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…
Gap Year Benefits
Gap Year Affordability by GYA admin Photo: Global Citizen Year offers a variety of scholarships for funding gap year students’ experiences In our attempts to spread the word about gap years and to encourage the gap year option for more students, we run into a lot of gap year myths. Much of our gap year advocacy involves debunking those myths in order to get more people thinking about realistic gap year possibilities. A common example: GAP YEARS ARE EXPENSIVE. Let’s bust this myth, shall we? First and foremost, we must acknowledge that yes, the idea of a gap year—an opportunity…
The Gaps in Mental Health that Gap Years Can Fill by Danny Recio, PhD, LPC One of the issues with many psychological disorder diagnoses is that they can give the impression of a hard division between mental illness and its absence. However, the reality of how people experience mental health issues is not black or white; it’s mostly some kind of oscillation between shades of gray. Gap year experiences have the potential to fill these shades of gray in mental health. The field of psychology has historically struggled to adequately address the continuum of mental health issues and has been…
An essential and holistic best practice for study abroad and gap year programming includes staff training about the life stage of Emerging Adulthood. Understanding the gifts and challenges of 18-25 year-olds is key. Knowing who our students are broadens professional skill sets for preparing students and staff for successful learning experiences in new and different contexts. Characteristics of Emerging Adulthood (J. Arnett. 2004) include a long period for exploring a wide range of possibilities for career choices and relationships. Of particular note is that Emerging Adulthood is a stage of optimism and possibilities.
What the Pandemic has Taught Us About Resilience by Emily Rosser and Elizabeth Bezark, with commentary from the wider gap year community What is resilience? How do we achieve it and how do we use it? Individually and collectively. In Option B, Sheryl Sandberg writes about resilience in crisis situations and what people can do to manage our responses to crises. In an excerpt of that book, Sandberg says that: “Resilience doesn’t mean rejecting unpleasant emotions. And letting emotions in doesn’t give them power over us; rather, it gives them room to move through us. Sometimes voicing fear gives us…
Advice for Parents from Gap Year Parents by Julia Rogers As a GYA-Accredited Gap Year Consultant, I work closely with students to design meaningful plans for their year out. Whether a consultant is involved or not, parents play a pivotal role in their child’s gap year. They can help set reasonable boundaries, provide encouragement, and offer support during this transformative rite of passage. I always remind parents that a gap year is also a milestone in their lives – watching your child fledge is full of its own set of emotions. In many ways, gap year parents are asked to…
A Bite Into the Big Apple Our Food Justice Cookbook and Reflections on our Food and Sustainability Focused Gap Year Semester by Clara Pitt and Leila Tilin We chose to spend the first half of our gap year semester with the Living City Project (LCP) investigating the NYC food system, its inner workings, and the people and organizations that are fighting for justice and change within this system. We felt guided by one question specifically: How can we build a sustainable and equitable food system that respects our diversity, nourishes our citizens, and protects our planet? We chose to study…
Gap Year to College to Career by Holly Bull Planning for, taking, and unpacking lessons from a gap year can impact a young person’s journey for the better. Students learn planning skill and languages, engage with global and domestic communities within and outside their cohorts, and build resilience as they navigate uncertainty. Andrew, a 2017 gap year alum, landed a full-time position after completing a gap year and his undergraduate education. While a linear path isn’t the only indicator of success, it is one indicator of success and we love to see students reach back out to tell us about how…
Taking an Intentional Gap Year Through AmeriCorps Service by Ally Bush For some, taking a gap year can be intimidating. You’re just out of high school or a recent college graduate, unsure of where to take your next step. Travel is an option, but it can be expensive. Doing an internship is an alternative, but often, internships are unpaid and can be highly competitive. For Justin Harrison, an AmeriCorps service term seemed like the perfect fit. Justin was two years into a four-year degree at New York University, but he was stressed about his future. He had realized that engineering…
How a Gap Year Can Align With Your Career Goals by Adam Salzman, Adventure EXP It’s incredibly exciting to have the opportunity to take on a gap year, but even more thrilling is knowing it aligns with your personal and professional goals. Choosing an alternative path from the normal status quo of high school, college, and internships is a wonderful opportunity to challenge yourself in a way that others won’t experience, but it can be daunting. It goes deeper than just having an amazing experience. It’s a great first step in your career, but also for future opportunities, whether travel…