defer enrollment, take a gap year, try for a better school...

Parents Forum
1

<p>I found this article on the web – Washington Post August 2007 – about a kid who plays hockey.</p>

<p>The article – which gives his name – states that he was admitted to the University of Virginia, requested to defer admission a year and is using that year to try and get athletic coaches at D1 schools interested in recruiting him.</p>

<p>I found it fascinating that a kid who was “playing the system” would be willing to have that information so public!</p>

<p>[Eye</a> on the Goal - washingtonpost.com](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/01/AR2007080101716.html]Eye”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/01/AR2007080101716.html)</p>

<p>“He’s playing the system, in other words, rigging it so that he gets to keep U-Va. in his back pocket and use his year off to court schools he prefers.”</p>

2

<p>He’s playing with fire and will probably get burned by UV.</p>

3

<p>I guess I don’t quite see it that way. The guy wants to play DI hockey. UVA doensn’t have DI hockey. If he can get recruited to acheive his goal, then that is great. If not, then he can give up that dream and move on. UVA is a great school at which to do that.</p>

4

<p>I think UVa would feel much differently about it if he reason for deferring was so he could try to get into HYP…</p>

5

<p>You’re also assuming that he wasn’t up front with UVA when talking about the deferment. He very well may have, and everyone knows all about it.</p>

6

<p>true – he may have been upfront with UVA. I wonder if colleges will grant a deferment if you want to spend a gap year looking for something better – you would have to word that request very carefully!</p>

7

<p>My D deferred for a gap year. We asked about deferments while applying, at various schools and about the level of commitment. It is a firm commitment, on both sides, money down on our part, and they don’t take kindly to people shopping for other schools. When asked about how it actually works in practice, well…they admitted a certain attrition over the course of a year. Maybe something in sports is different, but it seems to denote a certain moral deficiency to not honor such a commitment.</p>