@profparent What the study says seems to me is that a gap year benefits those who needs it. They said it in so many words backed by a fancy statistical data. But in a nutshell, it just says if your kid needs it, they will benefit from it. I believe it.
Exactly. But in posts in this thread you have been making many generalizations, both about the media (without providing evidence) and about why you personally feel gap years are useless, based on your own values and experiences. That is what I find problematic. People are different; some will benefit, some won’t. But in general the statistics are positive about gap year outcomes.
I didn’t realize I was making generalizations about the media. I saw it popping up everywhere why you should take a gap year in the last few days. Do you need an evidence that the media was talking about it? Hmmm, I wouldn’t know how to provide it. There was an article in the Washington Post and there were more. I hope I didn’t say gap years helps no one. I more than agree there are special cases a gap year can be tremendous. But IN GENERAL, I don’t see much point and the media is making it for everyone. I strongly feel that for an average HS grad, it’s better they are put in a daily structure and start college right away. What are you going to do with millions aimless 18 year olds with unlimited free time on their hands?
No, I don’t need evidence that the media was talking about it. That is clear. But I read articles that approached it from a number of different perspectives, by no means all of them declaring that it is “beneficial for everyone”. The Guardian, for example, did a quite critical piece about the potential effects of Malia Obama’s decision and how gap years will increase the disparity between privileged students who can afford them and those who can’t. I didn’t happen to agree with the article (as many gap years involve earning money for college and benefit lower income students), but my point is that the media response is more varied than your generalizations about it account for. Personally, I welcome more people becoming aware of the benefits of gap years, so I’m glad that the Obamas have brought the subject to the forefront of conversation, at least for a week or so. It allows more people to consider it as a viable option for some students.
Whether or not YOU see “benefits in it IN GENERAL” isn’t really the point. That is simply one more impressionistic opinion, not based on research or evidence one way or the other. My problem, as you can see, is with sweeping generalizations, whoever is making them.
I love, however, hearing individual posters’ anecdotal experiences with gap years (or their reasons for deciding against them for themselves or their children), and this thread is certainly useful for inspiring those responses.
I think it’s been in the media lately because the First Daughter is taking a gap year. That’s news. But it’s also been in the media more recently than say, when my older D was looking at colleges 7 years ago because there are more opportunities AND some research backing up the idea. I don’t get the impression, though, that “the media” is advocating all graduating seniors take a gap year-far from it, the impression I get is that there are actually many options now, for kids who don’t just want to follow the herd. I think that’s a good thing.
Also, you seem to think that a gap year always means “16 months of unstructured time”. I guess you don’t know much about gap years in the first place. A local radio program just did a story on gap years, and interviewed a young lady who spent a school year in Central America as part of a very structured language program. She came back with foreign language skills, experience in her future career of choice, and a renewed appreciation for her opportunities. A friend of my D’s will be going to Europe to study music in his gap year. My older D worked-at one point, in 3 jobs. That actually caused her to change her intended major. There are many options that don’t include just sitting around.
I work with a lot of gap year students. Their reasons for taking a year off vary. One young woman – who ended up doing extraordinary things during her gap year (was even featured in Time magazine in an article on gap years) – messed up her housing application at her school of choice, and that’s why she decided to wait a year. Odd, I know. A couple others had been accepted to pretty intense majors (like engineering) and wanted to pursue other interests before plunging into the demanding programs. Others were burnt out from high school, and uncertain of their major. Yet others had specific academic reasons: to learn a language, to see if they really wanted to pursue pre-med, for example, to work on their portfolio for an art program.
In general, these are middle to upper-middle class kids with parents who encourage them to do something different after high school. All that I’ve talked to personally went on to college after their gap year. They simply had the option of delaying school for reasons other than economic.
I think a gap year can be great for some kids. My D will be 17 when she starts college. She has always been one of the youngest in her grade. I would have no problem if she decided to take a year off to travel, intern, or something like that. There’s no reason to rush to finish school and get out into the work force, in my opinion, at least for her. I’ve already suggested one of the post-hs language programs. She says she is ready for college, however. If she changes her mind, I’ll help her plan a gap year.
As a practical matter it is likely that the most common type of gap year, or multiple gap years, is due to going to work immediately after high school, either because there is no money for college, or because the high school graduate is not immediately interested in college.
My S is considering a gap year. He’s a soph at present, with a demanding HS schedule (his choice) that includes taking dual-enrollment college classes either online or in person in the evenings, over the summer, etc. He will graduate HS with college credits equivalent to an Associate’s degree.
As a second semester senior, his current plan is to get his EMT certification and maybe work for a year before heading off to college. He knows that pre-med will be a demanding curriculum, followed by an even more demanding med school curriculum, residency, etc.
He’s thinking that 1) he might like a break before diving into pre-med, 2) that it might be advantageous to be a year older when doing the MCAT and med school apps, esp. since his advanced standing credit-wise may shorten his time in undergrad, and 3) socking away some extra money and then investing it will help him pay for med school.
He knows about glide years between undergrad and med, so he’ll evaluate whether he wants to do one, the other or both as the time for each decision nears.
Me, I went from kindergarten straight through my MA with no break. I was in a doctoral program at the time, and I was pretty burnt out. I don’t know that a gap year would have done me any good, but a year between undergrad and grad school might have.
Financially, we’re not in a position to send him somewhere exotic, internship or no, but he can work and live at home if he wants to and we’d be in full support of his decision.
“So why? A year is a long time and exciting college life is waiting for you.” “I don’t see her taking herself out of peer interaction for a year to do anything.”
I’d argue that a year is actually a very short time over one’s life expectancy. That exciting college life can wait. it will still be there one year forward. Why not take a year to explore? When else in one’s life can one be so unencumbered with responsibilities that one can take some time to explore at least a few corners of our huge planet and a few areas of personal interest outside a classroom setting? There is PLENTY that can be learned away from structured academia. Instead of asking why I’d sincerely ask why not? Really, what are the downsides to being one year older with experiences outside of one’s home environment? Colleges will agree with me. Do you really think that top colleges like Harvard would recommend it if they didn’t see tangible benefits? And note that they are not recommending it only for students deemed “immature” or unready to start college (doubt many of those are getting accepted to Harvard and its cohort). Some colleges are even offering financial aid to enable students from all socioeconomic groups to consider the idea.
My 2 kids both did gap years and it had nothing to do with maturity or being ready for college. Actually, having already lived in a dormitory setting at a rigorous college prep boarding school, I’d argue they were more mature and more ready for college than the vast majority of kids there age. For them, it was about taking a year off the hamster wheel, learning and exploring different areas you can’t learn in a textbook or a classroom, and recharging their batteries. It was a life changing experience for them, broadening their knowledge base, learning more about themselves as they both traveled independently for at least part of the year, learning new skills, meeting a wider cross section of people age-wise, culturally, socioeconomically than they would meet in college. Both would tell you they learned more in their gap year than any one year of college. I honestly would recommend it to every student who plans to go to college as I think everyone could benefit from it.
“And the kids are not living in a vacuum. They get to interact with people of ALL ages during that gap year, something that I think can only benefit young people who have been clustered with same-age peers for the previous 12 years of school.” This is very true!
Maybe the kids need more than a 3 month break to recuperate from college admissions and all the work that they had to do to actually get in…
I would never have been fluent over a summer. I have no talent for language learning. (But I now speak two in addition to English quite well.) The way the family placement worked for me was that our family had taken part of our R and R in France the summer before the program started, so we interviewed several families. I chose this one. As I recall my parents were a bit surprised by my choice. (They were older than the others - but it worked out really well - we kept in touch until they passed away.)
I was 16 when I graduated from high school and turned 18 during freshman orientation after the gap year. It was another consideration for my family. My father also had seen the kids of many of his friends take time off in the middle of college - and he thought it was better to be part of your cohort and do the four years of college straight.
BTW I liked my gap year so much I jumped at the chance to do one before grad school too.
Harvard has done it’s own internal studies of students who have done gap years and find they are happier and have better grades. In general. So the acceptance letter suggests you consider taking one.
Anecdotally, the people I know or know of who did not go to college immediately after high school but went to college later went to work or enlisted military service immediately after high school. Their family SES backgrounds were all over the place, not limited to the upper income “middle class” that seems to be the reference point or “bubble” commonly seen in these forums.
I’d expand the volunteer service programs like Americorps.
Ha, I guess my kid didn’t work hard enough. No burnout as far as I can tell.
That’s a good point. I am afraid you are right on that. We don’t hear about it as much.
I fully understand and agree with waiting if you are young in age or for the age. I also understand and agree taking a gap year if you are going into pre-med. Pre-meds don’t get to explore as much. Taking time off to do special projects, develop artistic talent is also a good use of a gap year. My kid entertained briefly the idea of becoming a musician. Had she pursued that, she would have taken a gap year. I am not sure about to learn a language. It sounds to me learning a language during a gap year is more to have something to do rather than it being a project itself. If you had other reasons to take a gap year, it will be a good way to provide some structure.
@Iglooo I ask again, why not take a gap year? What is the downside? You mention structure a lot. Why does everything have to be structured, following some beaten path of high school, followed by 4 years of college, followed by work or more years of studying?
" It sounds to me learning a language during a gap year is more to have something to do rather than it being a project itself."
Isn’t being bi- or multilingual desirable? What better way to learn a language than being amongst native speakers. I’d argue it is the only way to achieve true fluency and the quickest way to garner improvement in a given language.
I can understand that it might not be a choice that you or your children would make but I find it confusing that you can’t step out of the mental box of a structured path between high school and college to not see the many benefits and many option a gap year could provide.
Because you wsant to meet your new classmates? You eagerly applied. Now’s time to see what they are like and what they can offer.
Structure? I guess I believe in some structure for young adults. Having something to do. A lot happens in collge, it’s not just taking classes. It may be a beaten path but not a dull one. I also think colleges provide better chance to be independent of parents than a gap year.
Nothing wrong with bi-multi lingual. In our family we have 6 languages fluent among ourselves. I just don’t see it as something pressing to require a gap year. If you are taking a gap year and don’t have anything to do, learning a language would be a good project.
There are thousands of small, individual reasons to take a gap year that do not necessarily add up into one big reason. For S1, he would have started his freshman year with a broken back, attending on a baseball scholarship but not playing baseball. It’s hard to generalize that into a lesson for others.