Gap Year Plan
The Gap Year Plan helps students map out their Gap time including a wide range of personal, work, service, volunteer and travel experiences. The Gap Year Plan also includes one-on-one mentoring for students to ensure they stay on track and get the most out of their Gap time.
Gap Year Mentoring
Gap Year Solutions offers mentoring services separate from the Gap Year Plan to help students stay on track and get the most out of their Gap time. This is ideal for students who have already selected Gap Year programs or other activities and don’t desire help with planning, but the family believes the student would benefit from one-on-one coaching to ensure they follow and adjust their Gap Year plan appropriately. Gap Year Mentoring is structured as an hourly service, with a minimum number of hours per semester.
Gap Year Plan: Details
A successful Gap Year depends on articulating interests and goals, and building these into a well thought out plan. Gap Year Solutions listens to the needs and interests of each student, and works closely with the student and family to structure customized Gap Year activities. Our experience working with students and families, research with program educators, vetting of activities and program options including site visits, and feedback from hundreds of students who have completed Gap Years help us develop Gap Year plans tailored to each student’s individual situation.
For the Gap Year Plan, Gap Year Solutions:
- meets with the student and family in-person (if appropriate) and via email / text / phone to further explore the student’s interests and goals, advise students of additional requests and questions to shape options
- prepares initial ideas for how the student may wish to spend their Gap Year time, including internships, paid work, service work, travel, language study and other experiences
- conducts additional research and consultation with Program Directors and others as needed
- vets specific options to fit within the proposed plan and budget
- delivers a plan consistent with the student’s interests, goals, timing and budget
- provides one-on-one mentoring throughout the student’s Gap time.
The Gap Year Plan includes 15 hours of planning and mentoring time. After this time has been completed, families can elect to continue with planning and mentoring support on an hourly basis.
Families who purchase the Gap Year Plan will receive a detailed Gap Year Plan Service Description.
Gap Year Mentoring: Details
The Gap Year Mentoring service is intended for those families who have already figured out their student’s plan for the semester or year. While the plan may be decided, the student would benefit from additional support in the form of regular “check-ins”. The purpose of this time is to keep them on track, and regularly revisit their interests and goals to ensure they are making the most of their Gap time.
Gap Year Mentoring includes:
- Regular check-ins, gentle nudges and focus on key activities to increase likelihood of starting and completing important tasks
- Teaching the importance of time management and prioritization, and tips such as breaking work into smaller tasks and “taking the first step”
- Productivity and organizational tools such as spreadsheets, calendars, checklists and templates (e.g., resume)
- As appropriate, Gap Year Solutions counselors will offer ideas and specific suggestions to help students add to and adjust their plan (not including sturctured programs)
Students will schedule weekly or bi-weekly calls with one of our counselors to check on progress, new developments during their Gap time, and to provide advice and guidance to ensure that they have productive and fulfilling Gap time.
Mentoring is structured as an hourly service, with a minimum number of hours per semester
Next Steps
If you would like to learn more about our services, please submit your information here. We will schedule a phone call to get introduced.
Following this phone call, if you are interested in the Gap Year Plan we will schedule a free Initial Consultation with the student and at least one parent to review the student’s responses to our Gap Year Plan Questionnaire, answer more detailed questions about Gap Years, and establish budget and boundaries for your Gap Year planning process.
Families interested in Gap Year Mentoring should have their student fill out the Gap Year Mentoring Questionnaire. Gap Year Solutions will hold a free meeting to review the student’s Gap Year plan and ensure a good fit between our services and the family’s needs.
We ask all families considering working with Gap Year Solutions to review our Essential Eligibility Criteria (EEC) as part of this process.