Anonymous wrote:I plan for my kids to do a gap year. I am more annoyed that COTUS is doing one, now prices will go up.

I also tell my kids they can graduate in more than 4 years.

what prices?

Has anyone taken a gap year and ended up not going to college at all?

A. met a guy/girl and had a child?
B. committed a crime?
C. decided school isn't for them anymore?
D. just because...

I plan for my kids to do a gap year. I am more annoyed that COTUS is doing one, now prices will go up.

I also tell my kids they can graduate in more than 4 years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is everyone going to do this now that Malia is? Is this red shirting for college students?

What will she do?

If I were her, I would travel with my Dad or Mom wherever and as far as they go.

No everyone is not going to start doing this now that Malia is doing it. But I see nothing wrong with it.

I knew two kinds of people who took gap years when I was a teen. The first were kids from wealthy families who spent the year backpacking in Europe or whatever. The second were kids who needed to work to save up some money before they could start school. This is nothing new.

Instead of a gap year, why don't they just take the summer off after high school graduation and relax before starting college?

This is just a case of Americans freaking at a concept that is common and accepted in other countries. Not everyone thinks kids' prospects are forever wrecked if they don't start college immediately after high school (and in an area like ours, where students are often pretty burned out just trying to keep up grades and extracurriculars in the extreme competition to get into college these days, a break sounds pretty beneficial).

I've known several families overseas whose kids did a gap year before college and those kids were all much more ready for college because of taking some time off academics. In one case, the kid just worked and saved money; in another, the kid traveled for a time but then came back home and participated in a volunteering program (related to her field of study) that was mostly full-time for several months.

Gap years are not for everyone, and kids who are heading into fields where they must do postgrad degrees probably don't have the time to wait a year to start undergraduate classes. But taking a gap year is not a reason to gasp and assume that kids will just screw around for a year. Each family does it differently if they do it at all.

Story on NBC news tonight about this. Less than 1% of college freshmen do this, almost all from wealthy families.

Story said that a few colleges are starting to offer financial aid to students who wish to do some sort of humanitarian or volunteer work. No mention of which schools or how that is financed.

Nothing has been announced re Malia Obamas gap year plans

How does a gap year work? How do you make sure that the young person doesn't just end up screwing around for a year?

If your child or you took a gap year, how was it financed?

Anonymous wrote:Is everyone going to do this now that Malia is? Is this red shirting for college students?

What will she do?

Looking back I wish I had.

I'd like my son to take a gap year. That is, of course, if he wants to. I'm not sure I can afford it, though. I didn't really know about a gap year while saving for college, so I feel a bit behind the 8 ball here.

For a lot of kids who aren't 100% sure about what they want to study, a gap year might really underscore what's important to them and give them more focus.

And yes, the additional year to mature is always helpful, IMO.

Firstly, I push my kids to do what's good for THEM, not to do what other people do. Secondly, my DD is taking a gap year but

A. it's AFTER she graduated from college, and
B. she graduated from college young

Is everyone going to do this now that Malia is? Is this red shirting for college students?