Why is CC in love with gap year?

Parents Forum
1

<p>I've noticed that CCers often reply with suggestions of a gap year for anyone who doesn't get into their first-choice schools. My own view is that this only works for a handful of kids, and that the vast majority of kids are better served by going off to college in the fall after HS, even if it's to their 8th-choice school, or to a school that they can convince to take a late application.</p>

<p>Yes, I've read Andi's post, and I'm very happy it worked out for that kid, but I wince every time it's suggested for every other kid. My gentle suggestion is that people look at more than Andi's post before they recommend it to someone else. </p>

<p>From my own research here, it seems that most kids acclimate to whatever school they attend.</p>

<p>I think it would be better to advise kids who have failed to get into a safety to admit their mistake, and work like heck to find a good school (say a local LAC) that will take a late application.</p>

<p>Not trying to be combative, but I really wonder whether the consistent gap-year advice is warranted in 2008.</p>

2

<p>I don't advocate a gap year because a kid doesn't like their college acceptences, however having had a productive gap year myself, I do believe strongly that a gap year can be a wonderful growing experience for a kid. Too many kids go off to college with little idea of why they are there and not much knowledge of the world. A chance to learn about people in other economic conditions, or in other countries, or a taste of what real world working is like, I think is a great way to get burnt-out kids back on track and excited about education.</p>

<p>That said, I think it's harder to organize a gap year in May only after not being accepted to college. I also think it would behoove kids to have some schools with rolling admissions, or really safe safeties, so that they know they will have choices come April.</p>

3

<p>I don't think "failing to get into my first choice school" is ever a good reason to take a gap year. Andison is something of a special case - he didn't get into any school and didn't have a true safety at all. He was so far off the mark with his list and results, that starting all over again was a reasonable thing to do. COuld he have "found a good school, local LAC" - possibly, but at the time as I remember he was very involved in music and was looking for some specific opportunities in music, so it might have been much harder than you think to get close to what he wanted. He also lived in one of the most competitive areas of of the NE, so a local LAC might be a little hard to find there.</p>

<p>Gap years are best for "finding yourself" or recharging batteries, or even growing up a little. In some cases the student might get into a better school - but I would argue that is because they see what they want more clearly, and apply with more direction, than because their credentials have some how radically improved.</p>

<p>I also think gap years can help a lot more students than take them. I think there are some things that are just messed up about our system, and maturity and responsibility will address those - but I'm talking about kids who are more ordinary or even poor students, not people who just didn't get into Harvard.</p>

4

<p>I think gap years are wonderful for the kids who want to take them. However, taking a gap year should be a plan, not a default. For the kid who says, "I don't know where I want to go or what I want to do, and I don't want to waste all this money, and I'd rather do X for a year," a gap year is great. For the kid who's just disappointed in the application results, a gap year can be a total waste of time. Andison was exceptional, both in the unexpected admissions results, and in what he was able to accomplish in his gap year. Most kids aren't like Andison.</p>

5

<p>I think you're confusing two separate trends. One is a largish trend in favor of gap years for almost everyone (or at least that almost everyone should think about it). It seems to be approaching universality in the UK, at least among the Oxbridge types. Princeton is institutionalizing a gap year program for a sizeable number of its admitted students. And I hear about too many kids taking gap years after they start college -- sometimes involuntarily.</p>

<p>The other, much smaller trend is using a gap year for a mulligan on elite admissions. In real life, I know one instance where that worked, sort of: a girl who stupidly did not apply to any safety school and had very limited other options. The next year, she applied to a more appropriate range of colleges and now attends a fine college that she loves, and that she turned her nose up at when she was a high school senior. A friend of my son's is trying it now, but I will be shocked if he succeeds.</p>

6

<p>MSUDad, I think that you are certainly correct that for some kids finding a school with open spots and applying will ultimately be a fine solution. But I question this:</p>

<p><<i think="" it="" would="" be="" better="" to="" advise="" kids="" who="" have="" failed="" get="" into="" a="" safety="" admit="" their="" mistake="">></i></p><i think="" it="" would="" be="" better="" to="" advise="" kids="" who="" have="" failed="" get="" into="" a="" safety="" admit="" their="" mistake="">

<p>What was their "mistake"? Being unable to read the minds of capricious adcoms?</p>

<p>A casual perusal of these boards will reveal that kids with very similar qualifications are admitted/rejected by the same schools. Kids get into their reaches, and are rejected or waitlisted by what appeared to be very realistic safeties. </p>

<p>I've noticed a tendency towards Monday-morning quarterbacking. If a kid applies to highly selectives and gets into one or more, fine. No one lambastes the kid for having a desire to attend a highly selective school or the temerity to apply. I haven't noticed anyone who gets into HYPMS being criticized for an obsession with prestige. But if an equally-qualified kid applies and is rejected, then s/he "ought to have known better." Or s/he ought to have known that the "fit" wasn't good. Or s/he was over-reaching. Or whatever.</p>
</i>

7

<p>On CC the gap year is often suggested because the student failed to get into acceptable schools, not as a plan.</p>

<p>I think that the gap year is a better suggestion for a family with money and/or connections. Otherwise, I could see a lot of "gap years" turn into "Working at The Gap for a Year."</p>

8

<p>I'm surprised that I have to note this to a poster named "Consolation," [;-)]but the "mistake" is failing to have a safe safety. Or two. </p>

<p>I'm doing the exact opposite of Monday-morning quarterbacking; I'm saying suck it up and make it happen, don't take a year off.</p>

9

<p>It seems to me that the gap year due to not getting into the higher level college is just the next step for those kids who took their high SAT's over and over to increase their composite score; same kids that later drop a college course because they have a low B and are willing to only accept an A. </p>

<p>I seriously wonder what kind of employees these kids are going to end up being in the real world where "good enough" is often the way of most companies or the work will never get done.. Will they continue to be handcuffed by perfection. Just makes me think.</p>

10

<p>Applying in September to a safe rolling admission school that the student would be willing to attend if necessary is one way to be sure, very early on, that the student has a suitable place to go to college.</p>

11

<p>There's a current thread about a kid who was "deferred" from Quinnipiac with all AP classes and a 95 average, amongst other things. Looking at the stats profile on Quinnipiac's web site, those stats ought to have made it a safe safety for her. </p>

<p>That's a "mistake" that can only be perceived in hindsight.</p>

<p>What I'm saying is that it is really hard for a lot of kids to know what a "safe safety" is until after the results are in. </p>

<p>Why blame them for something that is out of their control?</p>

12

<p>ADad, that's a good plan. But there are those for whom it is not an option. You have to be able to pay for it, for one thing.</p>

13

<p>I have noticed a couple posters taking a gap year- re college acceptances.</p>

<p>However- while we all are not parceling out equally thoughtful advice & our advice is motivated by our own perceptions just like off College confidential, I have a totally different take on the relevance of taking a gap year for a student who did not have the choices he/she had hoped for.</p>

<p>These kids have been attending school for 13 or so years, with rising pressure and expectations with each passing day.</p>

<p>I think many of them could use a break to gain perspective and maturity so that they are able to make better use of their time & money in college.
When students have few or zero ( in their opinion) options of colleges , either because they misjudged where they would fit, or because they only applied to very competitive schools-they are undergoing an internal thought process that can't be rushed.</p>

<p>Too often, I think, they are rushing into colleges because they &/or their parents don't know what else to do, because they are afraid that if they don't, they won't. Or because everyone else is.</p>

<p>I didn't know about CC when my oldest applied to colleges, however I suggested she take a year off after her applications, she just didn't seem ready. ( She was admitted to all her choices by the way)</p>

<p>Several friends, who had been a year ahead of her in school, also had taken a year off & about 1/4 of her class at a private prep school also deferred going right to college. ( some went in the Marines, but virtually all did go & earn their degree)</p>

<p>When she reapplied to colleges in what would have been the fall of her freshman year- she was able to have a broader view & add another college to her list that earlier would have been a reach academically & financially.
She was admitted to that one as well from which she earned her degree.
( it was not my intent to expect her to have a higher ranked college on her list- but it was good fit for her)</p>

<p>My younger daughter who is now a high school senior has applied to two colleges- but she also is planning on taking at least one year off, which I am encouraging.</p>

<p>While there should be no shame in attending a school which is a 2nd choice- the truth of the matter is, many students don't put as much thought into choosing good fit/sure thing schools, and the ones that remain on their list may well be schools where they aren't a good fit- don't have the depts they want, & perhaps were added because dad attended or because a boyfriend is.
Not good reasons.</p>

<p>It is also more difficult to gain admission as a sophomore in many schools, so while it can work out to attend and even eventually love one's sure thing school, if that doesn't work out- it would be a huge PITA to do the college search all over again- especially while you are attending college.</p>

14

<p>I don't think any thoughtful parents are advocating that a student do a gap year if they don't get into their first choice college. CC parents go out of their way to advocate for students applying to safeties that they would love to attend if that's their only option.</p>

<p>CC parents like me, however, have advocated productive gap years for students: who seem too immature for college (Eg. smart students with barely passing grades. Face it: college isn't likely to motivate them.), students who got rejected everywhere because they applied only to reaches; students who didn't consider finances when applying, and end up getting int colleges that they can't afford; students who are exhausted, burned out in the spring and are dreading going to college because they are just too darned sick of the academic ratrace; students who have no clue what kind of college they want to go to (Eg students whose interests and talents are so broad that they can't make up their mind whether to go to an Engineering school or similar program that locks one into a curriculum early or a liberal arts college)....</p>

<p>Virtually all CC parents who offer advice on this issue do NOT suggest taking a gap year because one was rejected by HYP and thinks that a gap year will help ensure acceptance at those schools next year. That kind of gap year almost certain to be a waste of time.</p>

<p>S, 19, took a gap year with Americorps after almost not graduating h.s. despite having a 1540 (cr, w) SAT. The gap year helped him mature, and he's now a freshmen at a LAC and is carrying an A average while being active, including being a leader, in several ECs.</p>

15

<p>With regard to post #11, I haven't blamed anyone for anything. I think, frankly, that both of your posts are reading things into my main post that are simply not there.</p>

<p>EmeralK, I'm really surprised that 25% of a prep school class did a gap year, wow.</p>

<p>NorthstarMom, I thought my comment about first-choice schools would be seen for what it was (hyperbole) in light of the sentence that followed it. As far as kids taking a year off because they're "too darned sick of the academic rat race," how do colleges view that ? (S/he was too tired to go to college last year, but is ready after a year's rest? I think that doesn't send the right signal, at least not to me).</p>

<p>I should point out that I'm open to being convinced about a gap year's value, but no one really makes the case for me (other than Andison). What did your kids do that warranted waiting a year for college?</p>

16

<p>" As far as kids taking a year off because they're "too darned sick of the academic rat race," how do colleges view that ? (S/he was too tired to go to college last year, but is ready after a year's rest? I think that doesn't send the right signal, at least not to me)."</p>

<p>THe very top colleges love gap years because they have found that their students -- who virtually all have a track record of extremely high academic performance in high school -- do even better in college if they've taken a productive gap year. Note the word "productive," meaning working a job, doing volunteer work, or extensive travel, not spending their time partying, playing video games or sunning themselves on the beach. Do "even better" means that the students are more likely to graduate (and this at colleges where the grad rate is as high as 97%) and take more advantage of the campus's offerings than are students who haven't had a gap year.</p>

<p>Many incoming freshmen at such colleges could benefit from a productive gap year for reasons like your D's. They need a break doing something else so that they can learn more about themselves and the world, and then enter college and have it be an overall fulfilling experience, not one in which they simply aspire for high grades because that's what's expected.</p>

<p>For example, S, 19, who did the gap year loves college, and --after a year in the real world as an Americorps volunteers -- deeply appreciates all of the things that college offers that you don't get once you're in the work world. This includes not only the exciting array of course options, but also a variety of ECs that one can dive into in ways that one doesn't have time to do when employed. And there also are those interesting things like free guest lectures, low cost plays and other entertainment that are an easy walk from his dorm, and many opportunities to implement his own ideas in things ranging from creating a movie (his campus has some kind of movie fest in which equipment and expertise is trucked in to help students create 5 minute movies) to organizing campus-wide events.</p>

<p>When I went to college, I was too unsophisticated to take full advantage of the many opportunities on campus that I would never be in such a position to take advantage of again. A gap year would have helped me recognize such opportunities. These range from utilizing prof's office hours to becoming active in some organizations that interested me to going to more of the free lectures on campus.</p>

<p>I didn't realize that my undergraduate years would be the last time in my life that I would have so many interesting opportunities easily and cheaply available to me, and it was perfectly OK -- indeed advised -- to use that as a time to dive into some new things.</p>

<p>Due to his time in the real world, S does realize these things, and is taking advantage of them. He also realizes that being expected to get written work in on deadline is something he'll have to do for the rest of his life, so he managed to organize himself to get his work in on time, avoiding the grade problems and stress that plagued him in high school.</p>

17

<p>I think most kids would benefit from a gap year, and as in the UK, it should be part of the plan from the beginning. That is, apply to a range of schools that are a good fit for you, then defer admission for a year.</p>

<p>I started college in 1969, and it didn't even enter my mind that one could take a year off between high school and college. I applied without even thinking about what I was doing, it was automatic. I started school and absolutely loved it, for all the wrong reasons. For the first time in my life I was completely in charge of my life, and I reveled in it. I had great friends, went to lots of rock concerts, did other things that flower children in the late sixties did, but none of that had to do with academics and the supposed reason I was in college. So, after a year and a half, I withdrew. I knew that I wasn't in school for the right reasons and that I would ultimately benefit by taking time off. (My parents were devastated that I did that--I didn't consult them at all. I discussed my plans with a favorite philosophy professor, and felt that the decision had to be my own and that my parents would try to talk me out of it, possibly succeeding.) I ended up taking 5 years off: I worked on and off, and I ended up travelling for 2 years throughout Latin America, learning Spanish along the way. After all these years I can say it was the highlight of my life! I returned to college 5 years after withdrawing, and it was for all the right reasons.</p>

<p>My son, now a college freshman, was the only kid in his high school class to take a gap year. When he was making his plans, I asked him if he wouldn't rather take time off between college and graduate school, and he emphatically said no--once he started he wanted to go straight through. He wasn't taking the year off to "find himself" or because he had questions about his future path. He's a stellar student who received a great merit scholarship to a great school, but he was a bit tired of school. He wanted to recharge his batteries--so he worked a bit and travelled a bit and was ready to start school this fall.</p>

<p>I don't see many downsides to taking a year off, for whatever reason. I think it can be great motivation for doing a good job once in college (that is, after working at The Gap for your gap year and seeing what that is like). Or for those who want to grow up a bit or "find themselves" or just sample a bit more of what life has to offer. Most schools would agree that a gap year is a good idea; several of the schools my son was accepted by even had a box to check with the gap year option (box 1--will attend; box 2--won't attend; box 3--will defer for a year).</p>

<p>Andison had no choice for his gap year. But by choosing your potential schools well you can have the best of both--an assured spot in a good fit school, and a year to do something else--with personal growth, work experience, and travel as potential rewards.</p>

18

<p>EmeralK, I'm really surprised that 25% of a prep school class did a gap year, wow.</p>

<p>well it was a small class- less than 20 students</p>

<p>One student went right into Marines- another student went into Marines after 3 years teaching school in Micronesia. One student entered a Yeshivah in Israel for a year after high school, another interned with a working artist/journalist before entering an arts major, my own daughter did CityYear which is a volunteer program under the Americorops umbrella.
Oh and one young woman went to Ca to study at the Lee Strasberg institute she has been acting ever since.</p>

<p>The students who went into the Marines I believe are still in the Marines, even though one of them is now an amputee ( and has won a Purple Heart for his injuries incurred after volunteering for Iraq), my daughter has a bio degree from Reed and her other friends graduated from WUSTL & from an Atlanta art school.</p>

<p>Two other students from her graduating class are now teaching at their high school & several others went into altruistic professions. ( running a program in Brazil for street children for example)</p>

<p>THis area has a very high rate of students going into the Peace Corps as well- maybe because REI is headquarted here- we figure we already have the gear! :)</p>

19

<p>I also love that Obama is talking about expanding and supporting programs for students to give back- I have been talking about that for years!
I can't wait. :D</p>

20

<p>"I think that the gap year is a better suggestion for a family with money and/or connections. Otherwise, I could see a lot of "gap years" turn into "Working at The Gap for a Year."</p>

<p>Productive gap years don't have to involve expensive travel, etc. A productive gap year could be working fulltime at the Gap. By doing so, a student would learn a great deal about themselves, human nature, the business world, etc., and a student also could take part of their earnings and do some travel or take an interesting workshop before going to college.</p>

<p>I learned a lot from the jobs that I held while in college. This includes jobs doing things like being a clerk typist in a factory and being a clerk in a department store. H learned lots from his summer jobs, which included working in a box factory and steel mill.</p>

<p>I think that in general, students learn more from those kind of jobs than by doing the expensive community service abroad trips or having so-called "internships" with family friends who allow them to twiddle their thumbs in corporate offices. Let's face it: Most corporate offices don't have any need for high school student interns. Most of those internships are "internships" only on paper. The student could be doing more and learning more by working at a fastfood place or local department store.</p>