Part of my mission as a gap year consultant is to help educate students, parents, school counselors, and independent educational consultants (IECs) about the benefits of gap years.
Over the last decade, gap years have now fully entered the discussion regarding postsecondary options, assisted by Malia Obama’s widely publicized 2016 experience. The COVID-19 pandemic brought more attention, as thousands of graduating high school seniors (and many already in college) elected to take time off from academics to avoid online classes. As the gap year field continues to evolve, here are the top trends that we see looking ahead in 2024.
1. Increasing Student Awareness of the Gap Year Option
Based on the huge volume of gap year information available online today, it’s a good guess that awareness of gap years is up. However, it helps to see some data. In fall 2023, Gap Year Solutions surveyed US high school counselors to learn more about gap year participation and attitudes. The survey indicated that 45 percent of school counselors said that students are either somewhat or significantly more aware of gap years compared to three years ago.
2. Gap Year Numbers Have Returned to Pre-COVID Levels
Despite rising awareness of gap years and a COVID-induced surge in gap years, the number of high school students taking a gap year before enrolling in college has returned to pre-pandemic levels. We know this from two different sources. One is our high school survey data. The public high schools we surveyed last fall told us that 2.6 percent of their Class of 2023 graduates planned to take a gap year. This number is unchanged from the Class of 2019 data we collected in a previous high school survey.
The second source is higher ed data. We surveyed colleges about gap year deferral rates in 2017-18, 2021, and 2022. We estimated before COVID that 1.8 percent of admitted students deferred matriculation for a gap year. This spiked to 4.9 percent during COVID and settled back to 1.9 percent in the second year of the pandemic. (This data excludes the Ivies and Stanford.)
3. College Readiness Emerging as Key Purpose of Gap Time
When I entered the gap year field, many students and counselors were focused on traveling abroad, global citizenship, volunteering, and social responsibility as the goal of gap years. Based on what I am seeing throughout the industry—from colleagues, online sources, webinar Q&A, and elsewhere—the focus has shifted in the past couple of years to making sure students are prepared for the independent living, decision-making, and other requirements of college life. Many students don’t want to travel during a gap year, which is perfectly fine. My approach to gap year planning has always focused on building life skills to help students increase college success. I’m glad to see the rest of the industry appreciates this too.
4. Students Are Focusing on Personal Well-Being
Increasingly, students want to work on themselves during their gap time. Sometimes, this entails addressing mental health challenges—anxiety, depression, ADHD, learning differences—which is driving interest in more “soft” therapeutic programs. Other times, students just want to take a break and recharge, especially after their experience during COVID and the crazy treadmill of high school life. These teens are often looking to learn in new ways, have fun, and avoid the stress of traditional academics. Other students want to improve themselves by serving others and better appreciate their own circumstances.
5. Growing Demand for Internships
Internship demand continues to grow so steadily that I began offering gap year internship placements last year. The driving factor is that—consistent with the focus on college readiness—students are looking for what we like to call “real-world learning.” An internship exposes students to potential careers, provides them with some professional skills and a resume, and equips them with more life skills and problem-solving abilities that are important for college success.
As an aside, one IEC in a recent Gap Year Roundtable reminded us that “plain old minimum-wage jobs—at their favorite pizza place, theme park, game store, etc.—give students the experience of doing humble work, and help them appreciate the opportunity to go to college so much more.” I love this and agree 100 percent!
6. Students Are Looking for More Independent Experiences (but Still Need Structure and Guidance!)
This one is tricky! Right now, I am seeing more students looking for gap year programs that are not so structured. Students want the opportunity to explore on their own, without being on the same itinerary with the same cohort of students 24/7. Students enjoy being around peers but want more “alone” time (or at least unscheduled time). Some traditional structured programs have seen lower enrollment for this spring’s dates. They may have to adapt their approach to attract more students. There are also opportunities such as World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) or Workaway, and other options for the student who prefers and can handle more independence.
7. More Students Are Waiting until Their Gap Year to Apply to College
I don’t suggest that students wait to apply to college until their gap year, as there are advantages to students going through the process while still enrolled in high school. However, as my Boston-area IEC colleague told me recently, “I don’t want students to go through the college process if they don’t have the motivation to do the applications. If they are not researching college options or doing their best academically in high school classes, then they should wait and apply the following year.”
(Bonus!) 8. More Homeschooled Students Are Interested in Gap Years
One IEC on our December 2023 Gap Year Roundtable told us that she is finding that her “homeschooled students are more informed and interested in the option of a gap year.” I have personally seen an increase in homeschooled students in my business as well. We will keep an eye on this trend, since according to the Washington Post, “Homeschooling has become—by a wide margin—America’s fastest-growing form of education.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Katherine Stievater founded Gap Year Solutions to help students successfully transition to college. She works with students across the U.S. to structure internships, work, service, travel and other activities into a customized plan. Her approach creates trust and powerful mentoring relationships with students. Based in Boston, MA, Katherine has four children (three of whom have taken gap years), is an Accredited Gap Year Consultant, and a Professional member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA). Katherine speaks and publishes regularly about the growing gap year movement.
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