By Katherine Stievater, Founder, Gap Year Solutions
As Gap Year Solutions wraps up our first decade as a premier gap year planning service, I wanted to offer some observations from our first 10 years: advice and perspective that I believe will still remain true 10 years from now. Enjoy the waning days of summer!
1. A gap year is about readiness, not adventure and escape
Roughly one-third of first-year students don’t return to their college the next year. This is a startling statistic when people first hear it. My goal for our students has been and will always be building life skills to increase college success and workplace readiness. Students gain the most by arriving on campus with improved confidence, resilience, social skills, decision making, and ability to live independently. We want them to be the “best version of themselves” when they start college!
2. Go to college when you’re ready – there’s no rush
A gap year is the “gift of time”. As one parent put it recently in their debrief with us, this chance to explore who you are doesn’t come again. A gap year is an excellent moment in a student’s life to stop, step back, and grow before taking on student loans and other adult responsibilities.
3. Student ownership is everything
The most successful gap years are driven by the student, not the parents. This starts with setting gap year goals and driving the planning process, to making decisions about activities and experiences, and taking responsibility for self-management during gap time. Ownership is where confidence is built and independent decision-making is honed.
4. Unplugging is transformational
Students who gave up their phones during programs reported feeling free, authentic, at peace, and less anxious – with deeper friendships, more sleep, and less drama. For students who are not traveling, creating a place to “park” their phone for some time each day is a good idea (and not just during gap time!) Building in phone-free stretches lets the brain decompress and keeps gappers present. This is an important time in a student’s life to practice staying away from screens and the dopamine hit for longer and longer.
5. Real-world professional skills don’t teach themselves
Few of today’s students hold jobs in high school. And high schools generally aren’t teaching professional basics of business communication, time management, workplace etiquette, and job interviewing. Structuring part-time work and internships into gap time begins to fill this void that both parents and counselors rank as critical.
6. Match the gap year experience to the student – honestly
A program and experiences that are an excellent fit for one student might overwhelm or underwhelm another. Students managing significant mental health needs may belong in a more therapeutic program rather than a neurotypical program. Honest self-assessment and transparency are the foundation of a good plan. And honest conversation between students, parents, counselors, and therapists are critical to getting this right.
7. The deepest growth is self-discovery
Our students’ reflections in their end of year debriefs consistently show how gap time taught them they were capable of far more than they thought. They found new confidence and self-awareness that would have been impossible without the opportunities and challenges of gap time.
