While the idea of taking a gap year before college has been popular in other countries for years, students in the United States are steadily seeing it as a more viable option. USA Gap Year Fairs — one of the nation’s clearinghouses for gap year information — has grown from hosting 7 yearly informational events to 35 in just a few years.
“We are definitely seeing an increase in gap year numbers and noticing an increased turnout each year at the USA Gap Year Fairs,” said Kathy Cheng, Director of Admissions at Dynamy Internship Year.
Before planning specific gap year experiences, students must first grapple with the rationale for taking a gap year, considering what they want to learn from the adventure — be it volunteering to help others, traveling the world, or simply saving money for college. Sometimes it also takes convincing parents that it’s a viable option.
Cheng said that statistics can help inform parents that a gap year can be life-changing. “With lower college retention rates and the average college graduation time being almost six years to obtain a diploma, gap years are great options for students to consider,” she said. She added that parents are often concerned that their child will never return to school, but that’s a misconception.
“Ninety percent of students return to college after their gap year and are more energized by the academic process,” Cheng said.
Demi Schoenherr from Farmington Hills, Michigan, a 2014 high school graduate, said that the process has been worth it both financially and as a process of self-discovery: “I chose to take the gap year so that I could establish residence in New York and go to school for in-state tuition. I also had no idea what I wanted to do at school, so I’ve been taking the time off to try and figure that out.”
Schoenherr wants to attend Hunter College or City College next fall, so her main goal during her gap year has been to save as much money as possible and become acquainted with New York City. “I got a job working at Whole Foods almost as soon as I moved here, and that’s what takes up most of my time, but I do like experiencing city life,” she said.
Conifer, Colorado, native Katie Brown said that the wish to truly know herself sparked the impetus for her current gap year. She had originally decided against it but had a flash of inspiration while meditating: “I realized that I didn’t know who I was and that I couldn’t be the best version of myself by trying to be what everyone else was. And in a flash, I knew that I had to leave. I knew that I needed perspective.”
Brown worked 50 hours a week to fund her current trip backpacking around Europe and is learning that she is braver than she ever imagined. “I learned that I have every ounce of courage I had always dreamed to have — that I was just as brave, kind, smart, and confident as I had always wanted to be. I didn’t need to envy the qualities of others; I already had them,” she said.
Both Schoenherr and Brown feel that they will be more prepared and focused as college students next fall. “I’ve become more comfortable with myself and who I am, and I think that will definitely translate into helping me as a student next year. I also kind of miss the school environment even though this year was a needed break from that sort of structure. But I think I’ll be back at it next year better than I was before,” Schoenherr said.
Brown will matriculate at Colorado State University in August to study neuroscience, and she said that her European experience has made her more of a risk-taker. “I absolutely think that I will be a much better student next year. Though I was already a good student in high school, I now know that I have the confidence and persistence to do anything I set my mind to,” she said.
Cheng said that students should begin considering the idea of a gap year as high school juniors; and, if they choose to go through a volunteer or internship program, they should start applying in the fall of their senior year. She echoed that a gap year can ultimately make young adults stronger students once they reach college.
She said, “It gives a student a break from the traditional classroom while building self-resilience, finding a passion, and exploring interest. Based on studies, students — after taking a gap year — enter colleges with higher GPAs and take on more leadership roles as well.”
If you’re curious as to what a gap year could entail, Smay Prangley describes her gap year experience in the video below.
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