The Gap Year In College Admissions

Applying to College
1

<p>Hello! I'm currently a graduating high school senior, and up until today I thought I would be attending either UC Berkeley or Columbia (waitlisted) in the fall. So I just got word of an amazing volunteer opportunity - in light of the recent disaster in Japan, my school has pledged to sponsor a Japanese school that was destroyed by the earthquake/tsunami, and will be directing its funds to that specific school as such. I recently found out that since everything is pretty much a huge mess right now, they have spots open for new teachers. I was approached by one of the faculty at school earlier today and was asked if I would be interested in serving as a foreign language teacher at this school for a year (I'm certifiably fluent in five languages, and I made it a point to emphasize my interest/talent in this area on my college applications). After thinking about it more closely, I realized that this would be a HUGE benefit to me and the kids I'd potentially be teaching. I'm already younger than most seniors to begin with (I'm graduating from high school at 16), so taking a year off would actually put me on equal footing with most other incoming college freshmen age-wise. Plus, I'd get to learn Japanese, have an AMAZING community service experience by participating in the disaster relief efforts, actually have a secure, paid job from the Japanese government, get to use my other language skills in a much more practical way, and potentially get to re-apply to colleges again next year. This last point brings me to my question. I know both Berkeley and Columbia are great schools, but my dilemma with Berkeley was that it would cost $50K in tuition per year for my family, and I highly doubt I will get off the waitlist at Columbia. In the interest of minimizing debt for myself, I entered the college admissions process hoping to get into a school that would offer me good financial aid as a non-U.S. citizen (namely HYP and a few others), but obviously that didn't work out. </p>

<p>I know many schools have encouraged taking a gap year, but that advice is generally only for students who were already accepted at the schools in question, and not for those who were re-applying. My purpose of potentially taking the next year off is not primarily to just wait around for another chance to re-apply; it's because this opportunity seems like a wonderful learning experience for me, and even if I were to be rejected by the Ivies a second time, I wouldn't want to give it up. I've already browsed this site and read a lot about how most people who re-apply after gap years still don't make the cut. So here's the question: will my situation be any different? I don't dare to think that this experience will give me a better chance at the Ivies since they are so unpredictable in their admissions, but I'm just trying to be realistic so I know roughly what to expect after re-applying. My objective academic stats were fairly solid (3.8 cumulative UW GPA, 2350 SAT I, 750/790/800/800/790 SAT IIs), so I don't think I was being totally unrealistic when I applied to the Ivies in the first place. </p>

<p>P.S. Another part of the reason why I'm seriously considering this is for health-related issues. I had a generally stressful experience in high school since I attended 3 different schools (and a number of other reasons which I won't go into too much detail here), and have recently been experiencing migraine headaches and dizziness on an increasingly frequent basis. I'm hoping that I can also use this year to recover, since I won't have as much academic-related stress.</p>

2

<p>Last year, I was in a similar position as the one you are in now. I had the stats, but as with most qualified applicants, was denied from all my reach schools. As with your case, the one remotely desirable school to which I was accepted (UVA) did not give any financial aid to non-US residents, so I took a year off. Having read stories of unsuccessful re-applications, I was just about to “move on” (as most would put it, but I felt like that was giving up), but upon reflection, I couldn’t come up with a reason not to re-apply (I wasn’t as devastated as I thought I would be when I was first rejected, so I figured it wouldn’t phase me too much to be rejected a second time). During that year, I traveled, worked at a non-profit organization for at-risk children and aboriginal youth, and picked up some interesting hobbies that I would otherwise not have had the time for. Meanwhile, I kept in touch with my teachers from my senior year and my guidance counselor and secured their agreement to support me in re-applying (early decision) to Penn. Thankfully, I was accepted and they are covering about 90% of my fees in financial aid.</p>

<p>It is possible to be admitted on second try. It worked for me. It sounds like you have an exciting option (I would take a year off to do that even if I were accepted!), and I would pursue it if I were you. My only advice is for you to narrow your search during your year off and to apply to a school early decision. In retrospect, I feel like applying ED to a school increases your chances on two levels: first, it is statistically easier (though some would argue this), and second, applying ED forces you to familiarize and direct your efforts into that one school much more than you would during RD, which often translates into a more compelling application.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for your answer! I’m glad to know that there’s someone out there who’s successfully re-applied. But what if I’m not dead set enough on any one school that I want to apply to it ED? Of all the Ivies with ED programs (namely Columbia, Brown, Penn, Cornell, and Dartmouth), I can’t think of one I like so much that I’d want to commit immediately to it. Also, I’m thinking of submitting my application a bit later so that I could potentially get new recommendations from other people (perhaps the supervisor at the school or someone in charge of the relief efforts… no idea at this point), as well as write new essays and think about new ways in which I can portray my achievements to date. So I will most likely end up applying to all of them RD. I appreciate your comments, though!</p>

4

<p>One more question. I’m a bit concerned about how I will be able to maintain the same level of academic knowledge for a whole year since I obviously won’t be studying the same way I have been in high school. So I know studying Japanese full-time is definitely going to take at least some brainpower, but what about for other subjects? I’m especially worried about things like math. Even though I just took the AP Calculus BC exam and most likely got a 4 or 5, I don’t know if I’ll still be able to remember the material if I’ll have to take math again in college (I know some Ivies don’t grant exemption from math courses, even if you have a 5 on BC Calc). What did you (or any other gap year students, for that matter) do to refresh your memory?</p>

5

<p>Well, I think you’re in a better position than I was. In your case, the fact that you weren’t rejected, but waitlisted, from Columbia indicates that your application wasn’t too far off in the wrong direction, and perhaps your thinking to re-apply isn’t as far-fetched as you might think (after all, some of these schools themselves have said that waitlistees are often indistinguishable from admitees). Another point to keep in mind that is Harvard and Princeton are reviving their early admission program (Not sure if both are reinstating ED or EA), and if you do decide to apply early, you might be well-served to take advantage of this without having to fully commit. </p>

<p>For what it’s worth, my second application did not have any new academic achievements. However, I did make it a point to portray my new extracurricular and volunteer experiences as central to my application.</p>

6

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<p>Honestly, I haven’t been doing anything special to refresh my memory. You’ll realize, though, that as you work with people who may be considerably older than you are, you’re going to not only start having to think on your feet, but you’ll learn to pick up on things a lot faster and become more analytical in general, which I think has been the main thing that’s kept my brain from rotting…haha. As for math and science material, I personally haven’t been worrying too much about it since I don’t plan to go into any kind of STEM field and I already have a 5 on Calc BC. I do have a friend, though, who took a year off to go to Cornell who took non-credit courses from a community college to keep up with some of the science/math stuff during her gap year.</p>

7

<p>Okay, thanks for your help! I’m not planning on entering a STEM field either, but I’m mainly just worried about the math core courses that are required at many top schools. Since I’ll be working in an area that was destroyed by the tsunami, I obviously won’t have access to community college courses or anything like that to keep my math knowledge fresh. I’ll have to think of something else. But in the meantime, I do agree with you about the fact that working with older (and in my case, younger) people teaches you how to think critically, analytically, and more “on your feet” so to speak. I’m looking forward to this :)</p>

8

<p>Sorry for being a pest, but I have just one more question - when re-applying, do you apply again as a freshman applicant? If you have any repeat schools, would they notice that you were applying a second time and reject you? I read somewhere that Stanford doesn’t allow re-applying, but I’ve checked the official website and can’t find anything that either confirms or denies this statement. Also, would you just submit two teacher recommendations as usual? What if you wanted to include a supplementary statement for someone who wasn’t a teacher (such as the relief effort coordinator example I mentioned earlier)? I know I’ve asked a lot of questions, but please bear with me as my parents, especially my dad, are still grappling with the idea of a gap year. They’re not really used to the notion of taking time off before entering college, and I now have to find out a way to persuade my father that this is actually a viable and potentially highly beneficial option for me.</p>

9

<p>hi calgirl, im doing the same thing. i decided after depositing that i wanted to do a gap year but my school (which wasn’t really my “dream school” to begin with anyway) doesn’t allow deferred matriculation, so im going to reapply to a few schools again (that i got rejected or waitlisted from) and possibly add a few more. i know the odds aren’t great, but why not?</p>

<p>the advice i got was probably don’t apply anywhere early, because schools will want to know what has changed since last year.
so unless you have a significant experience and time to write a really compelling essay about it before the november deadline, its not really to your advantage to apply early. however, there are sucess stories like powerbomb so who really knows</p>

<p>with that in mind, when reapplying you are still a freshman app. you have to call each school and find out what their position is on reapps and also what parts of the application they save. most say they will give you a fresh look in the context of the new application pool.</p>

<p>hope this helps maybe we can go through this journey together!</p>

10

<p>Thanks for offering your perspective! I think I’ll just stick to the RD route. I’m glad I’m not the only person who’s planning to do this. What are you going to do during your year off?</p>

11

<p>I’ll try to address your concerns line by line:</p>

<p>

Yes, unless you are planning on taking for-credit courses elsewhere during your gap year in which case you would probably have to apply as a transfer. </p>

<p>

They might, they might not. I have no way of knowing. However, I will say that the supplement application for Penn did ask me if I had applied previously. If I’m any indicative of how admissions work for second-time applicants, I guess they either don’t look at your old application or they don’t care too much about it, though. </p>

<p>

I’m sure different schools have different policies, but as far as I’m aware most schools allow re-application (Penn does, obviously). I would call Stanford to make sure - you don’t need to reveal any information about yourself; just ask if it’s allowed. </p>

<p>

Actually, I submitted three recommendations when I first applied (the supplementary one was from my debate coach) but in hindsight, I don’t think that was entirely a good idea. Though my debate coach knew me well and assuredly wrote a nice recommendation for me, some colleges (I think Yale and Columbia explicitly state this on their website) prefer only two recommendations. When I re-applied, I only sent in two. This will depend on what becomes of your relationship with the relief coordinator, and you’ll have to use your judgment to decide if this person will really be able to provide <em>exceptional</em> insight that would otherwise not be found elsewhere on your application. </p>

<p>

I hear you. My parents, being the immigrant Asian parents that they are, were not entertained with the unconventional idea of taking an year off. If I remember correctly, Princeton and Harvard state on their website that they are pushing towards encouraging students to take gap years. Show this to your dad - it might persuade him into realizing that gap years are becoming more and more explored by top schools. I also have a couple friends who are in Ivy League schools who’ve told me that they wish they had taken a year off. Plus, you’re 16 - taking a year off would serve you well socially and academically, in my opinion.</p>

12

<p>This is all very helpful information. Thanks for being so patient with me! :slight_smile: I’m guessing that for repeat schools, I won’t have to resubmit my SAT scores… or will I?</p>

13

<p>Nice post! A wealth of information here!
I know this international student from my country(a friend of mine) who got wait listed at 7 schools out of the 8 he applied and that includes Stanford and Harvard and Yale.</p>

<p>He is considering to re-apply this year again and plans to apply to some more mid-reach schools but since he loves Harvard and Stanford he wants to re-apply again.</p>

<p>Do you think re-applying might be looked down negatively by these two schools?</p>

<p>If you could help me find some solid info it would really help my friend !</p>

<p>Btw: I am an international and planning to take a Gap year as well ! :D</p>

14

<p>calgirl, you don’t need to send your SAT scores in again. Penn had mine on file from the previous cycle.</p>

<p>Dartspawnus - Like I’ve said, I think if your friend was waitlisted as opposed to outright rejected, he/she should try re-applying. Being waitlisted indicates that his application wasn’t too far off in the wrong direction, and applying early to one of his top choices might serve as that extra push the second time around.</p>

15

<p>Hmm thanks for all the help !
Btw: Are you an international ?</p>

16

<p>im not really sure what I’m going to do, I just want to do a ton of travelling and see as much of the world as i can!</p>

<p>re: sending SAT scores again, check with each school. most schools will probably still have them on file but a few (MIT may be one) throw out all old applications. so you just want to check to make sure either way</p>

<p>i was rejected from stanford too but im going to reapply anyways. i dont think they will see a reapply as a weakness per se, but you may not be able to overcome whatever shortcomings they saw the year before. our chances are definitely better at schools we were waitlisted at, but theres no downside to reapplying to a school you really want to go to. </p>

<p>i may have my GC call a few of the schools after the whole process is done and ask if there were any weaknesses in my app that i can possibly fix. they probably won’t say anything, but again, why not?</p>

<p>im still deciding about the early route. i think that i am probably going to RD everywhere, but I will tell my top 2-3 choices (shoot me, I’m unethical) that I would have applied early but I wanted more experience abroad to tell them about. or I may call a few and see what their perspectives are about it</p>

17

<p>Take the gap year. The reason gap years don’t work out for some people is because they don’t do anything meaningful with it. You are, and seems like an amazing opportunity and it is really unique. Plus, im sure u’ll have a great time doing it. Seems like a no-brainer, go for it :)</p>

18

<p>Last year my S decided to take a gap year, and is currently a volunteer at a school/orphanage for the cerebral palsied in Capetown, S.A. He, too, was waitlisted or rejected at many of the Ivies and other top schools - although he was accepted to some great schools. He heard about this volunteer opportunity from his G.C., and he decided to apply. This brings me to my first piece of advice. If you are looking to take a gap year solely because you are disappointed about your college admission results, then that is a poor reason to take the year. If you have a valid interest in doing something constructive with the year (and it seems that you certainly do), then a gap year is a great experience.</p>

<p>Secondly, if you do go to Japan and take your gap year, be sure that you have the support of your parents or others here in the States to help you coordinate your applications. Where my S is located, the internet is very spotty or non existent. We filled out the boiler plate parts of his applications, and he sent us the essays. We helped coordinate his recommendations, arranged for his school transcripts to be sent to various colleges, arranged for the fees to be paid, and reminded him of deadlines. If you go to the earthquake ravaged parts of Japan, the internet might not be so reliable.</p>

<p>Third, have an application strategy. He applied to schools with an EA option like U of Chicago, Georgetown, and MIT. He got an idea in Dec. what things on his application that the schools liked, and got great feedback from the results. He wrote about many of his gap year experiences in his essays, and they added color to his applications.</p>

<p>He will have a tough adjustment when he comes home. At his school, he has established a full working library by organizing and cataloging over 6,000 books and building book shelves, established a science center, teaches English, plans recreation time, and stays with the kids in their hostel. He helps get the kids up in the morning, feeds them their porridge, and helps put them to bed in the evening. Many of these kids are very sick, and several unfortunately have passed away. Others are totally unwanted. We visited him and the school in March, and they were truly “his” kids. He has grown very attached to them - and they to him. He will come home later this summer and plans to matriculate at Stanford in September.</p>

<p>His gap year has been a great success, not because of where he will go to university, but because he has made a difference and bettered the lives of others. He is not only a changed person, but a better person. So my advice is to go to Japan. Lend your talents. Make a difference. But most importantly, have fun, and change lives.</p>

19

<p>I too encourage you to take a gap year.</p>

<p>At the end of high school, I felt like I was drifting with the current, doing things because they were expected from me and not really giving much of a damn about school, or the things I would do after I got my BA. I had a very vague idea of what I wanted to do with my life, and little motivation to pursue my goals. I figured I was smart, so things were bound to work out in the end, right?</p>

<p>Taking a gap year afforded me enough time to rethink my stance on school, realize I needed to become an active participant in my own life, and formulate clear goals for college. Now I know exactly what I want out of college and how hard I will have to work for it. I would have never gotten to this point if I’d gone to the (less desirable) university I was accepted to then. I’d probably still be doing the bare minimum in school, without any inclination to challenge myself or think about my future more seriously. </p>

<p>Some truths needed a year to crystallize for me. You don’t seem to have the same difficulties, but that’s beside the point. What I’m trying to say is that if you take a gap year, a year from now you will know yourself better. You will be a bigger person than you are now.</p>

20

<p>I’ve been the smartest kid that I have ever met except for a couple human calculators from Pine View a few counties over. It kinda sucks that I will have to work like a slave for the next 4 years to have any chance of making it into MIT :confused:
But that’s good, I’ve been coasting through life for too long.</p>