College is a right of passage for many, a new adventure after the end of high school. But not all students want to proceed directly from one to another, instead wishing to spend some time away from academics, or pursuing other avenues of interest. These students embark on gap years, and it is these we will be discussing today.
In this article, we will discuss what gap years are, what you can do with them, and whether partaking in one is the right choice for you. While not all students will benefit from taking a gap year, many do find the experience quite beneficial. Let’s get started!
What is a Gap Year?
Gap years are an intentional break taken between graduating high school and starting college. You can decide to take a gap year after getting accepted by deferring your acceptance for a year. You can also put off applying to college for a year, and apply during your gap year. We generally recommend applying to colleges during your senior year, so you have a spot waiting for you once the gap year is done, and you are able to focus your full attention to whatever you are doing.
While you won’t be attending college, that does not mean a gap year is spent just sitting around. This is instead a chance to explore activities you otherwise would not have enough free time to do, especially at a high level. If you defer from a college, they want it to be for a good reason, and may withdraw your offer of admission if you cannot show that you spent your time well.
For this reason, we recommend that all students have a solid plan when considering taking a gap year. This is not something to just decide on at the last minute, but should be embarked upon with careful consideration. In later sections, we will explore what you can do during your gap year, and how these activities can benefit you.
What to Do During a Gap Year
There is no one way to spend a gap year, just as there is no one activity you can participate in during high school. As with your high school activities, how you spend your time should be based on your own needs and interests, and seek to advance what you have already begun. We will go through some common ways students spend gap years, and describe potential benefits of them. Note that these may be, and often are, done in conjunction.
Athletic Competition
Some sports may be pursued at a high level in high school and college, but some require long hours of training, far trips to competitions, and place a premium on youth. While gymnastics may be the most extreme example here, it is far from the only one. Students who are competing in these sports at a high level may take a break between high school and college to train and compete internationally.
This does not happen for all sports; indeed, some require college as the next step towards a potential career, such as football or basketball. Other sports, however, may be pursued individually. You are only young once, and colleges will not begrudge you following your passions, especially if you bring your talents to their campus afterwards as a recruited athlete.
You should discuss with your coach whether this is the right option for you. They know both your own skill and the level of competition you may face, and whether this opportunity may advance you to the next level of skill.
Travel
The world is wide, and contains multitudes within it. It is natural to want to see and explore more of it, and many students who take a gap year do so as an excuse to see more of the world before heading to college.
There are programs and services which cater explicitly to this. Some of these are useful, others merely a veneer of respectability over a particularly expensive vacation. We recommend reading our article on volunteering with authenticity for some practical advice on discerning between the two.
Academic Exploration
This is generally done in conjunction with another option, but can occur on its own. You are expected to stay up to date academically, even if you are primarily devoted to other matters. This can include taking courses remotely, pursuing independent research, or teaching yourself new skills, such as coding or languages.
Pursuing research is a common component of gap years, especially for students who were already engaged in such beforehand. While it is usually beneficial to continue your explorations with the resources of a university available to you, some situations call for continued attention before you attend school.
We should note that taking college courses for credit is not advised during a gap year. First, this generally violates agreements you make when deferring admissions to a school (if you have deferred your acceptance). Second, if you have too many credits, you will be ineligible to apply as a freshman, and will have to apply as a transfer student, which limits your options, and opportunities for scholarships.
While you cannot take classes for credit, auditing courses at a local college, or otherwise taking classes not for credit, is regularly a part of gap years, in order to keep in practice educationally, and explore topics of interest you did not have access to during high school.
Other Extracurriculars
While the three activities listed above are the primary ways students spend their gap years, this is hardly an exhaustive list. Most students taking a gap year tend to pursue the activities they were already involved in, taking them to new heights and achieving greater things with the newly granted time.
It is these heights which a gap year best supports, and we most encourage. Whether it be crafting your own film, writing a book, or composing a masterpiece, the time you spend during a gap year should show for something at the end of your effort.
Should I Take a Gap Year?
We can’t tell you concretely without meeting you (schedule a free consultation if you want to meet us), but we can give some general guidance on which students benefit the most from gap years, and how you may determine if one is the right choice for your circumstances.
The first and most important thing is to have a plan. Going into a gap year without a plan, or only vague ideas about how you will spend your time, lead inevitably to disappointment. When you begin considering a gap year, ask yourself how you would spend your time. What structure would you have for your hours and days, and how would you fill them.
As part of this plan, you should have some goal you are working towards. This can be a concrete thing, such as finishing drafting a book or submitting a film to a festival. It could also be more fluid, involving travel and language and self discovery. There should be some purpose you are working towards however, some motivation which underpins your actions in the gap year.
As you are planning, you should also consider whether a gap year is necessary. Will you be able to pursue this activity at the desired level in college, or is a more open schedule a necessity?
Final Thoughts
Gap years are not a common practice, and most students do not pause between high school and college. Each student is an individual however, with their own needs and concerns. While most have no need for a gap year, it can provide a unique opportunity for others, a chance to explore subjects and fields that they otherwise would never have access to.
We hope that this article has given you a solid introduction to what gap years are, and how they function. While the advice is general, that does not make it less accurate. Of course, each student’s case has its own quirks, so the same advice doesn’t always apply. If you want advice on how to handle yours, or want to hear how we can help you in planning out your gap year, schedule a free consultation today. We have a depth of experience with every aspect of college admissions, and are always happy to hear from you.
