<p>so i'm taking one..anyone got some specific tips about applying after a gap year?
like should my GC mention this? state any motive why i'm taking the year off?
what about the mid-year report, do i still send one?</p>
<p>If you are taking a gap year, IMO, the best time to apply would be next year. That way, your application would reflect what you've done on your gap year. Colleges are very impressed by students who do something productive during gap years. </p>
<p>For example, you could do Americorps during your gap year (something my S is doing) or you could work fulltime in a paid job (any job could give you skills that would impress colleges) or you could do something like an immersion foreign language program abroad.</p>
<p>I think it's better to apply to colleges during your gap year because your gap year will change you and teach you a lot about yourself and the world. A college that you loved before going on your gap year may not be what you want after you've experienced a gap year. </p>
<p>If, however, you decide to apply to colleges now, after you've chosen what college's acceptance to accept, then you ask the college for permission to take a gap year. You don't tell them your plans when you apply.</p>
<p>In general, you can't put several colleges on hold this way: You can only accept one college's offer, and that offer usually is contingent on your promising to attend that college after your gap year is over.</p>
<p>The problem is that i'm taking a year because of personal issues (family related) combined with the fact that i really want to go study in the us (i'm from yurp) and enrolling here at college would oblige me to apply as transfer (and that really sucks for fin aid seeking intls)
Taking two gap years as you suggest (applying after one year) is pretty risky. If i don't get any acceptances it equals to two years lost. Sure maybe i'd get a job and a few bucks...but career-wise it's a really bad move.
I heard about quite a few who succeeded with applying in the start of their gap year (mostly ED, like i'm trying now at Brown).</p>
<p>Of course, this gap-year will be anything but a "gap". I'm taking a lot of college courses to keep my brain from rotting, a decent full-time job (which i already started early this summer), assistant teacher at my former HS, plus some volunteer work.
Since i don't really have where to explain what i'll be doing this year, i thought i'd ask my GC to write about it. But should she say WHY i'm taking this gap thingy? Is “personal/family reasons” enough, or should she (or I) include a more detailed explanation?</p>
<p>I don't think it's a good idea to put in your app that you plan to take a gap year. Instead, get your college acceptances, pick a college, and then ask that college if you can take a gap year. Usually U.S. colleges --particularly elite ones -- allow gap years as long as the student has a reasonable reason for wanting one, and has a plan to do something productive, not sit around and vegetate.</p>
<p>No, you see...i already started my gap year :P
I graduated HS in july</p>
<p>Oh, sorry, I get it.</p>
<p>The college probably just needs a transcript of your high school record. Check with the colleges, however, to make sure.</p>
<p>I think that you should also write something explaining why you took a gap and what you're doing on your gap year. This may be what you focus your essays on. You also may want to include a supplemental or regular recommendation from someone whom you're taking a course with now. Indeed, the colleges may prefer a recommendation from your current professors, not your h.s. teachers. Ask the colleges.</p>
<p>Ask the colleges for specifics since they may differ on what they need from students in your situation, and no matter how well meaning people are here on this site, we don't know what each college requires.</p>
<p>Make sure that the # of courses that you take now does not prevent your entering as a freshman. Check with the colleges about this. When my S checked with colleges, they told him that he could take up to 4 courses during his gap year, but for all I know, colleges' rules on this may differ.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>ya, I guess checking with the colleges is the best plan
thx</p>
<p>Well, i emailed Brown, and they told me to either address the issue in my essay, or write an extra letter.
Anyone got some experience with these things?</p>
<p>Basically my reason for taking a year off was to help my folks take care of grandma who suffered a stroke and moved in. I also got a job to help a bit with the cash (we're pretty low income). Would it be appropriate to attach some form of medical certification regarding my grandmother's health?
I have no idea if I should. Maybe sending them a whole bunch of officially translated documents may seem over-doing it.
(just like writing the personal essay about your dog's death, and attaching a death certificate to prove it)</p>
<p>Don't send certificates. Just follow their advice and write the essay or letter about your gap year. The most important thing in the essay/letter is not the reason for the year, but what you did in it and how the experience affected you.</p>
<p>A gap year isn't something to be ashamed of in the U.S. As long as you did something productive during it (like you are), it's considered an asset.</p>