Gap Years & Deferral Requests - Educate Me Please

Parent Cafe
1

I have seen a lot of references to “gap years” and to requesting “deferrals” with Fall 2020 semester being such an unknown. What’s the difference in those terms? Why are so many of you posters thinking students should request them?

For Fall 2020, we should have a college freshman, a college sophomore, and a working adult college student with an associates degree beginning her path toward a bachelors. I’m trying to process the current pandemic world we are living in and how it might impact their college decisions. All three should be attending large state universities, if that makes a difference.

2

“Deferral” typically means that an admitted student starts in a later term than which s/he was admitted for. Not all colleges offer that. Those that do not require the student to reapply for the later term.

“Gap year/semester/quarter” is a more general term for any break in planned education, which can be between schools (e.g. between high school and college) or between terms at the same school (e.g. a college student taking a semester off school and then returning). Working to earn money to pay for school is a common gap activity.