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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]Anonymous wrote:
Unless your kid has some really good reason (world-class sports training, charity/political goals, like the gun-control kids from Fla) a gap year is probably a bad idea for most.

NP: Why do you say this? Formal gap year programs (e.g. foreign exchange, service learning) give valuable experiences. Working can make you more motivated and ready for college. I think the gap year has potential to flip kids out of the high school mode into taking more initiative. Some kids need an extra year to grow up or some time away from school to appreciate it or just a little broader life experience. The only thing I would do is to apply now and get accepted to a college so she doesn't drift away from going altogether. Also, select a gap year program that has [b]some reading/writing requirements and/or if she stays home and works have her enroll in a few community college courses to keep academic skills sharp.[/b]
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Exactly why a gap program is a bad idea for most. Academic skills can weaken, peers are all off at college, new peers may not be as motivated......[/quote]

So what data or experience are you drawing from to make these huge generalizations about academic skills weaken and new peers may not be as motivated? I think those are entirely too sweeping and sound like a personal bias against gap years rather than anything based on more wide-ranging knowledge.

I think it's the accepted wisdom that college-bound kids should apply to schools during their senior years and then ask for deferments.

Research has been done on whether students benefit from taking a gap year:

https://gapyearassociation.org/research.php

https://gapyearassociation.org/data-benefits.php

And if gap years were such a terrible idea in terms of dumbing down students, I don't think tippy-top rated schools like Princeton would encourage them:

https://www.princeton.edu/bridgeyear/

Tufts is also not a slacker school:

https://admissions.tufts.edu/apply/first-year-students/tufts-14/

Many other universities allow or encourage them as well:

https://www.gapyearassociation.org/fav-colleges.php

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