Blog

Gap Years have evolved significantly from their earliest days to embrace many different variations and paths such as internships, volunteerism, learning a trade, cultural exchange programs and athletic endeavors. But just where, and how, did the Gap Year begin?

As we continue to raise awareness and dispel many misconceptions about Gap Years, we thought it would be useful to share more …

A big part of the mission of Gap Year Solutions is to raise awareness of Gap Years and help understand the many benefits of taking Gap time. So we thought it would be useful to provide answers to some of the questions we commonly hear during our educational webinars.

We want to make sure that students planning a Gap Year understand how to successfully receive a “yes” for their deferral request!

During this spring season, I am filled with hope, especially as I see the number of COVID vaccinations increase and infections decline significantly from highs earlier this year. I am optimistic about what is ahead in the Gap Year world, and want to share a few of the things I’m thinking about.

Schools with the highest rates of Gap Year deferrals were also those with 100% remote learning in fall 2020. With one exception, every school responding to our survey indicated that their policy for Gap Year deferrals for the Class of 2025 will be the same as last year. Visit our latest post to access the full list and deferral data.

There are so many things to do during a time when social distancing guidelines are still in place and international travel is limited. These are great ideas for any Gap Year - keep them in mind even when we are back to our "new normal"!

Our analysis estimates that the number of high school graduates opting for a Gap Year increased to 6.1% in 2020. We started with 2019 data from 55 colleges and universities indicating that 1.8% of admitted first years took a Gap Year in 2019.

This week we highlight two students who were able to successfully plan Gap Year travel in the U.S., despite limitations of COVID.