<p>Hey Guys, I am a rising first year who is considering taking a gap year next year. I'm on the younger end of my class due to my September birthday, plus I really want to take the chance to travel. I was originally considering doing a program called the Seamester which really only offered about 3 classes for credit in a semester. I considered that to be a bit insufficient for my academic-loving self, and thankfully I stumbled across Semester at Sea while looking up info on deferring enrollment. I have a few questions about how I would go about planning next year should I decide to defer. Who would I need talk to about doing that? Would I be allowed to take classes for credit there (perhaps a stupid question, but I want to get AP credit as well and I know some places have a cap on first year credits)? Would any of the classes I take realistically count towards my major? I really want to stay busy with my gap year, so if I'm still able to earn credits I would be even more enthusiastic about the possibility of deferring.
Thanks ahead of time for responding.</p>
<p>I don’t know about the process of deferring at UVA when taking a gap year, but Semester at Sea is considered a semester of university level credit. So, you are enrolled as a full time university student while on the trip earning UVA credit hours. In fact, you can not apply until after you have completed one term of college courses at a college or university. Good option for later down the road, but not as a gap year.</p>
<p>They actually do accept gap year students <a href=“http://www.semesteratsea.org/admission-aid/prospective/gap-year-students”>http://www.semesteratsea.org/admission-aid/prospective/gap-year-students</a> so I would rather do it next year before I start since I want to spend a semester in france later on down the road. </p>
<p>I stand corrected. Looks like a great option for a gap year. The people I know who have done it were current university students at the time. They each loved it though. </p>