AmeriCorps as Gap Year

TXArtemis
Sun, 06 Jun 2010 22:55:09 +0000

Each Americorps operation is run by local staff, so it’s hard to compare them. You can do a Google search for, e.g., Americorps blog, and you can find some candid commentary.

If you decide to pursue Americorps as a gap year, please be sure you have a Plan B. Because of the economic downturn, all of the service organizations have more applicants than positions, so they can be selective, and our local Americorps focused on placing college grads who could not find jobs–which is appropriate, but left no place for high school grads interested in doing a service gap year.

You probably know this already, but if you are interested in taking a gap year, you will want to go through the senior year admissions cycle and then, if you get into a school you love, ask for deferred admission, most schools will grant it (most schools have info about their gap year policy on their website).

Good luck!