Strengthening my application while on a gap year

Hello! I am currently enrolled at community college and am close to finishing my associate’s degree. I previously spent a year at a university. I’ve been applying for Fall 2020 transfer, but I haven’t had much luck with admissions or financial aid so I’ll probably be attending my local state school. However, I’m considering deferring my enrollment for a semester or a year due to the coronavirus. I am also considering reapplying to a few schools that I was rejected from (Wellesley, Scripps, a couple of other very selective liberal arts schools).

I currently have a 3.73 program GPA (3.51 overall - I was enrolled in a trade program for a semester), work part-time, and have a week of volunteering from last Fall. I don’t have my semester grades yet but I should finish with a 4.0 for the semester, and I’m expecting the same for the summer. I want to major in History and Film Studies, either as a double-major or minor. If I take a gap year and plan to reapply, what can I do to strengthen my application and stand out from other transfer applicants?

I’m considering the gap year because I don’t want to take online classes if that’s what we end up doing to handle the coronavirus in the Fall. I assume there won’t be much that I can or would be willing to do outside of the home if school was moved online due to the virus.

Check with the community involvement office at your CC, and find out what places are looking for volunteers - some of those places will have remote options. Check with the career center too, and find out what businesses near you are hiring. Again, some might have work-from-home options.

Do you do film production work. or just history of film? If you do production work, find out what is happening in your own local arts community. Lots of really interesting “Theater of Zoom” is going on out there.