<p>I'm new here at CC so forgive me if this is completely the wrong place to put this.
My situation is a little complicated, but here's the condensed version:</p>
<p>I'm thinking of taking a gap year. During the college application process in high school, I slacked off. My essays were just plain awful. Some of them I wrote in an hour and barely revised, and I didn't even ask anyone to go over them. In short, not my best work. Now, as a result, I'm going to a college I don't want to go to at all. </p>
<p>My thinking is that if I take a gap year, I can use that time to make my essays the best that they can be--something I didn't do the first time around--and, of course, do some community service and internships. Also, as I have lived abroad for most of my life, I have not had the opportunity to do typical activities that build maturity--little things, such as getting a driver's license and getting a part-time job--that I feel I would benefit from by taking a gap year. </p>
<p>Should I take a gap year to do this, or would my essays this time around make no difference? Or should I consider transferring after a year? I don't really want to try transfer because acceptance rates for transfer are very, very low. </p>
<p>Well, that's all there is. Any and all input would be priceless.
Thanks (:</p>
<p>A gap year will probably help, but it will not get you into colleges far outside of your league. Your hs GPA and SAT still will apply, only your essays and ECs will be a little bit different. I would see what your parents think, I have some friends who have wanted to do gap years but their parents have flat-out refused. Good luck!</p>
<p>To read CC, you would think essays are a huge part of the decision. This is only the case at very top schools. For most, getting in is all about stats.</p>
<p>I would not count on a gap year getting you into schools you didn’t get into this year. It might, however, give you the opportunity to find a school you’ll like better.</p>
<p>A gap year could be a really good chance to go out and do something special and unique that you can base your essays on, thus improving your essays. But that would only apply if you work hard on those essays.</p>
<p>Taking a gap year is a good decision, if you’d think taking a gap year, and then going to your safety school, would still be worth it. If the whole purpose of the gap year is to try to get into a better college, then I doubt it’ll be worth it. So long as you’ll be happy with whatever the end result of the year is, it’s a good idea.</p>
<p>It’s not likely that the gap year will do much for your essays. It doesn’t take an extra year to have a good essay. Also, it is true that essays don’t count that much when it comes to admission. Grades and scores count far more.</p>
<p>While doing something productive during a gap year probably would make you a stronger applicant, be realistic about this. If, for instance, right now, your reach school would be a place like Syracuse, a gap year isn’t going to put Amherst or Harvard or even U Michigan within reach.</p>
<p>Odds are that you’d be better off going to whatever college you get into this coming year, getting excellent grades there, and then – if you want to – transferring to a more competitive college. Most colleges do accept transfer students.</p>
<p>The gap year’s purpose would be to allow me to grow and thus write more mature, cogent essays. I would most definitely work harder on the essays in this year.
I should probably mention at this point that I am currently going to attend UPenn, but my first choice would probably be Stanford. I think essays are a bit more important for these schools. Don’t get me wrong: I know UPenn is a good school, but the city campus will be difficult for me to adjust to.
Anyways, thanks for the input (:</p>
<p>Will Penn give you a guarunteed admission if you take a gap year? I know some schools do this… and a couple years ago Brown essentially forced some “accepted” students to take a gap year because they accepted too many (talked to one student who did because there was no other way she could go to Brown). If you’re not guaranteed admission next year, it’s a pretty chancy thing. But if you think the growth is worth it, go for it.</p>
<p>“I should probably mention at this point that I am currently going to attend UPenn, but my first choice would probably be Stanford.”</p>
<p>If you’ve been accepted to U Penn, realize that U Penn may not give you a gap year this late in the game. Also, usually when colleges give gap years, it’s with a caveat that one promises to attend their school after the gap year. If that’s what U Penn does and you apply to Stanford anyway, Stanford is likely to reject you or withdraw its acceptance once it finds out you were given a gap year by U Penn (the world of college admissions is very small) and U Penn is likely to withdraw its acceptance.</p>