Everything that I've heard about gap year plans indicates that institutions prefer (rather strongly) that student plans include things OTHER than "me-me-me-me" self-indulgence/self-improvement. So "yes" to Ugandian orphanage building, but "no" to the grand tour of the continent. If you KWIM.
Is the goal for the gap year for college admissions, or is it to take advantage of being young with a bit of extra time, and to enable her to learn and engage herself in something outside the ivory tower?
For
me taking the gap year abroad, in which I did no service, was a broadening experience for me as an individual. It does look like doing a year as an exchange student is tough to manage given her medical status, but please don't make the object of a gap year decision all focused on improving the all-important application.
I spent a year in Turkey. I now speak fluent Turkish, a skill that has helped me exactly never. Well, except that I came back with the confidence I could learn just about anything I set my mind to. I came back with a more nuanced appreciation for the world beyond the me-me-me-me. I came back with a sense of independence and personal responsibility that was unmatched by my peers in college, many of which were still older than me.
Three weeks after my return -- at a time I was still dreaming in Turkish -- I was paired with an Armenian room mate, further stretching my world view.
These experiences have made me who I am today.
