No

Agree generally no, but with deferred admission if you must. The only notable exception is if on a recruited athlete path targeting elite schools (for the sport) and need the extra year to mature as a super senior at a boarding school (e.g. Exeter or Andover) - costly option $70K+

Anonymous wrote:Gap years are trendy but the kids we and our college sophomore know who did them tend to feel older and out of touch with their peers and uninterested in school once they start college. Just a handful of anecdotal examples but very glad my two September kids have no interest.

Was it a gap year, meaning there was a mission and purpose to that time or were they just working a retail job? The latter is called 'taking time off'.
The term gap year connotes something akin to a sabbatical but for youth.

I did one between college and law school - best decision I ever made!

Anonymous wrote:Gap years are trendy but the kids we and our college sophomore know who did them tend to feel older and out of touch with their peers and uninterested in school once they start college. Just a handful of anecdotal examples but very glad my two September kids have no interest.

Oh my. I don’t know who you know but all the evidence indicates the total opposite. Both of my kids took gap years after deferring their admissions. They both excelled immediately in school. One at Dartmouth the other at Williams.

Perhaps reach out to the college your DC will likely attend and see if they can provide a safe space for them to attend. They might have therapists to help them especially as they might encounter Trump supporters at the school. But definitely insulate them from such traumatic experiences.

Child 1 took a gap year. She won a fully funded government scholarship to study language abroad for a year. This really boosted her college admissions profile as she was no longer competing with her high school classmates when she applied to college from abroad.

Child 2 is a late November baby and could have taken a gap year because he needed the extra time to mature. But NOPE. Because his sister took a gap year, he wasn't going to. So off he went to LSE and can't pop out to the pub with his mates because he's a minor. But I guess that's OK because the dorm dishes out free ale on a regular basis (I am still agog about that).

Yes but not because of trump

Gap years are trendy but the kids we and our college sophomore know who did them tend to feel older and out of touch with their peers and uninterested in school once they start college. Just a handful of anecdotal examples but very glad my two September kids have no interest.

Apply now, see where he gets in. He can defer a year if that feels right but that is much easier than waiting to apply

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm discussing with my DS now. He's on the younger side for his class. I always thought he could use more time prior to college rather than entering at 17, and in light of all this volatility around Trump's meddling in universities and withholding funds and the economic volatility, I'm wondering if we're better off waiting a year and then deciding if the US is even the right place to attend college in?

What makes you think next year will be any better on the political front?

not OP but maybe more clarity on whether the us is a worthy destination for college at all I guess? also 2027 will be a better year for college admission in terms of numbers I'm assuming.

No, don't be stupid. Don't do that to your kid, who will then feel way behind their peers. The only colleges that will be affected by the so-called demographic cliff (really a gentle slope) are the colleges you don't want your kid to attend. All the selective ones will stay selective, regardless of politics, international student quota or domestic demographics.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm discussing with my DS now. He's on the younger side for his class. I always thought he could use more time prior to college rather than entering at 17, and in light of all this volatility around Trump's meddling in universities and withholding funds and the economic volatility, I'm wondering if we're better off waiting a year and then deciding if the US is even the right place to attend college in?

What makes you think next year will be any better on the political front?

not OP but maybe more clarity on whether the us is a worthy destination for college at all I guess? also 2027 will be a better year for college admission in terms of numbers I'm assuming.

Anonymous wrote:I'm discussing with my DS now. He's on the younger side for his class. I always thought he could use more time prior to college rather than entering at 17, and in light of all this volatility around Trump's meddling in universities and withholding funds and the economic volatility, I'm wondering if we're better off waiting a year and then deciding if the US is even the right place to attend college in?

What makes you think next year will be any better on the political front?

We know someone who went to a prep school for a year rather than a full gap year and then moved on to a state college on the other coast.

No, he is ready. Starting college at 17 isn’t that uncommon in other parts of the country due to later school cut off dates and red-shirting isn’t as prevalent.