What is a Gap Year?
What is a Gap Year?
Students take a year off of school in between high school and college (typically deferring their enrollment into a college) in order to refresh themselves, refine their educational objectives, see the world, and get a better understanding of where they desire to focus their studies as they enter the university. While this practice is common in the UK, Southeast Asia, and Australia, it is now becoming a more common practice among students in the United States.
Why choose a Gap Year?
Students are burned out academically from the demands of their high school years.
Students desire to see more of the world around them in order to see how their future profession contributes to the global community in which we now live.
Students often arrive to the university undecided on their Major and need an extra year of self-discovery in order to better access where they desire to focus their studies as an undergraduate.
Students spend too much wasted time and tuition changing majors early on as an undergraduate.
Students have not experienced enough bumps and bruises in life in order to understand who they are and be self-aware of their unique giftedness.
Students need a Gap Year experience in order to better integrate and contextualize their classroom studies with the experience, maturation, and affirmation of their passions.
What students are saying about the experience of a Gap Year
"When I was challenged physically, emotionally, and spiritually… I grew. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Yet, I suppose that’s part of why I did what I did it; why I took a Gap year. There is so much more that will shape and change you than what you encounter in your everyday life. From east to west, God stretched my comfort- He raised questions in my life. And I sought those questions that led me into a deeper realization of who I was. Real life situations pushed me to see where my heart stood and not necessarily what I wanted to do in life but a passionate desire of who I wanted to be. Adventuring for a year to delve into the depths of God’s mystery rewarded me with maturity and understanding. We do not serve a timid or domesticated God, nor do we live a life with apathetic hearts. Time abroad taught me the real appreciation of education with the knowledge of the realities the world holds. Outside the gates of college, the world awaits me once again. I’ve tasted it; and am ready for it."
-Russ Crowe, current summer staff
"Taking a year off to solely focus on the things I have always wanted to do and have great passion for was one of the best choices I made. With no academic stress or pressure, I was able to venture out to countries and meet people that radically changed my life. It’s a rare opportunity we have, with the ability and choice to go outside our “norms” and have life changing experiences.
Allowing yourself to grow outside a school environment, away from your comforts and familiarities, is such an enriching experience. I guarantee your life will be ruined for the ordinary, in a good way. Take a year off and take risks, live, challenge yourself, try something new, travel, but above all, love."
-Corrie, a former KIVU camper and staff member
"Half way through my senior year of high school, I decided that I was going to take a gap year. A pretty novel concept in my high school, I didn't have very many resources to turn to...Honestly, my gap year was a life-changing experience. I think that the best thing that I did was to split up my gap year into different sections. Each segment of my gap year provided a different learning experience and new knowledge about myself and my interests. Peru was one of the best things I have ever done, but by the end of my three months there, I was ready to go. It was one of the best things that I've ever done, but sometimes it was hard.
For me, taking a year off from school was the perfect thing to do. In a time when people are dealing with ridiculous pressures to pay off student loans or to transition straight into the workplace or grad school right after graduation, my gap year provided a much-needed break from all of the pressures. Even though I missed out on going through the first year experience with my friends, it was definitely worth it. And I wouldn't switch places with my friends for the world.
Also, for the record, it's not weird at all being a year older than everyone else in your grade."
- Liza
"A gap year is the perfect time to explore not only the world but also yourself because you are old enough to have the independence and the maturity to see the world but young enough to have your whole life in front of you. I think that too many people spend their whole life on one track towards being a doctor, a lawyer, or an investment banker and don't take advantage of the opportunity to get out."
- Kevin
Other notable quotes
"I always believed that high school kids needed to go out and experience the real world for a couple of years before going to college in order to appreciate school. I'm sure working between semesters also makes you appreciate school more. But everything should have a limit."
- Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman on returning to UCLA to complete his degree, The Dallas Morning News, February 2009
"Occasionally students are admitted to Harvard or other colleges in part because they accomplished something unusual during a year off. While no one should take a year off simply to gain admission to a particular college, time away almost never makes one a less desirable candidate or less well prepared for college."
-Harvard University website
Articles Endorsing a Gap Year
Is a 'gap year' before college a good idea?
Should Your Grandchild Take a Gap Year?
Teach For the World by Nicholas Kristof
Worn-out students choose a timeout
The so-called gap year between high school and college is just what some students need
