Gap semester programs--Spring Admit

Parent Cafe
1

<p>My son was pretty depressed when he found out he was a “spring admit” at his dream school (USC). After a lot of soul searching and research, he decided to do a gap semester program in Nepal and Tibet during fall semester, rather than attend community college or other alternatives.</p>

<p>What a great experience it has been for him! There are lots of great providers out there–and we interviewed several (Carpe Diem, There Must Be Dragons, NOLS, etc., all of which are great), but in the end he selected a trip with Pacific Discovery. It’s been an amazing experience for him–so much so that I think he’s actually happy that he got to do this program rather than go to school this fall. Pacific Discovery has been great–we have been extremely impressed with the program, at every step of the way. </p>

<p>He’s coming home in a week having had experiences that just can’t be replicated. He’ll proudly start at USC in January, an even more mature and confident young man. Just wanted to offer this perspective to any others out there considering a gap year/semester or trying to deal with the spring admit situation.</p>

2

<p>So nice to hear a happy story. Hopefully USC has a good program to integrate the spring admits into life at USC. </p>

<p>Curious what exactly did he do there? Hiking? Language study? Site seeing? All of the above?</p>

3

<p>His Pacific Discovery trip was really varied and well-rounded: adventure, leadership development, team building, culture, home stay, service, Buddhist retreat, etc. with an emphasis on how to travel ethically, consciously and respectfully. Definitely not luxury travel, but always safe and reasonably comfortable. It was a small group-- 10 students, the majority from the US but 3 from Australia. I highly recommend the gap semester/gap year approach–and Pacific Discovery has been terrific. Their whole approach is very well-rounded. Great group leaders and local guides, too.</p>