The Gap Year In College Admissions

[powerbomb]

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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.

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<p>This is probably the most practical advice. I can’t tell you how helpful it was for me to have been supported by my teachers, counselor and parents while I was away. Luckily, I had good internet connection, and was able to communicate back and forth quite easily, but even then, I felt, at times, quite pressured to turn everything in on time since they had others’ recommendations to work on (and with winter break stuck in between, you might lose a week or two of communication with your teachers). You should make a timeline and mentally run through your gap year and determine where you’re going to be at any given time and what your teachers/counselor/parents are going to be doing. Then figure out when and how something is going to get done, approach your teachers/counselor and let them know when they should be expecting an e-mail/letter/call from you. Also have your parents familiarized with the application process so that they know right away what you’re talking about when you ask them to go on the commonapp website and sign the release form or what have you.</p>

[calgirl15]

<p>Thank you so much for the replies everyone! Laf1980, thanks especially for sharing your son’s story - it was very encouraging. powerbomb, you’ve also been an invaluable source of information, and Ghostt, I appreciate your input too I’m looking forward to the upcoming year!</p>