Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Gap year?

The idea of placing our 14yo on a college campus is suddenly a whole lot more real to us, let's just say, now that we're only a year away.

While she plans to apply next year on schedule, she (and we) are contemplating a gap year before she actually attends.

Understanding that she has lifestyle restrictions that make travel (even overnight travel) extremely challenging-to-impossible, what could she do with that year?

1. She has well-established ties with a particular set of local NPO's, and would happily work there for an internship.

2. Self-study? She's interested in a Google Science fair project, and wants to me to teach her the Biochemistry and synthetic Organic Chemistry that she needs to pursue the interest/question that she has. We also have the support of a graduate program in the discipline and a local hi-tech firm with experience in prototyping.



3. ???


Other ideas?

Anyone have direct experience with a gap year and feel like sharing?

I'd probably go with #2 ... unless she could do a year abroad or something like that? Not sure since you're talking about traveling not being an option. I was an exchange student in High School (that's when I first came to the States) and it was one of the biggest experiences of my life (good and bad but worth it!)

No direct experience with a gap year, just opinions.

I think a gap year is a great idea for the young and college-eligible, even without lifestyle restrictions.

My opinion comes in part from my personal observations of students when I was a Caltech undergrad eons ago. My conclusion was that *on average*, the younger students (14-16yo freshmen) struggled more than those who were a bit older when they enrolled but insanely over prepared (i.e., they could have easily enrolled at a younger age but waited, for whatever reason). This impression was so striking to me at the time that we have avoided grade skips for our children, even when the school put it on the table.

If our kids consider gap years, (aside from travel) I would encourage them to use it pursue passions that they are unlikely to pursue early on in college - art, writing a novel, French cooking, etc. They both have broad interests, so a gap year seems like an opportunity for independent exploration to help nail down what they want to get out of college. While a CC class or internship would be fine, I'd prefer to see most of their time spent on a self-directed project of their own design. (And ideally, the "project" would not include playing Minecraft (or fill in the blank) for N hours per day.)

"The idea of placing our 14yo on a college campus is suddenly a whole lot more real to us, let's just say, now that we're only a year away."

I would offer an opinion, but college was quite possibly the worst five years of my entire life, from a social and emotional perspective.

Of course, I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing, only that it was required for membership in the adult human community.

However, the caveat here is that I probably had an emotional age of 13 when I started college, which made things that much worse.

#3 a year abroad with a host family through a reputable exchange program with on-the-ground support and oversight.

#4 - another option - What about a gap year at a prep/boarding school as a postgraduate? I only mention it because I heard someone else doing it.

Some prestigious prep schools offer more support and better facilities than most universities. Some prep schools offer full scholarships based on needs. Just a thought.

Some of our DD's ideas of what to do with this time (aside from the internship with the NPO, listed above):

1. learn one (or more) foreign languages unto basic proficiency, and maybe practice as a volunteer translator. Her interests here are in Spanish and ASL. She has some minimal experience with both, and will have had two years of German at that point.

2. intensive instruction at a (different) musical instrument-- she plays piano now (going on eight years) at a late-intermediate/early advanced level.

3. Arts and Humanities-- take art workshops, work on writing skills, etc.

What I don't know is whether a plan which doesn't have any real external structure/oversight/benchmarks is going to fly with colleges and universities.

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.



She'd like to travel, but realizes that for her personally, this is likely to simply be impossible for now, particularly since travel to the developing world is an ABSOLUTE no for medical reasons. Her age is part of the reason for other travel restrictions, so it isn't that she won't EVER be able to do a semester abroad, or study at Oxford, or something. Just not now. The problem for her is that aside from the language barrier, she'd need one host family in about ten million in order for it to work. At fifteen, we are not okay with her being 'at the mercy of' someone else in managing her medical needs on a daily basis, even assuming that she could GET to such a host family safely (which is itself a significant hurdle). We'll know in another few months whether or not this is something which CAN be done with sufficient preparation or not.

FWIW, highlights of my university experience included playing in various orchestras. If she's likely to be going somewhere with an active musical scene, and likes that idea, then intensively learning an in-demand orchestral instrument might be an excellent idea. (What's in demand varies, but often includes strings, because orchestras need a lot of them!)

The other ideas sound good too though. Does the university have to approve, if it's a gap year after the offer has been made? I don't know how your system works that way. My guess would be, though, that a university might be amenable to gap plans in a young student that they wouldn't approve of in a normal-age one, because they might see merely adding a year of age as a significant benefit in itself.

She's expressed a desire to learn...





















the accordian.





"Honey, are you sure that you wouldn't rather try something less objectionable to the neighbors? Maybe the bagpipes?"

Love it.

DeeDee