Gap Year Resources


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
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.
Click here for Wall Street Journal article, April 27, 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.
The COVID-19 pandemic appears to be driving dramatic increases in depression and anxiety among college students. Click here to read.
The CDC COVID-19 page provides information about travel during the pandemic.
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: Independence Days: My Perfect Imperfect Gap Year (NY Times)
Click here to read the post: A Student’s View / College conundrum: Sorry, parents, research shows there’s wisdom in gap years (Duluth News Tribune)
…Click here to read the post: One Year Ago…in which Greta reflects on her Gap Year (Carleton College Admissions Blog)
Click here to read the post: How My Experience in Myanmar Expanded My Life (HerCampus at Colby)
Click here to read the post: My global career begins with Denison (Denison University Admissions Blog)
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)
Click here for Gap Years during a global pandemic article by Katherine.
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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