*Guide for Gap-Year Planners*

Applying to College
1

This is a short (maybe not that short) comprehensive guide to those applicants who are thinking of taking a gap-year. I myself am in a gap-year (Graduated HS 06/2014 and will start fall semester at a college 09/2015). Hopefully the advice I have will help you make a decision whether to take a gap-year or not.

Take a look at this year’s (2014-2015) specific gap-year thread:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/non-traditional-students/1680905-gap-year-thread.html

I acknowledge that taking a gap-year is a significant decision you have to make that may impact those around you and obviously your very own self. But with a significant decision comes a significant cost relative to your decision. Let me point out some of the things that I have learned while doing a gap-year, what I could have done better, and what will happen in the distant future.

1. Take a gap-year ONLY and ONLY IF you have to.
I had personal issues regarding finance (for college) and my status, which almost forced me and my family to make that tough decision. Yes, it was difficult to see my friends go away and enjoy their college experiences while I had no specific plan for my gap-year. Although I managed to shuffle around getting an internship position at two places, tutor, and other minor things, note that these things came AFTER my decision to take a gap-year.

If you do NOT have a plan for your gap-year and do NOT have any special circumstances (health issues, financial issues etc), do NOT take it. You will lose a valuable year of your life you are not getting back. Only pursue a gap-year if you have specific, GUARANTEED plan.

Colleges will ask you on the Common Application what you have done during your gap-year and some may even ask for proof of your activities during your gap-year (although this is rare). If you have been accepted to a college - despite it being not your “dream”, but nevertheless a college – enroll there, do your very best, and pursue Masters or PhD at selective institutions. May I be the one to remind you that if you are pursuing a professional degree, Masters or Doctorate will be your lifeline, NOT your undergrad.

2. Gap-year is NOT for everyone!
Echoing my advice from #1, you need to have a plan. If you know that you will most likely waste the year for no guarantee, gap-year may not be for you. Also, many students have the personality to make a “gap-year” into “gap-three-and-a-half-year”. You may be certain that you will pursue higher education right now. However, know that many things may change over the course of a year and alter your original plan.

Stay safe and enroll for the fall semester.

3. Gap-year may be a significant risk
Many times (here on CC or otherwise) I see students wishing to take a gap-year simply for one and one reason only. You are correct – they did not make it to their “dream” school. I want to take this moment to highlight why this is a bad choice and what are some very possible consequences:

First, there is absolutely NO guarantee that the schools which rejected you this year will accept you next year. Yes, there are certain cases (as for myself), but 9/10 times, the schools will hold to their decision stare decisis. Thinking that raise from ACT score of 32 to a 34 is a golden ticket guaranteeing you to your dream next year is a HUGE mistake. If you are thinking about taking a gap-year purely for this reason, I implore you to reevaluate your options as you may waste a year and have no place come next fall.

Second, although this may be rare, many students may walk down the path of darkness whilst in their gap-year. If you know that you can’t focus on your goals and get sidetracked a lot, having a lot of free time is detrimental to your future. Many things can happen in one year, things good or bad. If you have a history of breaking school or community standards, please think about your choice and your future.

I have pointed out reasons why students shouldn’t take a gap year. However, there are many great reasons to take a gap-year. Most common reasons include exploring the world and deepening one’s wisdom, maturing, and perfecting time-management. However, I believe that the potential losses and risks outweigh the potential gains from taking a gap-year. If I had a choice, I would only take a gap-year if and only if I had a place reserved for me next fall semester AND if I had a specific, guaranteed plan. Of course, I leave the calculations and interpretations up to you.

I will be enrolling in a 4-year college in the coming days. The gap-year has proven itself to be a success for me and other students in the gap-year thread I linked above. I realize it is counter-intuitive to advise the opposite of my personal success, but I have seen and heard so many stories of “gap-year gone wrong”, I can’t help but to clarify the risks involved.

Please ask any question that you may have regarding taking a gap-year.

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Thanks for the info! I should add that it really does depend on the individual student. My younger son got scholarships at a couple of schools, but he KNEW he wasn’t ready for college. It would have been a disaster. He was struggling with bipolar disorder, ADHD, and general apathy. So he joined up with a Christian organization and spent two months in Jordan. Then he took a SECOND gap year (gasp) and spent two months in Lebanon. During this time, he has lost 100 pounds and realized his true passion - helping people in the Middle East. He will still go to college, but now that he has a life purpose, he will study harder and thrive. Oh, and he was able to get off all meds for bipolar disorder! He is truly a happy person now.

If we had insisted that he not take a gap year, I can’t even bear to think about what would have happened.

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@MaineLonghorn‌ Thanks for your input! As I said in my post, health issues pose a greater reason to take a gap-year. I’m happy for your son and even happier that he will pursue something he is passionate about!

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The idea of a gap year is for someone to have experiential learning and growth outside of the classroom. Life is not a race.

Frequently on college confidential, people throw around the gap year term for regrouping after being disappointed with their college admissions. That’s fine and an option if well thought out. But don’t forget, there are other reasons to do a gap year which hit more at the original target of the concept of what a gap year is intended to be.

5

There’s nothing wrong with taking a gap year. You’re not “losing” a year; it’s still yours to use however you want. There’s no rule that you have to go to college directly out of high school. Students need to do what’s right for them.

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Perhaps @Anduar3‌ and @dancingwriter‌ can give valuable insights.

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Perhaps a gap year was not the best decision for you. However, this is a highly personal decision. Its effectiveness varies greatly from person to person. Do not discourage someone from taking a gap year simply because it was not ideal for you.

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@Qwerty568‌

Maybe you didn’t read the line that said:

I am grateful of the choices of the colleges I have after my gap-year, including Duke, Carnegie Mellon SCS, Georgetown, and UMich. Like other posters said, gap-year’s worth is determined by every individual. This is my personal view, and you should always take opinions with a grain of salt.

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Re #3 #4 #6

Probably the intent of the first post was to discourage gap years for the wrong reasons, like reapplying to a reach school that rejected you.

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@viphan‌, damn I wish we had a guide like this. Hopefully we can this stickied by a moderator.

Most of what I will say, echoes the views of the previous posters, but what I can say is that taking a gap year has truly been a transformative experience, but it wasn’t without its challenges. I took my gap year due to financial reasons and in that time, I traveled with a group of doctors to Haiti for a few months, then I tutored for a while in the US. Finally I was fortunate enough to get a research assistant position at Columbia and NYU. Nothing except the trip was planned and for the longest while I didn’t know what to do with my time, so planning is key.

Quick side note for those looking to go on a gap year just to reapply to top schools, keep in mind that they’ll expect you to make the most of your time off. So watching tv or doing things that could have easily been done while in school isn’t really impressive or worthy of taking time off. So just make sure you have a well thought out plan for your year. There are several programs you can do for free like those by Americorps.