Is taking a gap year a bad idea?

MomOnALaptop
Sun, 29 Mar 2015 09:14:30 +0000

Well, my S is going to take a gap year, so I’m going to take a guess that what you mean by “bored,” since you’d be living with grandma, is that you’re worried that you won’t know anyone and will have no social life. That’s similar to S’s concern … he’s keen to do it for all kinds of reasons (including maturity time and engaging in projects he’s been wanting to do but hasn’t had time for), and we also live overseas (so can’t realistically visit US colleges anyway during senior year), but his social life revolves around high school so being untethered will be a challenge. Much more so in your circumstance, since I’m guessing you don’t have friends in grandma’s town! (For S, it’ll just be a case of not seeing friends every day, all day, and maybe feeling like all of a sudden he has time on his hands to go out while his friends one grade lower are still slogging through the intensity of senior year. Whereas you’d be truly untethered.)

A gap year is a great idea, but if you’re lonely, you’re in danger of being (ahem) an internet junkie. Honestly, the reverse culture shock would be easier at college; you might even meet other kids going through the same thing. Do you have a plan for connecting with people your own age so it’s not all about going to work and hanging with grandma and on the internet?

BTW, don’t military families still have residence in their last state of residence? And aren’t there a few state schools that give in-state tuition to all military folks, maybe including families? (I’m thinking the Colorado system but there could be others.) Check that out …