Taking a gap year

Applying to College
1

<p>Well, the results are in, and I didn't get in to any of my top schools. Instead of settling, I am strongly considering taking a year off and doing something really amazing, like traveling abroad. But how would I show this when I reapply to college? During the period I am applying, I will hopefully be away from home, but I won't have completed my gap year yet. How do I represent my gap year in my application? Do I have to take 2 years off instead, so I can fully represent the experience?</p>

<p>I'm just not sure whether I want to take time off or if I want to go to state school instead. Here are some pros and cons for each... any advice, please?</p>

<p>Gap Year</p>

<p>Pros:
Would be an amazing experience
I would get to travel, which I love
Hopefully become more fluent in a foreign language
Looks great to college admissions
Gives me some time to reevaluate my goals</p>

<p>Cons:
It means not getting to college this fall
I would be older than the rest of the freshman class
I'm not a very outgoing person... would I fit in?</p>

<p>Going to State School</p>

<p>Pros:
I get to finally attend college, which I've been dreaming of
The school I got in is actually one of the best public universities in the country
My school counselor went to state school for under grad and went to Columbia for grad school
It would be easier for me there, so I could do better</p>

<p>Cons:
At this school, 96% of kids are from my home state
Only 50% on campus
I would be settling for sure
I'm not sure how happy I would be, but I'm sure I could excel
I'm already burned out from school after four years of community college classes (I started at 14)... would I still be burned out here?</p>

2

<p>Over on the parents’ forum there’s some discussion. Why don’t you see what the parents’ experience with this option has gone? Good luck to you.</p>

3

<p>I am in the exact same situation. Im from the UK and have been accepted into all my universities here but I dont really want to go to any of them… I have been rejected from all of the US ones I applied to though.</p>

<p>I am considering taking a gap year but dont really know anything about reapplying… apparently there are low chances of been accepted even if you have improved alot over the year? </p>

<p>I guess you could try and include into your application about your plans for the gap year, for the common app essay maybe you could write about how somebody helped influence your decision on what to do and where to go?</p>

<p>I dont think you should settle though. Even if you didnt get into your fave schools again surely the year wont have been wasted… its all still valuable life experience.</p>

4

<p>A gap year can work really well so long as you do it for the right reasons. And in your pros you list some. The one that doesn’t resonate is: “Looks great to college admissions.” Well it might, especially if you achieve something tangible that may demonstrate increased maturity, or a deeper (but specific and tangible) achievement in some area that impacts your eventual major/career. So some gap year programs may help you in this direction. I sense that you’re looking for less structure than these would provide, and that makes sense.</p>

<p>So what I would encourage you to do is to accept the offer at your State University and see if they would accommodate you in taking a gap year, or perhaps just a gap semester. They may. Then you can focus on that year.</p>

<p>To do the gap year with the uncertainty of “what’s next” means that you’ll repeat the application process. Chances are if you apply to a similar mix of colleges that you’ll get the same result.</p>

5

<p>Where in the parents forum? I can’t find anything, but I would be interested to read it.</p>

<p>If I were to take a gap year and reapply, I would definatly apply to a different mix of schools… I concentrated my applications on a very specific, very competitive set of liberal arts colleges. I wouldn’t do the same thing. I passed over applying to many schools I was interested in because I thought they weren’t at the same level… Basically, I screwed up the process, which is another reason for taking a gap year and starting over. But I’m just not sure. I could go to my state school, SUNY Geneseo, and graduate early with my credits from community college, after working really hard for 2 or 3 years, and look towards great grad school instead. Or I could just take another whack at the college admissions process. But it would really hurt if the same thing happened again.</p>

6

<p>I’m a fan of gap years, but only with a specific goal-to learn more about a potential area of professional interest, to develop a set of skills that you didn’t have time to focus on in school, to live or work in a part of the world that you have a genuine interest in-could potentially be impressive and energizing. To travel for a year and bone up on a language, is just delaying your next phase of life and sounds self-indulgent. So if you do a gap year, make sure you do it for the right reasons with sufficient planning and preparation to get the most out of it. (And think about health insurance and how you will finance it.) There are great programs out there if you do want to go that route.</p>

<p>Would you fit in on campus if you took a year off? Sure. One year is not a big deal.</p>

<p>Right now you are feeling disappointed that you didn’t get into your top choices, but it sounds like you have a great option. Why not revisit the school, look into the courses in more depth, check out the campus overnight and see if there are advantages to attending that you may have overlooked. You may find that its a better option than you initially gave it credit for. You can always transfer after a year, or do a year abroad if the first year isn’t living up to your expectations.</p>

7

<p>First of all, thank you so much for starting this thread. I am definitely considering a gap year, but as a NJ resident, I’ve heard that they’re much more common in the UK so there hasn’t really been anyone to talk to.</p>

<p>I’ll admit, my situation isn’t really the same, but my reasons seem to be. I only applied to 8 schools since I only applied to schools I saw my realistically attending and where I’d be happy. With that said, I was accepted to 'Nova and Rutgers, then waitlisted at WashU, Georgetown, and UPenn. (Let’s not talk about Yale and company, hehe). However, my consideration of a gap year was wayyy before decisions were released yesterday.</p>

<p>The main reason I want to take a gap year is because I want to take a step back from academics (I worked really hard through high school, know that I’ll be in school well into my 30s - possibly early 40s, ahh!, and know there’s a chance I’ll “burn out” freshmen year in college). However, I considered just about EVERY option for a gap year (any combination of the following):

  • Full/part time job(s)
  • Internship (home/abroad)
  • Work/study abroad (either in the sciences - I applied BME to my schools - or cooking)
  • Volunteering at home/abroad
  • City Year</p>

<p>Right now, my top choice is City Year, but only because that’s the only one that’s not $10,000+. I spoke with my parents, and they’re just reminding me that they don’t want my gap year to be a vacation, if I take one. I’m all for doing something really productive with it, but they also said another way to look at it is saving money for college.</p>

<p>As far as applications to schools, each one is different, but the large majority encourage students to take gap years (I know the Ivies are all for it now so that means the other schools will be catching on the trend). However, a huge factor is that scholarships are typically not transferred (the main drawback for me) so you have to reapply for those. For reapplications to schools, I originally intended to work half the year to save up to work/study/travel abroad the second half, BUT my dad said that applications are due by December or so. Therefore, college officers may ask why I took a year off to work at Dunkin’ Donuts or something. In that case, I was going to volunteer abroad FIRST, then pay back whatever with the money I earned the second half of the year.</p>

<p>It’s a really complicated situation - reapplying with a gap year. I know many colleges admire it and look at it as a plus, but of course, that doesn’t guarantee anything. I know I’d hate it if I didn’t defer my acceptance, then got rejected from my top schools {again} the following year. For me, a gap year is more for myself than college apps - I’ve come to realize that you never know what they’re looking for so I’ve stopped trying to mold my actions to college admissions. I think that if you think this through and truly believe a gap year would be beneficial to you, then go for it.</p>

<p>(As a side note, I know SUNY Geneseo may feel like settling, and as cheesy as this is going to sound, I am a huge believer that college is what you make of it. My sister passed up Rice and others for a full ride at Rutgers. And since you’re looking to grad school (like me!), I look at it that I am going to be in school for a LONG time so it can’t hurt to sit back, take my time, and enjoy it while I can.)</p>

<p>Since I rambled a whole lot there (hopefully somewhat helpful), in response to some of the other questions posed, age shouldn’t really be a huge factor. Yes, you’ll be a year behind your friends, but a lot of people say that gap years advance maturity exponentially, if you make the most of it. Personally, I started school a year early so I can’t really comment too much on that, but a lot of people miss the cut off so I’m sure you’ll be just fine and meet lots of nice people wherever/whenever you attend.</p>

<p>And don’t think of it as settling. I know that I have a long way to go through med school and such (aiming for a PhD in neuro-oncology and MD in neurosurgery, then pediatrics, lol) so undergrad is just a step. Not even the most significant, I might add. I know my mentor (interning with him later this year) went to Seton Hall on scholarship in NJ, then Yale for his MD/PhD, then UPenn and… Stanford(?) for fellowship/residency. Plus, I know my doctors always prefer to talk about their big name med schools, haha. Oh, and one more example - my bio teacher went to Rutgers, then Princeton for her PhD.</p>

<p>Oh, and you can also look at it as saving money for 2 years, then transferring to your dream school junior year (it’s easier than transferring sophomore year). For Ivies (if these are your dream schools), their acceptance rates this year were below 10%, but many of them jump to over 20% for junior year transfers. That way, you can graduate undergrad with the “big school” name, like Obama and Occidental/Columbia (every knows him as a Columbia grad).</p>

<p>Wow, sorry for all that - as you can tell, I’ve been considering this for a while). Feel free to read all of it, or none of it, but if you ever have any questions/comments, I’d be glad to talk. Best of luck with your future plans, whichever path you choose!</p>

8

<p>Argh, soooo sorry - this box is tiny so I didn’t get a good idea of JUST how much I wrote. Perhaps I should switch my major to writing… ;)</p>

9

<p>No, that was so helpful! Thanks for you long response. There’s just so much to consider…</p>

<p>I feel like what I said came across wrong. I don’t want to just go vacation in France for a year and then expect to go to an Ivy. I want to go to France and teach kindergarten, or go to Australia to work in marine biology, or head to Nepal and live with a family and experience that lifestyle. I want to do something that pushes me outside of my comfort zone, helps me grow as a person. I want to learn the foreign language as I volunteer building homes in Italy, etc. I found a program with a lot of great options that I am seriously considering.</p>

<p>I did consider transferring, but isn’t it even harder to get in to schools as a transfer student? How would the chances be? I haven’t really thought much about the transfer option though. I’m just afraid I would get “stuck” at a school I don’t love. I am signed up for an overnight at SUNY Geneseo. I could love it there, who knows. And if I went, I would push myself so hard. I would excel there. And if I didn’t study abroad before, I would defiantly study abroad at school. I have heard of people going to maybe not their top choice but then doing a lot better towards graduate school. I am planning to go on to grad school to get my PhD in marine biology, so this could be an option for me.</p>

<p>[Interim</a> Programs - Gap Year, Service Learning and Study Abroad Programs](<a href=“http://www.interimprograms.com/]Interim”>http://www.interimprograms.com/)
That is the program I have been looking out. It was recommended to me by my “counselor” at community college. The sample programs look amazing. Check it out! What is a City Year, though? I haven’t heard of that before.</p>

<p>I don’t mind reapplying. I’ve got the process down, at this point, for better or for worse. But in the application, would I just outline my plans for the gap year? Or how would I represent that? I just don’t really get it… I was thinking I could update my colleges with letters at the end of each semester, but I don’t know if that’s what I should do.</p>

<p>I also feel burnt out. I’ve always been a good student, but lately I’ve developed really really bad study habits. I finish essays at 3 AM or get up early the morning of to knock them out. I study for tests the night before. I actually didn’t finish an essay in time and had to make up an excuse and e-mail it to the professor, something I have never done before. I don’t want to sound arrogant, but it’s so easy for me to do well that I don’t put any effort in to it. I really don’t want to continue this way in 4 year school. I feel like I might need a step back. I took part in a summer internship when I was 16, and I traveled to the Bahamas recently to do marine biology research. Both were some of the best experiences in my life. I think I would love my gap year.</p>

<p>I didn’t mention this before, but I am waitlisted at 3 other schools, Reed, Grinnell, and Colby. I’m just not optimistic. I know the statistics of waitlist students. I’m trying not to get my hopes up. But I still plan to send each school a letter expressing my interest and updating them about what I’ve been doing, and also a recommendation letter from the professor who accompanied me on my Bahamas trip. I will also get in touch with the admissions reps from my area and talk to them on the phone. Is there any other steps I should be taking? It’s an option, but I haven’t given it much thought, probably because I’ll be disappointed again.</p>

10

<p>Good ideas on this post. I second the motion that you should deposit at your top choice that allows you to enroll for the Fall 2011. Most schools allow this. I am not sure about SUNY Geneseo or Rutgers. I know Villanova does not.
It will cost you only a few hundred dollars to have a “sure thing” in hand if you take the gap year. Right now the admissions process is extemely competitive and terriffic students are being rejected by all their top choices. It also is a real crap shoot where less qualified candidates can be admitted over better qualified candidates.
You can always forfeit your deposit if you get into your dream school.
Good luck with your decisions.</p>

11

<p>If I put down a deposit at SUNY Geneseo and then defer, can I choose not to attend next year? I don’t know much about this process.</p>

12

<p>I put a deposit down at a school and then took a gap year while reapplying to other colleges; I believe it’s frowned upon but possible. However, I did let the college in question know that I wasn’t planning to attend before they did the bulk of their admissions work, so I didn’t mess them up and make them hold a spot I wasn’t intending to use.</p>

<p>As for the gap year, from my own and from anecdotal evidence it seems like it doesn’t really help your chances much with admissions - colleges that reject you once are unlikely to change their minds. In my case, I probably doubled my attractiveness on paper between my two application seasons (qualified for USAMO, showed some very strong leadership ability in one extracurricular, and actually found a professional job at another passion of mine that typically requires a college degree to find work. I also hope that I did a better job on my essays). However, I actually did worse in college acceptances during my gap year than I did before it.</p>

<p>Admissions aside, a gap year can be a great growing experience - I think I’ll look back on taking one as a good decision. The worst part is losing the company of people your own age, unless you have lots of friends in lower grades. All that said, good luck with your choice.</p>

13

<p>OP, the Center for Interim Programs (site you linked to) is NOT a gap year program in itself, it’s a consulting service, which will charge you over $2000 to help you figure out what to do with your gap year. I think they also provide some other services and I don’t mean to disparage them; they might be wonderful. However, as the parent of a daughter who took a gap year, I don’t think those services are worth it, esp. with the enormous amount of info available on the internet. Many gap year activities cost a bundle anyway, so be cautious about spending big $$ on a consultant. My D did volunteer teaching in Africa for 6 months through Projects Abroad, after working at various jobs in the fall at home. I agree with those who said forget about how a gap year affects your college applications. If you feel the urge and are lucky enough to have the resources, go for the experience for its own sake while you’re young and unencumbered. By sheer serendipity I wound up working and travelling abroad for 2 years after college and it was one of the most precious and life-altering experiences I could have had (perspective of age fiftysomething talking). By the way, SUNY Geneseo is a very difficult school to get into, as I’m sure you know. If you were accepted there, don’t worry about your academic pedigree.</p>

14

<p>Lisa- Thanks for the info, good to know. I don’t really know too much at this point, so I assumed that the program costs would be worth it. I’m glad that I don’t have to pay that extra-- I would prefer to find my own path if possible.</p>

15

<p>If you want to search the parents forum, go to “advanced search”, put in “gap year” (titles only) and you can pick the parents forum only if you like. There are pages and pages, and you’ll probably find some good ideas. Good luck!</p>

16

<p>

There’s room to doubt whether this would help you. First of all, the gap year will mainly boost your app in the area of ECs and personal characteristics (maturity, etc). However if the schools denied you because of your test scores, rigor of the classes you took, or grades, etc – this will not change with the gap year. So you should start by having your HS counselor call the schools you are considering and find out what they saw as the weaknesses in your app compared to those they accepted. Colleges will often be forthcoming to guidance counselors.</p>

<p>Second, keep in mind apps are due in December and you don’t graduate until June. So much of what you’ll gain by the gap year won’t be completed (or known) by the time you resubmit your apps.</p>

17

<p>Take a look at The Gap Year Advantage by Haigler and Nelson. It’s a great resourse for those thinking about a gap year, as well as practical information about how to make it happen.</p>

18

<p>I feel like my academics were strong, but it was my ECs that were lacking… I didn’t know that colleges would talk to my guidance counselor about that. I will definitely have her call.</p>