Gap year- need advice

[Anonymous]

Hi my 11th grader is planning to do a gap year. No Covid-related it's a maturity issue. He is at a Big 3. Do all kids apply to schools and then take a gap year? Do any kids just skip applying and then apply AFTER the gap year, when they have some more experiences and maturity under their belts? I can see how teacher recs could be an issue but couldn't you have them write them senior year and have the school admissions office hold onto theM? ANY INSIGHT OR ADVICE on gap years is much appreciated.

[Anonymous]

It is more common apply during senior year of high school and then defer.

[Anonymous]

We did applications and got accepted senior year. Then requested a gap year. Not all schools will allow you to defer, so we ruled out the ones that didn’t.

[Anonymous]

DS went to Sidwell, applied to college as a senior and was accepted EA. He deferred to do a gap year during which he did two volunteer internships here and then a bike trip with cousins on the west coast. He planned it all out on his own and it was a great year.

[Anonymous]

Team deferral and here is why: You apply to college the previous fall. If your student is on a gap year climbing Mt. Everest, how will he write essays and complete applications? As a high school student, he still has teachers and guidance counselors to assist with recommendations and transcripts. Once you leave the school, your priority status can change.

[Anonymous]

get the applications in and the REFERENCES while your kid is at school then defer the place -much easier than trying to get everything lined up after graduation

[Anonymous]

Gap years are for losers. The last thing this generation needs is another socially acceptable excuse to spend one more year living on Mommy and Daddy's dime. When my old man decided it was time for me to ride on two wheels, he took the training wheels off my bike, gave me a shove, and said, "Ride or wreck!" If more parents took that attitude with their 18-year-olds with “maturity issues,” maybe this trend toward neverending adolescence would start to reverse itself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gap years are for losers. The last thing this generation needs is another socially acceptable excuse to spend one more year living on Mommy and Daddy's dime. When my old man decided it was time for me to ride on two wheels, he took the training wheels off my bike, gave me a shove, and said, "Ride or wreck!" If more parents took that attitude with their 18-year-olds with “maturity issues,” maybe this trend toward neverending adolescence would start to reverse itself.

I took a gap year to travel and train for soccer in South America, came back to attend UNC Chapel Hill and played there for 4 years. I am now working in technology sale and making 1M/year. I guess I am a loser, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gap years are for losers. The last thing this generation needs is another socially acceptable excuse to spend one more year living on Mommy and Daddy's dime. When my old man decided it was time for me to ride on two wheels, he took the training wheels off my bike, gave me a shove, and said, "Ride or wreck!" If more parents took that attitude with their 18-year-olds with “maturity issues,” maybe this trend toward neverending adolescence would start to reverse itself.

I took a gap year to travel and train for soccer in South America, came back to attend UNC Chapel Hill and played there for 4 years. I am now working in technology sale and making 1M/year. I guess I am a loser, right?

I also took a gap year, when I started I launched straight into the job of doing the work, I saw people falling over drunkenly the first few weeks, making huge mistakes they then regretted, but I had no desire to join them. Maturity, not never-ending adolescence, as you can see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gap years are for losers. The last thing this generation needs is another socially acceptable excuse to spend one more year living on Mommy and Daddy's dime. When my old man decided it was time for me to ride on two wheels, he took the training wheels off my bike, gave me a shove, and said, "Ride or wreck!" If more parents took that attitude with their 18-year-olds with “maturity issues,” maybe this trend toward neverending adolescence would start to reverse itself.

I was a youngest in high school, not turning 18 until Thanksgiving after my high school graduation. Smart, yes, but not mature. I took a gap year in England at a boarding school before attending a SLAC. Best gift my parents ever gave me. I arrived at college more mature, done with homesickness, a better student, more worldly and ready to get down to my studies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gap years are for losers. The last thing this generation needs is another socially acceptable excuse to spend one more year living on Mommy and Daddy's dime. When my old man decided it was time for me to ride on two wheels, he took the training wheels off my bike, gave me a shove, and said, "Ride or wreck!" If more parents took that attitude with their 18-year-olds with “maturity issues,” maybe this trend toward neverending adolescence would start to reverse itself.

I was a youngest in high school, not turning 18 until Thanksgiving after my high school graduation. Smart, yes, but not mature. I took a gap year in England at a boarding school before attending a SLAC. Best gift my parents ever gave me. I arrived at college more mature, done with homesickness, a better student, more worldly and ready to get down to my studies.

Do a lot of boarding schools in the UK offer this option? Which school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gap years are for losers. The last thing this generation needs is another socially acceptable excuse to spend one more year living on Mommy and Daddy's dime. When my old man decided it was time for me to ride on two wheels, he took the training wheels off my bike, gave me a shove, and said, "Ride or wreck!" If more parents took that attitude with their 18-year-olds with “maturity issues,” maybe this trend toward neverending adolescence would start to reverse itself.

I will not say your comment does not have a point for some people, but your problem is that you view all people in such a uniformity where one size fits all. Each person is so vastly different and you can't judge what's best for each of them. If they think a gap year is good for them, it is good for them. Plenty of successful people did that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gap years are for losers. The last thing this generation needs is another socially acceptable excuse to spend one more year living on Mommy and Daddy's dime. When my old man decided it was time for me to ride on two wheels, he took the training wheels off my bike, gave me a shove, and said, "Ride or wreck!" If more parents took that attitude with their 18-year-olds with “maturity issues,” maybe this trend toward neverending adolescence would start to reverse itself.

There are SOOOO many kids that would benefit from a gap year. This post is nonsense. Having some experience and direction when you begin college is a good thing.