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.