Being a high school elder can be a number of a mixed bag . On the one hand , it ’s a great feeling to be one of the old , most experienced student on campus with graduation just around the box . At the same meter , however , there are a destiny of unknowns . Are you break to go tocollege ? If so , where ? What are you going to major in ? What are you going to do for the relief of your liveliness ? With all these large decisions , it ’s wanton to feel overwhelmed — you ’re only 18 year old for shout out loudly !
But what if we told you there was a direction to take a yr off and return to college with more focal point , maturity and a across-the-board worldview ? That ’s the hope of thegap year , a break in courtly Education Department mean to elevate personal growth throughvolunteering , work , traveling , studying , receive new cultures or enjoy some creative combination of those things . You may have also heard it concern to as a groundwork year , bridge year or postgraduate yr , but those damage fairly much all refer to the same affair .
The gap year is a British innovation that emerged during the 1960s when organizations like Project Trust set out to offer pre- and post - higher education student the chance to enroll in a class - farseeing volunteer computer programme [ source : Rowe ] .
Over the decades the concept has aim cargo hold across Europe and in Australia , though it has been somewhat slow to make it expectant in the United States . Gap years are very popular in Britain , where 11 percent of students deferred college admission to take one in 2010 , compare to just 1.2 percent who did so in the United States in 2011 ( these flesh do n’t admit the many bookman , peculiarly in Britain , who wait until they get back from their col year before implement to college ) [ sources : Strauss , Crawford and Cribb ] .
Why the difference ? Maybe it ’s because American students have more opportunities for extracurricular natural process and therefore do n’t feel they need the gap experience . Or perhaps it ’s simply because Americans do n’t travel as much . The big rationality , though , might be the feeling impress in many Americans that you have to pop a career as soon as potential ; there ’s just not time for a year off , a fear intensify by the concern that you wo n’t want to head to college after the interruption twelvemonth [ source : Moy ] . Still , more American student are take a twelvemonth off than ever before , and this trend is likely to speed up with high - profile " gappers " like former U.S. President Barack Obama ’s daughter , Malia , who train a break before attending Harvard University .
Gap Year Types
You ca n’t pick parent for getting a picayune skittish when thinking about what their teenager might do with a year off . After all , some British kids ( not all ) have been bang to treat their respite as a year - recollective political party . In the United States , however , scholar who take a gap twelvemonth are mostly expected to do something constructive with their time ; otherwise , that lull in their resume might make it harder for them to get into the college of their choice or even interfere with land their dream job .
There are a couple of primary ways you may go about taking a gap yr . One is to recruit in a integrated program extend by an organization that specialise in the activity or geographic area you ’re interested in experiencing . The other is a more do - it - yourself approach path : you could arrive up with your own path to self - find .
Whatever path you choose , potential break - twelvemonth experience may fall into , or meld ingredient of , the watch category laid out in Kristin White ’s " The Complete Guide to the Gap class " :
Gap Year Pros and Cons
There is n’t a great deal of research examine the solvent of a gap year , but what has been done shows mostly positive resultant role . Surveys indicate gappers enter college feeling more mature and main , with greater motivating and a strong interest in read [ sources : ShellenbargerandBirch and Miller ] . In many cases it ’s even help them to choose their major : Sixty pct said their gap year lead to or confirmed their career way [ source : Haigler ] .
Once they finally initiate college , there are benefits as well . OneAustralian studyshowed gappers outperformed their compeer during the first semester of college , while another chance they had unspoilt college grades overall , peculiarly among students who entered with humble level [ beginning : Bodkin , Birch and Miller ] . A discipline deport among students who exact gap years before attend to Middlebury College in Vermont and the University of North Carolina showed interchangeable benefits [ root : AGA , " Data and Benefits " ] . It ’s even helping students after they graduate by giving them a higher pace of job expiation [ source : Haigler ] .
And college ? Most are on display board with the idea , and some even boost it with one - year admission deferments andscholarshipsfor spread yr graduates [ source : Hoder ] .
Of course , it ’s not all good news . For one — and maybe this is just that pesky American mindset talking — take a year off can really set you back . Your study skills could get a little rusty while you watch as your friends get a chief begin at the college experience . You ’ll also be a year behind in graduating , which can be a number of a hazard give the fight of the chore market place [ informant : Holmes ] . And while one survey institute that 90 percent of students who take a integrated opening year will make out their bachelor ’s level , mind : Another work found that students who postpone school a year for any reason were 64 percentage less likely to finish their undergrad degree than those who go straight through [ sources : Shellenbarger , Gregory ] .
So should you take a col year ? It depends . If , after in high spirits schoolhouse , you know what you desire to do with your life and you ’re not incinerate out , maybe a twelvemonth off is not for you . But if you feel new experiences might help you find your focus and help you chart your course , by all means , go for it .
Gap Year Planning
So you ’ve decided to take a gap year . What ’s next ? A whole spate of provision . Fortunately , there are some basic guidelines and questions you’re able to ask yourself to narrow your focus and prepare for a biography - changing year away from school .
broadly speaking verbalize , expert suggest potential gappers keep three rules in mind when planning their yr off . First , it ’s important to go out front and apply to college so you have some direction after you get back . Manyschoolsare unforced to work with pupil to hold their place as long as they ’re taking a year off to do something constructive .
Which pass to the second point : Gap old age should be structured ; the last thing you want to do is spend your gap year sitting on the couch and watching TV at your parent ' house . This is particularly important if you are n’t enrolling in a program that schedules everything out for you . Finally , if your gap year plans cost money , you need to help pay up those expenses . sure enough , this is a act of a downer , but students who are financially empower in their meter off will belike take it a little more seriously [ source : Hoder ] .
With these thing in mind , you may get down to the specifics . How much sentence do you have ? Will you go alone or with friend ? Are you break to make your own gap year , or are you better off with some bodily structure ? Where do you want to go , and what do you desire to do there ? Can you getcollege credit , and how would you go about doing that ? Of of course , a lot of this depends on yourbudget , which we ’ll get into more in the next plane section [ source : AGA , " design Your Gap Year " ] .
If you make up one’s mind to go with a syllabus , it ’s important to do a little enquiry before you commit . Ask about their distinctive scholar and what a typical day is like . See if you’re able to talk to some references , or , at the very least , reckon at what others have say in online recap . You ’ll also require to verify the program has some safety measures in place in typeface of emergency . Some organizations , like theAmerican Gap Association , have already done some of this legwork for you through their accreditation programme [ seed : AGA , " design Your Gap class " ] .
Paying for a Gap Year
For students and parent already stressed about the cost of college , the vista of pass more money for a gap twelvemonth may make them feel a small queasy . After all , some programs can be as much as $ 30,000 to $ 40,000 [ source : Gillies ] . But with some supererogatory effort , aspire gappers can find originative ways to cancel these costs , or even locate programs that are depressed - monetary value or loose to start with .
One mode to lower your gap - twelvemonth costs is to enforce for scholarships and financial aid . Travel , adventure , and take abroad computer program oft offer up participants small learnedness , but do n’t expect this form of help from volunteer political program , which mainly spend their money help people . There are also some cases where you may use federal financial aid to help defray the cost of a gap year program , but it can be complicated . to be eligible for this assistance , students must enroll in a program that has an donnish element and is hosted by the university in which they ’re enroll ; they typically ca n’t remove those hours to the school of their choice . If nothing else talk to an comptroller , as many of the monetary value associated with military volunteer program can be considered revenue enhancement - deductible [ source : White ] .
peradventure the best way to keep expenses down , though , is by taking a costless or low - cost gap year . AmeriCorpsis the best - known free choice , but there are others like the Student Conservation Corps and World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms that cover your room and board and might even tender a stipend . Other programs extend an experience like to their higher - monetary value counterparts but at a fraction of the price . This could be an option if you are OK with few amenity and few opportunities to travel beyond your home base , but be indisputable to research them thoroughly to make certain they ’re legit [ source : White ] .
Lots More Information
I ’ve always thought asking 18 - year - old to pick a college major is a recipe for disaster . How can we have a bun in the oven anyone with such little aliveness experience to know what they need to do for the next 40 twelvemonth ? After write this clause , though , I can by all odds see how a well - planned spread year might just avail some mass make better decisions about their futurity . I intend it ’s great to take a year after high school to learn more about yourself and your interestingness , and even have a little fun in the process . It certainly beats switching gear when you ’re a few yr into college , or worse , saddled with the responsibility of a family , career and mortgage !
