What is a Gap Year?
“An intentional period of time devoted to personal growth and exploration through experiential learning opportunities.”
Examples include...
internships
language learning
trade school
international travel
work exchange
outdoor leadership
national service
volunteering
and much more...
What do we mean by experiential learning?
Our friends at the Association for Experiential Education (AEE) define experiential education as a process of challenge and experience followed by reflection, which leads to learning and growth.
According to AEE’s Principles of Practice for Experiential Education (taken from Adventure Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice by Michael A. Gass, H.L. “Lee” Gillis, and Keith C. Russell), experiential learning occurs when:
- Experiences are supported by reflection, critical analysis and synthesis
- Experiences require the learner to take initiative, make decisions, and be accountable for results
- The learner is actively engaged in posing questions, investigating, experimenting, being curious, solving problems, assuming responsibility, being creative, and constructing meaning
- Learners are engaged intellectually, emotionally, socially, soulfully, and/or physically
- The results of the learning are personal and form the basis for future experience and learning
- Relationships are developed and nurtured: learner to self, learner to others, and learner to the world at large
- The learner may experience success, failure, adventure, risk-taking and uncertainty, because the outcomes of experience cannot totally be predicted
- Learners have opportunities to explore and examine their own values
- Experiences include the possibility to learn from natural consequences, mistakes, and successes
When do gap years typically happen?
Historically, the term “gap year” has referred to a period of time dedicated to personal growth and exploration between a student’s high school graduation and first year of college. To this day, this continues to be the most common timeframe in which self-identifying “gappers” are taking gap time, and there are enormous benefits to taking gap time prior to seeking a college degree.
That being said, this traditional definition is limiting: not all students follow a traditional high school-to-college trajectory, nor is this the only time in one’s life where there are opportunities for intentional growth and exploration outside of one’s formal education or career pursuits.
At its core, a gap year experience serves to enrich an individual’s personal, professional, and/or educational journey in life. Gap years challenge the myth that a person’s trajectory in life must be linear, and that a “high school > college > career” plan is key to a person’s success. Rather, the concept of a gap year is built on the belief that a life rich in learning, growth, and purpose will follow many twists and turns—often unexpected—that influence shifts in focus and direction. With this in mind, a person might pursue an intentional gap year mid-college, between college graduation and grad school or career, mid-career, post-retirement, or any other stages in life. The keys to defining an experience as “gap time” are intentionality, growth, and reflection.
History of Gap Years in the U.S.
A tradition initially popularized in the UK, the concept of a gap year began gaining popularity in the United States in the 1980s. Since then, numerous books and articles have been written about gap years in the American context; notably, “Time Out or Burn Out for The Next Generation” by Harvard’s former Dean of Admissions, William Fitzsimmons, and “The Gap Year Advantage” by Rae Nelson and Karl Haigler.
WISDOM FROM THE BULL FAMILY: GAP YEAR PIONEERS
While the Gap Year Association is dedicated to increasing gap year visibility and access for more students, we understand that gap years may not be right for every student in every situation. Thus, we stand behind following principle of gap year advising: the student must be the one to choose to take a gap year.
Cornelius Bull, who helped pioneer the Gap Year Movement in the U.S. in the early 1980s (and namesake of GYA’s Cornelius Bull Lifetime Achievement Award), wanted to create a bumper sticker that would capture the essence of this principle: “Don’t should on me!” The idea was to let go of the “oughts” and “shoulds” and lead from the core. Students who take ownership of their experiences have the most meaningful ones.
A gap year is a time to explore the world around and within you, and to identify that which you find truly important in life. For many, it feels easiest to take this kind of time during their teens or twenties. As Cornelius Bull humorously put it, “Have your mid-life crisis at 18 while you are young enough to enjoy it!” He also liked to assert, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.” His daughter, Holly Bull, a GYA-Accredited Gap Year Consultant at the Center for Interim Programs, coined the phrase, “a gap year is a year on, not a year off,” which she experienced firsthand from her own two gap years before and during college, as well as through her consulting work with over 3,500 gap year students.