found links for AmeriCorps http://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps
student conservation corps http://www.thesca.org/serve/young-adult-programs
city year http://www.cityyear.org/
all three interesting and take HS 18 yr old grads or older. they are pd(not much) but you don’t have to pay them and all are service oriented. I believe city year and maybe AmeriCorps also give you money at the end towards college.
you mention history. I know kids are dying to get internships on the hill. I think so much easier to get these coveted prestigious internships on the hill if they are during the school year and not summer
also some schools like middlebury and Hamilton colleges have SPRING ADMISSION. on those colleges website they give ideas for fall "gap " programs. I assume all “legit” which you mentioned you were worried about if the college are listing them on their website
link for Middlebury ideas- http://www.middlebury.edu/admissions/apply/february/febresources
Hamilton cut and paste of ideas for gap (many overlap ideas with middlebury and some also that I mentioned including City Year and AmeriCorps)
Initial leads for Fall opportunities
The Office of Admission conducted some research on fall opportunities for students starting school in January. Below is a list of the resources we found. We hope it will help you begin your own investigation of opportunities that are right for you.
Note: The presence of an organization or service on this list does not imply a recommendation or endorsement by any office or personnel at Hamilton College.
Academic Programs:
The School of Field Studies
Arcadia University, Center for Education Abroad
University of St. Andrews, Scotland
Non-Credit Programs:
Action without Borders
AFS Intercultural Programs
American Sail Training Association
Americorps Corportaion for National Service
Audubon Expedition Institute
British American Educational Foundation
City-Year
Earthwatch Expeditions
Global Quest
Habitat for Humanity
Life Long Education Alternatives and Programs
Metizo
National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS)
People to People
The Dynamy Internship Year
Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA)
Where There Be Dragons
World Learning