Maybe now is the time for a gap year
JANAK BHAKTA, asoftspoken 17-year-old from Tustin, had big plans for 2020. He wanted to spend time away from academics to learn, grow and mature by traveling the world. Then the coronavirus pandemic struck.
“The ideal plan was to travel internationally, but obviously that’s not going to happen,” Bhakta says. He filled out applications for Outward Bound Costa Rica and NOLS Baja, but both programs were canceled.
Bhakta was able to find the perfect fit with the Colorado-based High Mountain Institute, which puts gapyear participants in national parks to assist in conservation efforts.
Bhakta is far from alone in wanting to take the year off from higher education. As colleges move online because of coronavirus safety, the appeal of a year off has been growing. An April survey commissioned by the American Council on Education shows that one in five college students was unsure about re-enrolling in school for the fall.
The current climate has left many wondering if a year off is still an option.
Here’s what those interested need to know.
What is a gap year?
> As Ethan Knight, executive director of the Gap Year Assn., a Portland, Ore., accreditation and standard-setting organization for gap-year programs, explains, a gap year is a “semester or a year of experiential learning typically taken after high school and prior to college or post-secondary education in order to deepen one’s practical, professional and personal awareness.”
According to Knight, a growing number of people are searching for “gap year” online as an alternative to going back to school.
“We were seeing a 300% traffic increase on certain pages and, broadly speaking, roughly 150% increase over the whole site,” Knight says of gapyearassociation.org.
His own definition of a gap year may be too rigid, he adds.
“It’s not one-size-fits-all,” Knight says, noting that young people can spend a few months, a semester, or a year or longer on a gap experience.
“Gap year gets thought of as a thing, and I like to suggest that it’s more a recipe,” he says, adding that a good gap year has four ingredients: a healthy heaping of volunteering, a bit of internship experience, a dash of paid work and a sprinkling of “free-radical” time.
“Leave a little bit of space for the unknown,” he says, “because, partially, what you’re doing is exploring whether this thing that you love to do could potentially be the thing that you’re paid to do for the rest of your life.”
You don’t have to be a teenager to take a gap year. If you feel you need a transition, no matter what stage of life you’re in, odds are there’s a program for you. Just ask Samantha Warfield, a representative for the Corporation for National and Community Service, which runs AmeriCorps. “You don’t have to be 18 or a college-age student to do AmeriCorps,” she says. “We have lots of programs for everyone.”
Will my school allow a gap year?
> There is one major caveat students and parents must consider before committing to a gap year, and that’s whether a chosen college or university will allow it.
This year, many schools are taking away the option to defer, or they’re adding rules for freshman deferrals. Cal State Fresno, for example, will allow incoming freshmen to defer until spring 2021, but students aren’t permitted to take classes at other colleges during this time. If they do, they will have to reapply as transfer students.
However, USC (where, full disclosure, this reporter works as an adjunct professor) generally doesn’t allow deferrals, according to its undergraduate admissions website, except in certain cases.
What programs are available?
> Although galavanting around the globe this year may not be possible, there are still solid options for those wishing to take a gap year.
“If you decide to give a year of service through something like AmeriCorps, we’ve got something for you,” Warfield says.
That list of programs includes AmeriCorps NCCC, through which participants perform such work as clearing trails at national parks or building homes for those in need. It also includes AmeriCorps State and National, which acts as the “matchmaker of national service.”
Those seeking service programs or work can search through options on the AmeriCorps State and National website, including photography in Vermont and data analysis in Washington, D.C., as well as mentoring middle school students in central Texas. Interested gappers can also search for programs through the Gap Year Assn.’s search portal.
However, that’s far from an exhaustive list of options. Students such as Mateo Bolado from Berkeley are exploring career options through internship programs online and in person.
“As more and more of my friends decided to go to college, I kind of just followed them,” Bolado says. “But as soon as I got to school, I felt this deep sense of regret.”
Before the pandemic, Bolado wanted to take time off to discover more about himself and his future. He’s working as a virtual intern for a biotech company and exploring options for the spring, including global travel and language immersion programs.
“COVID only made me feel more secure in the decision I made,” the self-assured 19-year-old says.
Can I make money?
> This month, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released an analysis that said taking a gap year could cost people $90,000 of lifetime earning potential by delaying college, thus their careers, a year. However, the analysis didn’t take into account the social and mental benefits of a gap year. Nor did it take into account that you can still make money or earn college credit while taking a gap year.
Knight and Warfield note that taking a gap year isn’t reserved for those who can afford to work for free. It’s a space where people can find housing and paid work. Warfield explains there are several AmeriCorps programs with monthly stipends, which can come on top of free housing and a daily food stipend.
When people complete their gap year of service, they’ll become eligible for a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award, which can pay for qualified higher-education costs.
What will I really gain?
> Ask anyone who has ever taken a gap year, and odds are you’ll sit through a list of positives. Beyond personal anecdotes, there’s hard data to back up their claims.
According to a survey by the Gap Year Assn. and Temple University in Philadelphia, those who participated in a gap year on average had shorter times to graduation and higher GPAs compared with national norms.
According to the survey, 86% of gap-year participants reported they are satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs; 63% reported participating in the 2014 election cycle; and 89% reported participating in community service — all far outpacing national averages. Also, more than 80% said they’d recommend taking a gap year.
The survey also found participants considered “being in a new and different environment” the most meaningful part of the experience. Bolado says that was paramount in his decision.
“In the journey into adulthood, there’s so much anxiety and so much worry,” he says, noting that many of his peers find comfort in the straight-tocollege path. For him, this is a year to become more “mature, curious and motivated.”
“I gave myself a year to mature and become a little more independent,” he says, “and then go back to school with the right mind-set.”