However, unless you know the policy of every possible college that you may want to apply to, being “safe” means following the most restrictive possible policy to ensure frosh applicant status, which is not enrolling in any college courses after high school graduation.
^ As discussed, NOT by taking community college classes.
@CheddarcheeseMN, again, that depends.
For someone who expects to be full-pay and doesn’t need merit money, CC is fine and may even save some money if credit can be transferred over.
But that would not be a gap year; it would be committing to the transfer pathway. That can be a perfectly good option, though it seems like many on these forums consider that a let down for a student expecting to go to a highly selective residential college.
I don’t know the kid and family, but assuming that he wants to attend a pretty competitive school (based upon his original set of applications), he is better off taking a gap year if he starts out with a more realistic plan about where to apply (the recommended mix of applying to a more typical mix of reach, match, safeties) than just applying to those schools still accepting kids.
@ScholarGrade, as you point out, a gap year can be used really well. In my son’s gap year, in addition to taking SATs/ACTs, applying to 15 colleges, and having a fairly difficult surgery, he spent his time co-authoring a young adult novel, campaigning in New Hampshire for Obama in Obama’s first election, getting coaching on reading (he was/is really dyslexic), helping a university professor with research on dyslexia, coaching HS Moot Court competitions, and a few other things I can’t remember. One hard thing was that most of his friends went off to college, so it was a bit lonelier. We’re in the Boston area so lots of schools are not that far a drive for us, so he spent time visiting friends over some weekends. I think he was a better candidate in his gap year than he would have been the year before.
Although my son was paid a little bit on the research job, I think, money wasn’t a big issue for us. If it were (and I didn’t get that sense from the OP’s posts), the OP’s son could take a job to cover his incremental costs.
@PurpleTitan, do the CC data folks have data comparing the probability of getting in via transfer to the probability of freshman admissions? Also, does that probability decline if the transfer is from a CC rather than from Penn to Wesleyan or Kenyon to Harvard?
He can only apply to one ED (may be two if considering ED2). If he barely made the deadline, it is not likely that he applied to EA to Al those reach schools. Most of RD admission of “reach” schools have not been announced yet. How do you know he would not be accepted?
@shawbridge is correct on many points. We do not intend to chase after colleges just because they still have admissions open, nor do we plan to throw money at schools to try and gain favor. A well-planned gap year is looking like the most beneficial of options and might even change his opinions on his intended major or career choice. A combination of work/apprenticeship or interning at a company in his field of interest, self-study or even auditing classes he’d planned to take (not for credit), volunteer work, etc.
Is your kiddo certified to ref hockey? We know a kid who made a TON of money as a hockey referee. He did it in the summers, over all school breaks, and even while he was in college. He is also a huge hockey fan. The youth league was always looking for folks to ref. He also did club hockey ref in college.
In addition, he was sometimes hired as a rink supervisor for events.
Just a thought.
@thumper1 - my boys are both getting certified this spring. A bunch of their friends ref and they make a ton of money. Can be as much as $50 a game. Most leagues are always looking for new refs. It’s a great way to secure a PT job wherever a student lands.
@shawbridge: “Also, does that probability decline if the transfer is from a CC rather than from Penn to Wesleyan or Kenyon to Harvard”
Or possibly increase. Many publics (including top ones like Cal/UMich/UVa/UCLA) favor their in-state CC applicants. So do some of the Cornell contract colleges with CC’s they have articulation agreements with. I believe most of Stanford’s successful transfers are also from CC’s (though I’m sure they typically have pretty compelling stories).
@PurpleTitan, I know someone who transferred from a California CC to Stanford. Exceptional woman. Amazing story. Beyond compelling. That is only one data point. I do remember a couple of Harvard transfers from other colleges, not CCs.
Ever think of a year in Europe? or another country? Would make him stand out and give him some time to consider what he’d like to do. There are so many programs. My advice would be to do a program that is local not one run by an American organization. Really stepping into another culture is worthwhile. Attending a program run for Americans is not the same thing. Also, make sure he is the type to learn the language and culture. Or even learning something unusual
I love the idea of a gap year.
Just remember…he will need to submit his applications and financial aid applications in late fall. NOT a year from now! The financial aid applications and college admissions applications should be submitted ASAP after they are available. Especially with this kid…who procrastinated his application time away…I would want this all done before November 1. In addition, there are some colleges with great merit aid but applications must be submitted early…some as early as November 15.
Would this parent want to reward his kid with an expensive year in Europe. Sure some programs are less costly than others.
In addition, I wouldn’t take it on faith that his college applications would get submitted…on time…while he is in Europe. I mean seriously…he did them at the last minute while living at home…so this time, as a parent, I would want to keep a much closer eye on his application process.
And he won’t have a HS guidance person nudging hm either.
Just going on some program to Europe isn’t a tip. There’d need to be meaning that matters to colleges. The more impressive programs have a competitive application process.
His selected major is mechanical engineering and he also wants to study astrophysics/astronomy. His “dream” job would be to create tools/devices for the aerospace and future space travel industries. HOWEVER - he was never involved in any of these related clubs or activities during high school so he’s never had any true exposure to what he THINKS he wants to study. If he takes a gap year, I would encourage him to find an internship/part time job (even sweeping floors and getting coffee) at a company in these industries. There are also local chapters of Engineering and Astronomy associations that he could join. There is every possibility that he could either decide that his major wasn’t quite what he wanted - or he could fine tune his direction and really have a better idea of what he wants to pursue. We live in a city where all of these things are available so he could live at home. As for a year in Europe, I don’t think that would benefit him for a gap year - we travel extensively anyway so he has seen many different cultures and has traveled on his own quite a bit. But I would definitely consider a short-term trip if it was part of an event that was tied to the goal of the gap year - perhaps attending a world-wide convention on space travel and technology in Munich (for example!) I would also encourage him to incorporate volunteer efforts as part of the plan. We would restart the application process with a much larger and more comprehensive list of schools - and submissions would be well before the deadlines and Early Decision whenever possible! I also would encourage him to speak directly with admissions counselors early in the process to find out their suggestions regarding gap years.
I think you get it. Best wishes.
UMD’s engineering and astrophysics departments are quite good (and engineering is a very competitive admit). Your S has the stats, and it’s a large enough school that there should be club hockey. NOTE: Deadline for major merit $$ awards and Honors program is November 1st. (Check the website – they changed it from 12/1 to 11/1 during my S2’s senior year – and they announced it at the end of September. Drove the kids, rec writers and counselors NUTS.) They take that date and the application process seriously.
One of my kids knows someone with stellar numbers who sent them an app in Feb assuming that of course the school would offer merit and honors, and the kid was outright rejected.
OP, love your plan. Hope your S sees that this may wind up being a blessing in disguise! I wish my younger S had taken a gap year. It would have done him a world of good and enabled him to get more out of college. Advice to your S: if he takes the gap year, he should keep his calc and physics skills fresh.
@hockeymom2000 University of Arizona is great for both engineering and astronomy. ASU is also great for those plus spacecraft engineering (the earth and space program hired away engineers from Raytheon and they make spacecraft instruments on campus with engineering students and faculty). I’m just not familiar with the hockey situation in Arizona!
Both of these schools give merit aid to high stats kids and might accept a last minute application.
Posters often mention saving money for grad school, but unless you are in med school or law school, many, many graduate programs will be fully funded. S is currently finishing his Master’s in Psychology (fully funded) and will start his PhD in Psychology in the Fall, also fully funded. We paid for his undergrad, but he’s covering graduate school on his own labor.
The “how much does grad school cost?” question is usually answered by:
- PhD programs worth attending should be funded (tuition waiver + living expense stipend, often in exchange for being a TA). However, stipends and cost of living may vary, so if the school's stipend is stingy relative to the cost of living, the student may find a small amount of extra money to be more comfortable to live on.
- Professional programs (including MD, JD, MBA) are typically expensive, although some which are earned part-time while working may be partially or fully paid for by one's employer.