This article is adapted from Davidson Institute’s “Considering Your Options: A Guidebook for Investigating Gap Year Opportunities”, part of our collection of free guidebooks for gifted and 2e families. For a deeper dive into supporting your gifted or twice-exceptional child, we encourage you to explore the full guide.
What is a Gap Year?
You may be asking yourself, what exactly is a gap year? The truth of the matter is that individual gap years can look drastically different and may be defined by various experiences. The overarching definition of a gap year is a “Break from formal education in order to become more immersed in another culture, to volunteer domestically or abroad, to gain experience and maturity, to improve your skills in a sport, language, the arts, or academics, or take on some combination of any of these things. During a gap year, the learning process continues, but in a different format and venue that will inspire and excite a student” (White, 2009, p. 7).
Please know that a gap year is not the best fit for every student; it is not something students need to do. As you know, no two experiences are ever the same; there are many students who attend college younger than the traditional age of 17 or 18 and do rather well. However, if you are a younger student who could benefit from waiting another year before leaving the nest to go live on a campus full-time and by yourself, then a gap year may be for you. If you have not decided what it is you want to study in school, a gap year may be a wonderful way to discover and explore your passions and interests.
Common Reasons Why Students Take a Gap Year
Reaching the decision to take a gap year is different for every person. For many, it is not an easy decision and should be made with thoughtful consideration. Some common reasons students decide to take a gap year are:
- To gain maturity and resourcefulness, which will help make the transition to college much smoother.
- To pursue a particular interest, passion, or project of some sort.
- To clarify an interest and become aware of strengths and weaknesses.
- Financial reasons; some students work for a year to help save for college.
- Some students are simply too young; while they are academically ready, they may not be socially ready.
- Many universities have a policy that students under a certain age are not allowed to live in the dorms.
- The student may not have been accepted into their top-choice university and would like to focus on a particular interest to strengthen their resume for future college applications.
- To take a breather after a stressful, busy senior year.
As mentioned, deciding whether or not to take a gap year is a big decision that should be done with careful consideration. Generally speaking, taking a gap year as a last resort can be stressful for families because students probably didn’t have enough time to plan their gap year adequately.
What are the Pros and Cons of Taking a Gap Year?
As you will discover, determining whether or not a gap year is right for you is a personal decision for you and your parents. Think of contemplating a gap year as a collaborative decision-making process. Putting together a pros and cons list is something that you and your parents should do separately and then meet to discuss the reasons behind your list. To help you get started, here are some potential pros of taking a gap year:
- A gap year gives students the opportunity to take a step back and “recharge” after years of the daily academic grind.
- More institutions are offering financial incentives in the form of grants and credit towards tuition for students who take a gap year.
- Work experience (as well as volunteer and goodwill projects) are great résumé builders and can result in meaningful learning experiences.
For some students, taking a gap year can be an unproductive experience, which can do more harm than good. Remember that not all gap year experiences are created equal. Exceeding your all-time video game score for the year does not count as a gap year experience. Here are some potential cons for taking a gap year:
- For students who fail to develop important work habits, it is easy to lose focus and “fall out” of the academic routine.
- Watching friends and classmates move on to college before you do can be upsetting.
- Your gap year could potentially not go according to plan.
To view articles on the pros and cons of taking a gap year, search the Internet for these keywords to read multiple websites and visit:
- The Gap Year Weight the Pros and Cons of Taking Time off Before College
- ‘Gap year’ before college gives grads valuable life experience
- The Lure of a Gap Year
- National Association for College Admission Counseling – Gap Year
- Make It Better Guide to a Gap
Signs That You May Want to Take a Gap Year
As mentioned earlier, a gap year is not the best fit for every student, and there may be some red flags present that you may want to work on before you pursue a gap year, or leave for college. For example, we have seen some students go full throttle their junior and senior year to get into the college of their dreams, which takes a lot of hard work and determination. Sometimes these students work so hard that their personal well being suffers and they are “burnt out” before they even get to college.
Harvard’s Office of Admissions wrote an insightful article called “Time Out or Burn Out for the Next Generation” that really puts the idea of “burn out” into perspective. Authors Ducey, Fitzsimmons & McGrath state that, “Summer vacations have become a thing of the past. The pace of the day and the year allows little time simply ‘to be a kid’- or, to develop into a complete human being.” If you’re already feeling “burnt out” and are moving to a college environment, think about whether you will be ready to give it your best.
Making the Transition to College: A Guide for Parents, suggests that students may want to consider a gap year if they demonstrate:
- An expressed need for help.
- Prolonged sadness or depressed mood.
- Loss of energy and fatigue.
- Falling behind in school work or failing classes.
- Missing class often.
- Trouble concentrating or making decisions.
- Tearfulness, crying, and frequent emotional outbursts.
Before a student heads off to college, it is essential that they are ready to leave their home and take on the responsibility of going to college. It is important that the student feels that he is ready and his parents are supportive of his decision. Going away to college is a big decision: a family decision. There may be times when the child feels that he is ready, but his parents are not exactly in the same boat. If you are a student or a parent reading this Guidebook, you may want to hold a family meeting and discuss your point of view. To learn more about how to run a successful family meeting, please read excerpts from Positive Discipline and from Family Meeting Album, an e-book by Dr. Jane Nelsen.
According to the College Board, “Nearly 30 percent of all students who enter college don’t return for their sophomore year, thereby losing the first year’s tuition.” Losing this tuition is difficult, but is only one of the downfalls that may occur if a student transitions to college before he is ready.
What Do Colleges Think About Students Taking a Gap Year?
While taking a gap year is a common rite of passage in Australia and the United Kingdom, the concept is finally gaining more popularity in the United States. “The reason behind higher education’s support of the gap year is clear: Better-prepared students mean higher completion rates” (Wood, 2008, p. 2). With the rate of college applicants increasing, as well as the increasing educational options available to students, universities are offering one to two-year deferments to students interested in pursuing a gap year. According to the Christian Science Monitor, more than 80 colleges and universities have started offering some tuition matching grants to students who pursue a year of public service. As stated in the article, “Most colleges are saying they value a gap year,” said President Holly Bull of the Center for Interim Programs, “because kids arrive more mature and focused and can take greater advantage of what a college has to offer.”
In our experience with college guidance, universities do not want students who are too young on campus; this doesn’t mean that they do not want the student to attend their university someday, just when they are mature and ready for the challenges that often come with college. We understand that some students are academically ready, as well as socially ready to live on a campus. Because universities do not want students to attend college before they are ready, colleges are becoming more and more accepting of students taking a gap year. Princeton has even created a gap year program called ‘Bridge Year’ that will help students find social service work in a foreign country before they begin their freshman year. Princeton’s President Shirley Tilghman said in an interview that “Such a program would give students a more international perspective, add to their maturity, and give them a break from academic pressures. She called it a year of “cleansing the palate of high school, and giving them a year to regroup.”
Proponents of the gap year say it allows students to discover themselves and the world before they enter adulthood. Once you are an adult, you are an adult for a very long time. Taking a year or two off can allow you to gain some awareness about yourself that you did not even realize was there. White (2009) found that “Colleges and employers know that students who have finished a structured gap year are young adults who have direction, maturity and a unique view of the world” (p. 7). Harvard’s admissions page reported that “Each year, between 50 and 70 students defer their matriculation to College.” If you visit Matt McGann’s blog on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s website, there is a thread “On taking a ‘Gap Year’” that goes into great detail about a gap year at MIT.
How do colleges view a gap year? Visit the Admissions sections of their websites and search for gap year or deferment.
- “On taking a ‘Gap Year’” Matt McGann’s MIT blog
- Princeton Plans for an Early Year Abroad
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