Definitely!
(On a broader scale) Common App makes it so difficult for gap year students to fill out… like they assume that everyone applying as a freshman is a high school senior… or at least, I’ve felt that way… and regardless of what they say to do about the gap year box, I think they seriously need to work on the phrasing of that question/the answers
Okay, they just sent me an email, and I’m not sure if it’s an autoreply/if I should be expecting anything else, because this was utterly unhelpful:
(Like, just stop, Common App. You’re embarrassing yourself.)
Ugh I don’t think you will get any more message. I’d better contact individual schools for the answer.
Good luck, and let us know what they say… Common App help needs to get it’s act together…
Shame CA is in a duopoly with UA. I mean it’s beneficial that the applicants can finish one application and send to many, but these kinds of poor customer service is always an outcome.
(EWWWW I just realized that I thoughtlessly used the wrong “its”…kill me)
Anyway, I responded to their email:
Watch you get the same reply lol
Hey look, an answer!
So, looks like you were right, @viphan 
so in this case, I’m going to stick my essay in the additional information section.
<a href=“On%20a%20broader%20scale”>quote</a> Common App makes it so difficult for gap year students to fill out… like they assume that everyone applying as a freshman is a high school senior… or at least, I’ve felt that way… and regardless of what they say to do about the gap year box,
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Likewise for Net Price Calculators, many of which seem to ignore a student’s independent status even though they ask questions that make it obvious the student is an independent. Exasperating.
@DreamSchlDropout luckily, even though I have a full-time job, I still live with my parents, and they pay for any medical expenses and most food, etc, so I’m still a dependant. Made things a lot easier.
Thanks for posting the reply! So now there is a discrepancy between what the schools said and what the CA rep said, right?
Yeah, but I’m going to go with what CA said - sometimes admissions reps don’t fully understand the common app questions, I think… I’ll just do it the “right” way as opposed to the way that the potentially mis-/uninformed admissions reps told me to ^.^
So you are going to use the additional information section? Do you think that’s better than sending a separate mailing with the new LOR?
I don’t think it really matters, but I like not having to worry about a paper mailing not being received on time/getting lost, and I like to know that it will be read at the same time as the rest of my Common App… but whatever’s easiest for you is probably fine, just as long as your actually write an explanation in the first place haha
The thing is, my letter is longer than 650 words. I also want to address colleges specifically when I send the letters so that it shows that intimacy.
On another related note, does anyone know if you have to report that you took a gap year to colleges that you never applied previously and do they have a way of finding out? I guess from the HS graduation date, they would already know.
A friend of mine is taking a gap year, and for what it’s worth, she’s also filling out an essay for her “education interruption” on the CA. I think it’s a good way to give a little more context to the whole application–gap years are still relatively uncommon stateside and I think most people who choose to take them have a story to tell, so you should tell yours too!
Hi everyone, I’m glad to have found fellow gap yearers here!
For what it’s worth, when I contacted a few colleges and asked them how my applications would be affected by my gap year, they mostly said that submitting an additional essay via CA would be optional. Since I’m applying from a state different from the one I graduated in, a few schools did also mention that when considering your application and/or assigning you an admissions counselor, they look at the location of your high school as opposed to your location at the time of applying.
I’m curious as to when everyone else decided to take a gap year. I didn’t fully make my decision until late spring of my senior year so I feel like I didn’t have a lot of opportunities in terms of finding interesting things to do during the gap year. I’ve mostly just been working and doing college apps so my year sounds far less eventful than everyone else’s.
@alas2125 Welcome! I too didn’t make the decision until late April of my senior year. I applied to research universities and STEM colleges, and only after applying did I decide that instead of physics and engineering, I wanted to major in English… The schos I was accepted at either didn’t offer an English major or really weren’t known for it, so I took a gap year mainly to apply to liberal arts colleges.
Do you mind if I ask what you’re doing on your gap year? EDIT sorry, you definitely said that already. I’m mostly just working and applying to college too; don’t worry - colleges love to see a full year’s worth of “real life” work experience before college! 
@alas21 Welcome to the gap year thread! I didn’t make my decision until much later as well. I think around late June when I finally accepted the fact that I wasn’t going to get off of any wait lists haha.
I’ve been told it doesn’t matter what you do while you’re gappin’ as long as you do SOMETHING. I wish I could work instead of volunteering actually. College is soooo expensive. But 'cause I look so young, a lot of employers have been reluctant to hire me lol. Child labor hahaha <em>hangs head</em>
However, I’m keeping my hopes up that my looks mature before the end of my gap year though. I would love to earn some extra money for college.
@LAMuniv @dancingwriter Thanks for the welcome!
@LAMuniv That’s interesting that you had such a change of heart in terms of what you want to study. Are you worried at all that you’ll change your mind again during your gap year? Also, since I’m looking to maybe go the STEM path, I’m curious as to where you applied.
@dancingwriter Ah yes, the waitlist dilemma. I was hopeful until the end that I would get off at least one, but alas.
Where did you hear that it doesn’t matter what you do during your gap year as long as you do something? Few (if any) colleges I’ve been looking into seem to address taking a gap year.
I feel a lot of pressure to be doing big things to make myself stand out during this gap year. Work is nice in that saving money for college is great but at the same time, I feel like I spend too much time focusing on money instead of figuring out what I want to do and exploring my passions. To some extent, I would almost rather be volunteering than working. The grass is always greener, I suppose…
Have you tried looking into positions where you wouldn’t be dealing with people? Like something online? I don’t look young but even still, a lot of employers seemed a little confused as to why I was applying for a job. For what it’s worth, I sent out dozens and dozens of applications before anyone would even interview me and even then, I still got some rejections. Just try and focus on what you can bring to the table instead of how young you are/look.