GAP YEAR BASICS
See if you are a good Gap Year candidate
You may be a great candidate for taking a year off between high school and college, or during college. Experience has shown that 90% of students taking a Gap Year will enroll in a four year college, and be more focused and ready to embrace college learning.
Resources by GYS
Access posts and information by Katherine and Gap Year Solutions
Resource Library
Katherine Stievater, founder of Gap Year Solutions, and Joanna Lilley, founder of Lilley Consulting, discuss therapeutic programs and gap year programs for members of the Independent Educational Consultant Association (IECA). Access video here from 12/2/2025 discussion.
Discusses resetting the gap year model and the role of admissions professionals in this (Inside Higher Ed, 10/20/2025). Link here
Focuses on gap years helping with maturity, clarity, and strategic application enhancement (Crimson Education, 10/7/2025). Click here
Explains gap years as opportunities for learning differently with internships, community service, and travel, emphasizing intentional planning (Tivnu, 9/30/2025). Click here.
For decades, the path was straightforward: graduate from high school, attend college, secure a job, and enjoy financial stability. Parents saved, students borrowed, and the diploma became shorthand for employability. But in 2025, that script is breaking down (Forbes, 9/16/2025). Click here for article.
Explores how we can help our children become less materialistic and superficial, and support them in finding their purpose (Erica Komisar, Institute for Family Studies – 6/9/2025). Click here.
Lifespans, traditions and societal expectations have all changed yet the transition from adolescence to adulthood remains rigid. From The Globe and Mail, 6/30/2025. Article link.
This article helps understand the fundamental differences between therapeutic and gap year programs, and when it is appropriate to consider each based on a student’s specific situation. Co-authored by Katherine Stievater, Gap Year Solutions, and Joanna Lilley, Lilley Consulting.
Click here for article from IECA Winter 2025 Insights
Some teens, particularly those with ADHD who have experienced persistent academic stress, may benefit from taking a gap year after high school.
Click here for ADDitude podcast – 2/11/2025
Harvard Business Review, 11/8/2024. Click here.
Click here for article summarizing study with 966 business leaders (Intelligent.com, updated 9/13/2024)
Click here to watch short video from Channel 7, Austin TX (5/3/2024)
Click here to read article from IECA Spring 2024 Insight Magazine (April 2024)
By Rae Nelson, Catholic Schools Guide (Australia), January 30, 2024. Click here for article
Click here for article from Winter 2024 edition of IECA Insights Magazine
U.K. study looking at longer-term outcomes of gap years (published Nov 2012). Click here for study
Click here to see Katherine’s full presentation to Wayland High School (MA) students and parents, fall 2023
Survey conducted by Gap Year Solutions. Click here to access results (posted 1/12/2024)
Click here for Katherine’s portion of Gap Year Association webinar, October 2023
More students are taking a year off after high school to explore their interests
Click here for US News article, 11/29/2022
Click here to read article from Forbes, May 26, 2023
Indeed.com shares ideas for Gap Year experiences. 3/16/2023. Click here.
By Jeffrey Selingo and Matt Sigelman – Click here for link to Wall Street Journal, 5/20/2023
Click here to read U.S. News article published 1/5/2023
Click here to read Making the Extra Effort, published February 20, 2022
Michael Horn’s The Future of Education Substack has an excellent summary of the drivers of higher education’s costs, which have risen significantly higher than inflation for decades. (This post also covers ChatGPT.)
Click here to read the article posted January 19, 2023
Click here for New York Times article, November 1, 2022
Click here for HerMoney article, August 3, 2022
Click here for article about college student mental health and implications for families and student affairs professionals. From Common Sense substack, August 31, 2022.
US News & World Report – March 2, 2022. Click here for article.
Access the Gap Year Research Consortium at Colorado College website here.
College mental health crisis: despite vaccines and boosters, the swirl of the pandemic rocks students. Click here to read.
See three students talk about their Gap Year experiences: Belmont High School Panel Discussion, January 11, 2018
View short presentation by Katherine about Gap Years and their many benefits.
Click here to read the post: Three Cheers for Internships (Wall Street Journal)
Click here to read the post: How Taking a Gap Year Can Shape Your Life (NY Times)
Click here to read the post: The Growing Allure of The Gap Year (NPR)
Click here to read the post: The Need For Discovery Gap Years, Microinternships As Students Choose College (Forbes.com)
Click here to read the post: Making a Gap Year More Than an Overseas Vacation (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
Click here to read the post: The Best Freshman Year is a Gap Year (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
Click here to read the post: Teens, Anxiety and Gap Years (Belmont Citizen-Herald)
Click here to read the post: Five Myths of Gap Years (Belmont Citizen-Herald)
Click here to read the post: Colleges Warm to Gap Years (Belmont Citizen-Herald)
Click here to read the post: Kids Don’t Need to Stay “On Track” to Succeed (The Atlantic)
Click here to read the post: Motivations and Healthy Decisions in Choosing College with Michael B. Horn (College Admissions Podcast with Mark and Anna – whole podcast is excellent. Gap Years covered 28:30 – 35:30)
Click here to read the post: Anxiety, Depression and the Modern Adolescent (TIME Magazine)
Click here to read the post:Why Are More American Teenagers Than Ever Suffering From Severe Anxiety (NY Times)
Click here to read the post: On Leave: College Wellness, Mental Health And Not Returning To Campus (NPR – on demand audio from 11/27/2018 – specific segment on gap years starts at 33:00)
Click here to read the post: When a College Student Comes Home to Stay (NY Times)
Click here to read the post: Ready or not? What to do when your teen isn’t prepared for college (MSNBC)
Click here to read the post: Teen Anxiety Changing Gap Years (Belmont Citizen-Herald)
More and more, U.S. teens are considering their options before jumping right from high school to college. Rather than simply choosing among colleges, many of today’s high school seniors are also beginning to defer the college experience – usually for a year.
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