college and then transfer? -which one is harder to do? (for example, transfering from Berea college to JHU or just applying to JHU next year) BTW, Im planning on going to the med. school...</p>
<p>If I choose to take a year off, what's the process i need to take?
Teacher recommendation and GPA... Are they still valid a year after?
Any general advice you guys want to give me? Thank you tons :-0</p>
<p>essentially, it matters most what you spend the year doing</p>
<p>if you are working, feeding hungry, doing research, hiking the appalachian trail, climbing everest. these things are a plus.</p>
<p>sitting around and doing nothing....not such a hot way to spend a year (at least in the eyes of the college)</p>
<p>your situation is understandable, and will probably make you a stronger candidate in one year, because it shows maturity, responsibility, and that you aren't privileged.</p>
<p>Yup, I'll be doing some meaningful things and not wasting my time.
Could anyone give me some advice about the admission process for gappers?
Cuz Im scared i'm not taking the usual way like my friends and might get lost and never ever be able to attend college. What am I supposed to do to apply college after a year?</p>
<p>one thing you might consider doing is applying, and deferring admission.</p>
<p>this way, you know you have a place to go after the gap, and you can also reapply to other places.</p>
<p>kind of like the best of both worlds. </p>
<p>all the GC recs, GPA and everything carry over just fine</p>
<p>OOOooooohhhhh, justs another question, can studying for AP classes by my own during one year and taking AP tests to get college credits be a good idea? I am taking mostly IB classes in my high school but not an IB diploma candidate.</p>
<p>ooo you should go volunteer in a foreign country..those are so cool...a lot of them require money though (yea i know..pay so we can volunteer? ***?) so i duno...but good luck!</p>
<p>Would it be better if I just go to a relatively easier college and then transfer? -which one is harder to do? (for example, transfering from Berea college to JHU or just applying to JHU next year) BTW, Im planning on going to the med. school...</p>
<p>if u self studied for AP's, and were successful on them during your gap year.....well actually, by the time you got results, you would already be into college. But the initiative would look nice.</p>
<p>it all depends on what you plan on doing if you take the year off. my boyfriend was going to do that, but then he realized he would sit around the house all day so he's going to CSUN instead. if you decide to go to a relatively easier college though, pick one that has a good transfer rate.</p>
<p>and colleges look at essays and GPA more than SATs....although improving SAT scores would be nice though.</p>
<p>also, remember privates give crazy financial aid. i'm sure if you tell them about your family starting a new business and everything they'll give you more money.</p>
<p>I'm taking a gap year next year to live in Germany or Austria (still haven't decided which!) so I thought I'd tell you what I'm doing.</p>
<p>I am applying to 10 schools, and all of them allow me to defer admission for a year. The only exception is I'm applying to University of Washington-Honors and although the Honors program will defer me, I will have to reapply to UW, but I'm not too worried, I think I'm just gonna use the same app, if I decide to go there.
I wrote to all the schools I'm applying to to ask about it, and I was told that it is easier to apply now, when you're around everything you need. Also, you can apply for financial aid and see what type of package you would get for the next year, provided your situation doesn't change very much.</p>
<p>It might be useful for you, if you want to attend a private college, to apply now (it sounds like you might be able to use a fee waiver so it wouldn't cost anything) and see what your financial aid package is--you might even be able to go this year, if you wanted!</p>
<p>Your situation is a lot different from mine, as I am applying right now (2 due tomorrow actually!) but I can definitely relate. Actually, for me, applying now is actually a bit of a bad thing because I am applying for a ton of scholarships, but for many, they are only valid for the 2006-2007 year, but I am trying anyway in case my plans don't go through.</p>
<p>I hope everything works out for you, I'm really excited for my gap year!!!</p>
<p>If you choose to defer one year in college you've got accepted, don't you still need to pay for tuition for first semester to confirm that you're gonna attend the school next year? I donno, I've heard it from somewhere.</p>
<p>@estrella which applications due tommorrow</p>
<p>before you waste any time self-studying AP in a gap year, double check with the college board. I emailed them and was told that AP tests are only for high school students and that they were not available for students that had already graduated high school. you might not be eligible to take the tests. CLEP tests are an alternative to get some additional college credits, but not necessarily looked well upon by selective schools</p>
<p>I'm gapping this year...taking 2 APs online (Calc BC and Macro & Micro econ) and self-study Physics C (both parts). I think it looks good on a gap-year app. </p>
<p>btw my SATs are sub-par (between 670 and 750) and am aiming for HYPSM. I got rejected by Cornell, Dartmouth and Princeton last year and applied ED Princeton. would they place as much emphasis on SATs in a gap year?</p>
<p>My Claremont McKenna and also UW Honors apps are due today. I have to mail the UW Honors one so I have to write my essays in the next 3 hours, oh well.</p>
<p>I don't think you have to pay a semester's tuition, I believe you have to make a deposit (like everyone does) by May 1st and notify them before that of your decision. At least at all the schools I'm applying to, that's the case.</p>