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.
After much debate and close examination, you may decide a gap year would be a wonderful and valuable experience for you. It is now time to think about the details. What exactly do you want to do? And how much will it cost?
Research, research, research! Be sure to thoroughly research all your options. Before you make any decision, what program is going to help you achieve exactly what you are looking for? How do you plan to spend the entire year? If there are costs involved, how are you going to finance it? Talk with others who are familiar with the programs or organizations you are looking into. What were their experiences? What was their favorite part of taking a gap year? What was their least favorite part about taking a gap year? It is best to have all of your research completed before making a commitment.
What Students Do During the Gap Year
For the most part, many students participate in a structured program with other young adults throughout their gap year; while often students plan the year by themselves, exploring distant lands or publishing a novel. No matter what you decide, have your goals outlined and a plan to achieve those goals. We suggest short, manageable goals and a way to measure those goals. Some ideas about other ways to spend your gap year may include:
- Study abroad – spend a year studying a language and culture you’re interested in
- Travel – some students may do this independently and others with organizations.
- Volunteer in schools as a tutor and mentor
- Work – Spend the year working and saving for college
- Intern – find an internship in the field you are interested in studying. This will allow you to get some hands-on experience without committing a year of college tuition
What Students Should Not Do During Their Gap Year
Just like most things in life, the “shoulds” are always accompanied by some “should nots.” Taking a year off from formal education does not mean there is no purpose or goal in what you are doing this time should not be an opportunity to just hang out. Thus, there are some things students should refrain from while taking time off. In our experience, playing video games for the majority of the day, while parents cook and clean for you, or aimlessly communicating on social networking websites is not a gap year. Video games and social networking sites are a great way to unwind, but this is something that needs to be done in moderation.
Lounging around for a year is not going to enhance your resumé nor are you going to walk away thinking, “Wow, that year really changed my life.” Pursuing a gap year is a collaborative process. This is your time to really make your gap year what you want it to be. You should not settle on doing something you are somewhat interested in – find something that really speaks to your interests and passions.
What to Do After Your Gap Year
After you have spent a year traveling, working, or volunteering, you should be refreshed and ready to return to the school routine; however, this may take more adjustment than originally anticipated. If you have spent a year traveling or in a less developed part of the world, you may experience reverse culture shock and have a difficult time adjusting to college life. However, if you can begin preparing yourself mentally, physically, and emotionally before you complete your gap year, the transition should go more smoothly.
Moreover, if you spent time preparing yourself to go to college before starting your gap year, you should have been accepted, submitted your deferment notice, and now all you need to do is register for your classes and determine your residential accommodations. If you did not apply to colleges before you left for your gap year, or you want to reapply to a school you did not get accepted to, you may have some work to do. College Confidential has some great tips if you are applying to colleges after your gap year.
No matter where you go to college, plan for ways you can use what you learned during the gap year to benefit others and yourself. Join or start a club on campus that reflects one of your new passions. Volunteer part-time at an organization near your home. Become involved in your new community. Share your experiences and seek out others who participated in a gap year to learn about their experiences. In essence, there is so much you can do once you have a year’s worth of life-changing experiences: create ways to remember and reflect on it.
Visit Gap Year Volunteering for a gap year guidebook.
Things to do Before or During Your Gap Year to Prepare You After Your Gap Year
- Keep a journal/diary to record your experiences, thoughts, and ideas, and to write down/record the contact details of people you meet. Low tech is probably better than high tech if you are going to a less-developed country (i.e., a paper journal and pencil are more reliable than a cell phone, laptop, or PDA, as no batteries are required)
- Regularly think of how your experiences that day/week can be of use to you in the future, and write your ideas down.
- Record the details of places you would like to visit one day, and record ideas of career opportunities or ways to give back during your gap year.
- As you identify new-found passions, interests and abilities as a result of your gap experiences, write them down (a common theme!) so that you can later reflect on how to plan your career and life to pursue those passions and interests, and to use the talents and abilities that you have.
- Write down/record the names of people in your photographs – you will not be able to remember everyone.
- Be open to change, whether in terms of what you had planned, or to take advantage of opportunities that come along.
How to Use Your Gap Year Experience to Your Advantage
After your gap year, there are simple steps and strategies to follow to ensure the knowledge and experiences you have gained are actively used to promote your studies and/or career.
- Schedule reminders in your calendar to stay in touch with the people you met during your gap experience. They will be a source of friendship and opportunity.
- Is there something you have learned that you can teach to others? Perhaps working for a gap year organization using the skills you have acquired? Don’t be afraid to ask; good organizations often make space for people with the right talent and attitude.
- On your resume, stress what you have done and learned as a result of your gap year experience, and briefly explain how those skills would benefit any organization.
- Continually develop, practice, and refine your people skills.
- Compile an album/develop a blog to share photos and writings of your gap year experiences with your friends and family.
- Be a mentor to others who are thinking of taking a gap or who are already on a gap.
- Plan your holidays so that you build upon the experiences of your gap year. Plan to share your holidays with people you met during your gap year, to build upon the existing relationships and pursue potential opportunities. Visit the places you could not go to during your gap year due to a lack of money or time.
The Gap Year and College Applications
When should students apply for a gap year? In our experience, the earlier you plan and organize, the better the outcome will be. Some students know from the start they want to take a gap year and begin planning their junior year. However, in reality, many students do not contemplate taking a gap year until after college acceptance letters have arrived in December through April and sometimes even the end of June if a student has been wait-listed. When it comes to college applications and deciding if a post-graduate gap year is for you, “It is recommended that students apply to post-graduate programs at the same time their classmates are applying to colleges” (White, 2009, p. 43). A post-graduate year is a gap year taken right after a student graduates high school. Depending on your high school and the number of guidance counselors available, this may not be an option for you. In our experience, having at least six months to one year to prepare for a gap year opportunity is enough time to successfully plan your gap year.
If you are of a traditional age when graduating from high school (17 or 18) then it is best to fill out your college applications according to plan and then defer your enrollment if you should choose to take a gap year. Most colleges have a deferment policy already in place. For example, MIT’s police states “If you are admitted, you may defer enrollment for one or two years by putting in a formal written request to the Dean of Admissions. Common reasons for deferment include employment, travel and military or religious service. Please note that you may not defer enrollment at MIT in order to enroll in courses at another college or university; taking such a step would cause you to forfeit your admission to MIT.” We suggest contacting the Admissions office with specific gap year and deferring enrollment questions.
When deferring enrollment, be sure to connect with the University’s admissions office before the notification deadline. When you talk to the admissions office, provide your specific plans and goals with regard to your gap year. Calling unprepared may result in your deferment being denied. Some colleges prefer a one-page letter with your gap year plans; Grinnell and Occidental are colleges that would like written notification. Not all colleges will grant you permission to take a gap year, and not all colleges advertise taking a gap year as an option. When in doubt, always contact the office of undergraduate admissions of that particular college to make sure you are following protocol.
What happens when a gap year is not your first choice? Unfortunately, sometimes things do not go according to plan. Just remember you can only do the best that you can with what you have to work with. Some of the common reasons why a gap year may not be a student’s first choice are:
- The college the individual was accepted to may not be a student’s first choice, and they want to re-apply later.
- The student is not old enough to live on a college campus.
- The student may find out that they have been admitted to their college of choice, but their enrollment has been deferred for one year.
- The student was wait-listed and may end up not getting a spot and then decide to pursue a gap year.
Sometimes colleges may defer enrollment due to the student’s age, as well as to manage the incoming freshman class numbers. Students are applying to more schools, roughly 15 or more, which has made it difficult for universities to estimate the percentage of students who are actually going to attend their institution. More students are applying to college, and more students are applying to more colleges, resulting in a larger number of students being waitlisted. Some students will receive an email saying they have been waitlisted, and now they have to decide whether to stay on the waitlist and possibly get a spot or accept another offer elsewhere.
Staying on the waitlist can be a risk for many students, as some institutions are able to admit many from their waitlist while other universities are not able to take any. When a student has their heart set on a college but doesn’t get off the waitlist, sometimes a gap year begins to sound like a better option. Will taking a gap year get you into the college of your dreams? Will taking a gap year make you a more attractive applicant? You could be a very strong applicant to a particular school and still not get in. The college admissions process changes every year, and it is difficult to predict how it is going to change. There is a lot of research available that says colleges often think highly of the postgraduate year, or gap year option, but it really depends on the student and where they are applying.
Keep in mind that a gap year may add to your application, but it will not make up for any deficits, and it will depend on how this student chooses to spend their time. “Colleges that reject 80 percent or even 90 percent of those who apply admit that they are denying admission to thousands of excellent candidates; in this environment, a gap year experience might distinguish a student from the pack of talented high school seniors” (White, 2009, p. 26). It is probably not a good idea to take a gap year just because you think it will help you get into a particular university. What if you’re an average student, with no resumé and you decide to take a post-graduate year and then apply to Middlebury, Yale, or Princeton? Do you think you will get accepted? As you know, whether or not you’re accepted will depend on the acceptance rate of the universities you are applying to, as well as the number of applicants applying.
If you already know that you want to take a gap year, then the earlier you can plan, the better. As previously mentioned, gap year planning should not be done as a last resort. Most gap year applicants will have different circumstances before they apply. For example, one may need to apply for scholarships for their gap year, while another student may not have any financial concerns. Whatever the case may be, it is best to plan in advance, preferably six months to one year depending on your situation. To start planning your gap year, talk with your school counselor or visit the program’s website, download an application, and check for any program requirements, as well as application deadlines.
Connect With Other Families Considering a Gap Year
The Davidson Young Scholars program connects families with others who are navigating similar experiences. Through our private online community, families can share experiences, ask questions, and get advice from others whose children are considering or have experienced a gap year.
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