The Gap: A working holiday, an educational side trip
By Terry Hannum
Contributing Writer
This is not about a trip to a retail clothing store _ although that trip may be part of the process. "The gap year" is the international phrase used to describe a break from formal education between high school and college.
The idea has been around for a long time, but the recognized term for it is a refreshing answer for many high school graduates to give. For they are able to answer the single-most-asked question of the year: "So, what are you going to do after you finish high school?" with "I’m doing the gap."
There is a lot more involved and at stake when going college now than 10, 20 and 30 years ago yet many students are choosing to handle the challenges that college presents a year after high school graduation.
There are graduates who would agree that the classes are not where most of the problems are when entering college, it’s everything else that gets in the way.
The ability of handling great freedom in decision-making, the finances of school, supplies and extra activities, responsibilities of caring for one’s own schedule and the overwhelming feeling of vast possibilities can all be stumbling blocks.
For a growing number of young adults, the gap year is the solution.
Walton Senior High School Counselor Justin Preston recommends any high school graduate who wants to take a gap year to apply to colleges with the intention of a deferred enrollment. That way, he said, they are much more likely to attend after their year off if they have already made arrangements to enroll.
South Kortright Central School Guidance Counselor Jo Boring concurs with Preston and emphasizes that applying to colleges while still in high school is a much easier process with a greater amount of help readily available.
Another concern is for the student who graduates and heads off to college who is clearly not mature enough to handle both independence and academic responsibilities. The leading causes of college freshman drop-out rates fall into this general category.
With all of the sound reasons to take a gap year, there are some reasons not to take a year off because stepping back into academics can become more difficult.
Statistically, most students who choose to take a gap year to hang out, sleep, catch up on video games and movies or "do nothing" are much less likely to return for more education in the near future.
Taking time off to relax and be lazy is not a good reason to take a gap year. Having a plan of some sort is a key element, counselors say.
What college admissions personnel and career coach experts say can help students who are having difficulty deciding on whether to go to college directly from high school or wait a year.
They, along with high school guidance counselors, all recommend applying to colleges regardless of the students’ uncertainties about taking time off.
Many colleges offer and even encourage "deferred admission," where a student becomes an accepted student at the college but will not begin until the following year.
Colleges that offer deferred admissions do not hand them out readily; the applicant usually has to give reasons, a plan for the year.
Jacqueline Gregory is the director of admissions at Hartwick College and she explained that the deferred admission program is an excellent way for students to lock in merit awards and scholarships. Hartwick typically has about 10 deferred admission students a year. As with most colleges, the deferred admission acceptance is usually based on an applicant’s plan for how they will spend the time between high school and college. Gregory said that many deferred admission students travel during the year or commit to an in-depth volunteer program or internship opportunity.
Three Cooperstown Central School seniors will be traveling through the Rotary International Exchange Program during their gap year.
Peter Coccoma is Italy-bound this year after graduation and before attending college on a deferred admission. Coccoma said he is motivated to take the year off partially based on what he observed from his older sister’s travel experiences during the year between high school and college. He said that she changed and matured more in the one year than all previous years combined.
Elyssa Schaeffer will travel to France. Schaeffer said she has had a plan to travel abroad for a number of years but the year between high school and college offered the very best opportunity. She said she feels that she will be a better student at Skidmore College, where she has been accepted on a deferred enrollment, as she will have a second language and a broader view of the world.
Chloe Strange will also take a gap year for travel to Brazil through the Rotary program. Her plan for college studies in interior design will be greatly enhanced by this year, she said, and she expects that it will be a significant confidence-builder as well.
All three students said that this was a year where other life responsibilities will not hinder their opportunities, and that the deferred admission to colleges will only add to their year of enjoyment because they have a plan for the future upon returning to the U.S.
Taking advantage of any travel opportunities is one of the greatest learning experiences a person can have in his or her life.
Alisson Machado is a Rotary Exchange student from Brazil who has taken a gap year to live in United States and attend Milford Central School. He said that he will return to Brazil a changed person with much different views of the world. He said he believes that it is really important to travel and see the world and learn a new language.
Craig Wesley, dean of enrollment at the State University College of Technology at Delhi, said that deferred admission is a recommended course of action for students who need an extra year before starting college studies. In the year of greater independence, a young adult can learn more about who they are, independent of their parental and high school identity. Wesley said that high school seniors who know they will not be committed to college are better suited to take a year off and work.
He explained that often times a year spent working in an "adult world" setting can be an inspiration for new career ideas and a motivation for more education. Trying a career out on an internship basis is a way to "kick the tires" of the job and experience what the job is really like from an insider’s point of view, he said.
Students who are already planning a bachelor’s degree, followed by a master’s degree and internships or straight on to doctoral heights often may want to take a year off.
Some state that it takes that extra year to organize necessary class schedules, meet with career guidance professionals and make living arrangements.
Having a year to earn money is also a large factor for some, although scholarships can be more difficult to obtain in the gap year unless high school and college counselors are utilized for assistance.
Those who are certain of college but uncertain of a direction can also benefit from the gap year. High school students can plan their year as an educational side trip outside of the formal system. They have the opportunity to travel, observe, ask questions, investigate, explore and get a feel of life and all of its career possibilities. The gap year might best be labeled as a working holiday and could easily be described as "the best year of my life" by many who have stepped into The Gap.
To find out more information on what the gap year is and what opportunities await those who opt for it, check out these websites
www.takingoff.net or www.gapwork.com, or talk to a guidance and career counselor.
Local libraries offer books such at "Taking Time Off" by Ron Lieber and Colin Hall (Princeton Review, 2003) or "Taking a Gap Year" by Susan Griffith (Globe Pequot Press, 2003
