FAFSA DELAYS: HOW TO PLAN A MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCE FOR AN UNEXPECTED GAP YEAR by GYA admin Photo: YMCA of the RockiesApril 2024 has seen a noticeable uptick in REPORTS OF ongoing issues from the rocky rollout of the updated Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). At this point in the year, continued FAFSA delays will have serious implications for many college-bound high school seniors who need to make their college acceptance decisions based on available financial aid packages. For many, it might mean delaying their college start altogether, leaving a large body of students feeling suddenly unmoored as they…
College & University
7 Gap Year Trends to Know for 2024 by Katherine Stievater, Accredited Gap Year Consultant This article has been reposted from the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) Insights Journal. View the original post at https://www.iecaonline.com/quick-links/ieca-news-center/insights-newsletter/insights-winter-2024/seven-gap-year-trends-to-know-for-2024/ 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…
How to Write a College Deferral Letter for a Gap Year by GYA admin Photo: Where There Be Dragons With college decisions looming, many high school seniors are weighing their options and trying to decide what their post-graduation life will look like. Let’s start this conversation by talking about some numbers from GYA’s 2020 National Alumni Survey, which analyzed responses from 1,190 gap year alumni across the United States: 97% of gap year alumni reported an increase in maturity and self-confidence as a result of their gap year experience 84% of gap year alumni reported an increase in academic motivation…
Earning College Credit on a Gap Year by Vanessa Zuidema The COVID-19 pandemic served to exacerbate and expose existing fissures in our higher education system. Costs are skyrocketing, while the financial burden on students and recent grads has become overwhelming. In 2020 and 2021, the number of students opting to take a gap year increased significantly compared to previous years. For some this was the chosen path: a journey they planned for some time with family and school counselors. For others, however, it was a default reaction to a year of lockdowns and “zoom school.” A year in which the…
Gap Year Research Consortium at Colorado College by Bob Clagett IMAGE from Colorado College Anyone who has taken a gap year or is somehow connected to the gap year community is familiar with the myriad benefits of doing so. Students who take a gap year between high school and college are almost invariably more mature, more focused, and more likely to take advantage of the full undergraduate experience from the start of their first year. It has also almost become conventional wisdom that doing something different for a semester or a year can be liberating from the lock-step mentality with…
Navigating College & Your Gap Year by GYA Admin The college admissions process is challenging enough, but should be seen as a necessary step in the evolution of your Gap Year. On average, 90% of gap year alum make their way back to university within a year. The good news is that once you hit college, Gap Year alum also perform better in school and engage more in local campus activities. So, that being said, know that you’ll be bringing good value to whatever university you should choose to enroll in.In almost all cases, your best bet is to: Apply to…
Should I go to College After my Gap Year? by Megan Lee You’ve tackled the world. You’ve marched confidently off the beaten path (even if your heart broke a little as your friends all shared first-year experiences as college freshmen). You’ve grown leaps and bounds, and are excited at the prospect of continuing to grow and learn. But you’re wondering: is college the next best move for me in my life? Is it a conducive environment to the type of growing and learning I want to do? The Value of a College Degree There are a lot of benefits to…
How to Write a Deferral Letter for a Gap Year by Julia Rogers, of EnRoute Consulting – originally published on the EnRoute website For prospective Gap Year students, the spring is an exciting time. You’ve heard from your colleges and have made choice about where to go. And once that’s decided, you need to ask them to hold your spot for a year in the form of a deferral letter. A deferral letter is a formal request to your future college that asks them to hold your admission for a year so you can take time for a gap year….
Is Taking a Gap Year Worth Graduating Late? by GYA Admin In short, YES. Gap Years can kickstart motivation, teach valuable life skills, hone resumes into killer shape, and open doors to future opportunities. And believe it or not, Gap Year students may actually graduate a year ahead of time. Did you know that many teenagers in other countries wait a year after high school before heading to college? In Norway, Denmark and Turkey, for instance, more than 50 percent of students take a year off before college, according to the Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education…
How a Gap Year Benefits University Life by Melanie Russo Last year was a year of adventure. I lived abroad for 10 months and consequently got to experience foreign worlds first hand, work unique jobs, and learn a lot about myself. Soon enough, my blissful Gap Year came to an end and I rejoined “real life” when I arrived here in California to start my astrophysics career at UC Berkeley. It has now been a couple months since I’ve arrived and so far, so great. I’m thoroughly enjoying my classes and my new friends, and my experience has overall been…