<p>I know there must be info here about the decision to take a gap year, how it affected college acceptance/performance, etc. and what opportunities were available during the year, but I can't seem to find anything. The search engine won't even let me search the term. DD, class of 2010, has a late summer birthday and might not be ready for college in a year and a half. Any suggestions? Thanks.</p>
<p>Hi--My son is now a junior at Brown U and took a gap year between high school and college. But, he did it after he had been accepted into college and then asked for a deferral. Colleges tend to love this, and he got enthusiastic reactions from every school he asked about this. He enrolled in the Oxford Tutorial College in Oxford England for one three-month term from September to December. This was done mostly for the opportunity to travel in Europe, not so much for the academics. Several American students in the program with him at the time were students who were planning to apply to college that year, had graduated from American high school but did not feel ready to apply to college. OTC kind of exists to help kids get a little more under their belts to make them feel ready for college; they have a full range of academics and include an internship in their program for each student. </p>
<p>Then, in the Spring, he spent a month in Ghana studying with a master drum carver. Wonderful experience. He now TA's African drumming! Anyway, the year off was only positive for him, so I would think that a kid who was too young for college would benefit from it, too. He started college a little more mature and with a broader perspective. </p>
<p>Gap year programs are easy to research online.</p>
<p>Don't know why the format of my post got screwy! I tried to edit it, but couldn't.</p>
<p>The timeline followed by Jazzmomm's son -- i.e., going through the normal college admissions process as a high school senior and then requesting a one-year deferral before matriculation -- is not at all uncommon. It works best if your student is a strong candidate and has a well-chosen set of target schools, so that he/she has a good chance of getting accepted.</p>
<p>On the other hand, some students really do need more time to develop their credentials and make themselves truly competitive for the particular colleges they are aiming for. This seems to be especially true in the arts (both visual and performing) where an extra year of intense focus before applying can greatly enhance their art portfolios or their performance skills. The application process becomes a little trickier this way because the student has already graduated from high school and may not have easy access to former teachers and guidance counselors for letters of recommendations, but it is certainly doable with adequate preparation and discipline. There are several people who post regularly on CC that have used this approach (or have had children who did) and I hope they will also post on this thread and give their feedback to you.</p>
<p>The first is a musical gap year thread
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/345925-musical-gap-year.html?highlight=year%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/345925-musical-gap-year.html?highlight=year</a></p>
<p>This one is first semester slump/blues
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/409556-freshman-year-blues.html?highlight=year%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/409556-freshman-year-blues.html?highlight=year</a></p>
<p>Hope they help.</p>
<p>I know two kids who were rejected everywhere, and did gap years and reapplied. Both did phenomenally well with acceptances the second time around. They both built interesting experiences into that year off, and applied more seriously and sensibly.</p>
<p>For regular college admission, you can be accepted and defer for a year, like Jazzmomm's son. For music, usually you can't defer, so if you are accepted at a conservatory or audition program School of Music, usually you have to go that year (since acceptances year to year are so instrument specific).</p>
<p>Gap years for growing musicians could be a really good thing, if they need another year to develop their craft and practice a great deal.</p>
<p>Artfulmom, I did the same search on gap years last year. My son was trying to do a gap year singing in the UK. As it turns out, the school he chose to attend--Northwestern University, Bienen School of Music, strongly discouraged a gap year. Things can change with a voice over a year, and perhaps they were concerned. He then found a gap position singing and helping with boys with a choir in NYC for the second quarter (Jan/Feb/Mar) but there were so many impediments--he'd lose his room, would have to store his stuff, would have to take another quarter after his four years because he's required to have voice lessons and ensemble every quarter--that he reluctantly decided that he could not do it. As it turns out, he is incredibly happy at Northwestern and would have been really sorry to leave his dorm and roommate. So much for a gap! But it could have been a lovely year, who knows?</p>