I want to take a gap year but college acceptance letter says I have to enroll in the fall

HI

I got pulled off the wait list and I was just sent a letter saying that if I accept I cannot take a gap year. I 100 per cent planned to take one after I accepted. It is for my mental health. Do you think that if I pay for the semester and then state I need to defer they would reconsider? The letter is from the financial person and so maybe other departments could overide this?

Pick up the phone and make the call! None of us can predict what they are going to say. So just do it!

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Call the school and ask if possible.

And if you are 100% taking a gap year - decline the offer.

Either defer at the school you initially intended to go to b4 the WL or re-apply to all again next year.

Your health is more important.

The WL school needs a butt in the seat today - so they’re unlikely to allow a deferral - but put yourself ahead of them. They simply used you for insurance because they didn’t yield high enough.

Good luck.

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Call and ask. However, it is unlikely that a college will take you off the waitlist and then allow you to defer – waitlist acceptances are usually done to fill a particular class.

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I doubt they’re going to let you do this. They have no problem going to the next person on the wait list for this year, but as for 12 months from now, they’d rather take someone from next year’s applicant pool whose application earns them a conventional offer of admission.

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Agree with others to call and ask, but do not expect a favorable answer, since a college admitting off the waitlist wants you to fill an empty seat this coming academic year, not later.

Had you been granted a gap year at the school you deposited at?

Yes, you can probably do something like this, but…the devil is in the details. You may need to do a medical withdrawal, so find out exactly what would need to happen so you don’t lose your money.

Maybe…but you might not get your money back.

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I would not take any kind of withdrawal - if you know you are not attending. I would reapply next year.

I would not want that on my record if I could knowingly avoid it.

I assume you deferred where you committed. That’s enough. Heck in a year from now you might not want either school.

Either attend in the fall - but that doesn’t seem an option - so defer where you are or simply withdraw from all and start again.

That would be the smart move vs trying to game the system and having to answer the why in the future if something appears on your record.

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So- what did they say when you called?

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@TheNewSchool

  1. Did you contact the waitlist school by phone and ask your questions? What did they say?

  2. Were you already taking a gap year at the first college you committed to? What will you be doing during your gap year.

  3. In your more recent closed thread, you said that the school would not grant you your scholarship if you took a gap year. Does this mean they said OK to a gap year IF you were willing to pay?

Re: a waitlist acceptance. Usually there is a very short window to accept or decline the offer of admission. Often this is a week…or so.

You need to call. If you were accepted off the WL for fall 2024 start, no, you cannot take a gap year. You may, however be granted a medical leave.

If you get a medical leave, you may need to provide a fair bit of substantiation, both for the leave and your fitness to return. They may want you to try to enroll in January. Can you do that? It could help your case if you paid then asked for the leave, but I would do that very carefully as you need to be sure you won’t forfeit a significant sum.

Where do you stand with the school where you originally planned to attend.

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I am a music student so decided to enroll and just take creative classes if I can. Are all waitlist people in this situation. All of us can never take a gap year? No one every told me that when I was applying. My girlfriend got off the waitlist at another school and both of us are women, strong students but need a break. Too bad it worked out for her and not me. I havent asked yet bc afraid to.

Afraid of what? How do you know what your options are until you pick up the phone?

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It IS typical that waitlist acceptances are made to fill a soecific class and a gap year is often not an option. If you want to ask admissions it is fine as long as you will be OK with attending in the fall.

I hope things work out well.

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It’s been almost two weeks…is the waitlist offer still open? If so, call them now and ask about the gap year. You won’t be penalized for asking.

Have you been granted a gap year at the school you (hopefully) deposited at?

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If you need a gap year, why don’t you go to your original commit (where I assume you took a gap year)?

Remember, they had an open spot for this year - that is the reason they called you.

If you can’t solve that puzzle for them, they will be on to the next person.

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There are four possible outcomes to making the phone call.

1- They tell you- “no, you either enroll for first semester, or you need to withdraw your commitment. You are welcome to reapply for next year if you wish”.

2- They tell you “We are happy to consider a medical waiver with appropriate documentation” in which case you need to hustle like crazy to get the paperwork done in time to get your gap year approved.

3-They tell you “I don’t know the answer to your question, but I’ll kick it up to the Dean and get back to you”.

4- They say “Sure no problem, take a gap year, see you in the Fall of 2025”.

What exactly are you afraid of here? If you can’t get the gap year approved, don’t you want to know now rather than later? and if you CAN get the gap year approved, no need to sit around wondering “too bad it worked out for her and not me” because it DID work out for you!

This is likely a five minute phone call… and you’re dragging your heels?

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People are invited to enroll off the WL because the school has openings in the coming year, so yes, it is normal that you’d have to take a spot in the fall.

It might help you feel less slighted to realize your options are the school where you originally deposited in 2025 or the WL school in 2024.

This is similar to being offered a spot for a January start at your first choice school when you wanted to start in September. Do you like the school enough to do that or is your second choice with a fall start more appealing? There are threads every year about this decision.

You have to look at it in terms of what’s being offered, not what you wished for. Unfortunately, lots of stuff in life turns out this way. A job you love in a city you’renot thrilled about, etc. Really hoping you can work your head around this and feel good about whatever you choose.

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