I need input on colleges and gap year

Applying to College
1

<p>I'm in sort of an interesting situation. About a month after I sent in all my applications, I decided that I really wanted to take a gap year. I found a great program called "World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms" (WWOOF, for short), where you can travel just about anywhere in the world. In the program, you work for 4-6 hours on the farm in exchange for accommodations and food. You have the rest of the time to explore the local area or just hang out. </p>

<p>Anyways, I decided that I definitely wanted to do this, and I would just defer for a year after being accepted to whichever school I would end up attending. Now that I have all of my decisions (ha! sorta), I'm in a bit of a conundrum. I was accepted at Georgetown, Emory, UChicago, and UPenn; I was waitlisted at Brown and Yale. </p>

<p>I know that admission to Brown and Yale is extremely competitive (heck, admission to all of these schools is competitive), so I'm not too down on myself. However, Brown and Yale were my top choices. Unfortunately, if I get off the waitlist at Brown, I have to matriculate this coming fall. If I get off the waitlist at Yale, I'm pretty sure that I can defer for a year. I really have no preference between the two schools (I love them both, equally), but because I want to take a gap year, I can only pursue Yale. </p>

<p>Here's the problem: I don't know if I would be happy at any of the other schools. I'm not obsessed with the Ivy League or anything like that.. I'm just having trouble picturing myself at the other schools, for a variety of reasons. </p>

<p>The crux of the matter is that I didn't give my college search the proper time that it deserved. Sometimes I was too busy; sometimes I was simply too lazy. Now, I find myself in this undesirable position. I know that all the schools to which I've been accepted are amazing; I just don't know if they are right for me. </p>

<p>So here's my real question: Can I simply not deposit anywhere on May 1 and just apply to other schools next Fall/Winter? Has anyone done this before? What was your experience like? I want to apply to different schools (Pomona, Stanford, Columbia, and others(I'm not getting my heart too set on any one schools, because who knows which schools I'll like in 6 months from now)), but I also might want to reapply to Brown and/or Yale again. Has anyone been accepted to a school a year after being waitlisted? </p>

<p>Sorry for all of the questions and the long post.. I'm just really confused. Any input would be greatly appreciated!</p>

2

<p>Sorry to do this, but bump. Does anyone have any experience relating to this? or any advice at all?</p>

3

<p>Give the choices you have I think it would be silly to turn them all down and then take a gap year and reapply. One big reason that it would be silly is that you’d have to spend a lot of time dealing with college app during your gap year, and that would be a pain.</p>

<p>It would be a crapshoot to get accepted to a school after being waitlisted. I imagine that some people have been, but odds would be against you. </p>

<p>Whether you’re happy at any college depends more on you than on the college that you selected unless the college is quite different from the kind of place that would make you happy. For instance, I have seasonal affective disorder. I would not be happy at U of Alaska. I love urban life and shudder at the thought of living in a very small town or in a rural area. Grinnell is not the place for me. Unless there’s that kind of disparity between what you require and what the colleges that accepted you offer, select one of those colleges to attend.</p>

<p>So, my advice is to pick one of the colleges that accepted you that will allow you to do a gap year. Get on Yale’s waitlist if you confirm that they will allow waitlisted students to take gap years. </p>

<p>Enjoy your gap year.</p>

4

<p>Thanks. I’m going to visit all of my schools before making my decision. It’s hard to discern the difference between not fitting in at a school and simply not liking the school because it was not my first choice (i.e. Yale). </p>

<p>That said, if I find that I do not like any of my schools, I may just apply again in the fall. For some reason, I’m feeling myself pulled towards the west coast…</p>

5

<p>Give yourself the security of enrolling somewhere with a deferral. You can only lose your deposit if you change your mind, and it will take some pressure off.</p>