Has anyone ever thought about a gap year for their kids?

[Michelle in MO]

I noticed a while back that SWB and her family were planning on having their son take a "gap year" after high school. I've wondered if something like this would be beneficial for my kids, particularly my oldest.

 

If a student takes a gap year between h.s. and college, would this jeopardize any scholarship money they might receive? Do gap years tend to lead towards greater maturity in the student, or does it "sideline" them so much that they lose the focus for college altogether?

 

I've thought about this particularly for my oldest, because it seems like the experience of working full-time for a year might help in some ways, particularly with maturity issues. However, I realize that a lot of the answers may come down to what works best for a particular individual. She's a sweet girl, very kind----but I just wonder if working full-time would help in the responsibility department. Of course, this would depend completely upon her wishes. If she wants to move on to college right away, then my dh and I are fully in support of that! :)

 

Anyone had experience with this?

[Jane in NC]

 

If a student takes a gap year between h.s. and college, would this jeopardize any scholarship money they might receive? Do gap years tend to lead towards greater maturity in the student, or does it "sideline" them so much that they lose the focus for college altogether?

 

I've thought about this particularly for my oldest, because it seems like the experience of working full-time for a year might help in some ways, particularly with maturity issues. ...

 

Hi Michelle,

 

Again, I would check with the college. Gap years seem fairly common at the Ivies and Almost Ivies. But gap years for these students are often less job oriented as they are project or travel oriented. There are a number of programs that are specifically marketed to gap year experiences--often language intensive programs in another country. In part I think that this is a reaction here in the States to the fact that students these days are so driven by AP courses, etc., that being an exchange student for more than a summer session is problematic.

 

Princeton is implementing an interesting "Bridge Year" program.

 

 

Jane

[laughing lioness]

Hi Michelle,

There are a few articles on-line about "Gap Years" and companies devoted to helping your child develop a program such as international study, skill development, etc. They are pricey and it is quite do-able to develop a "gap year" of your own without paying big bucks. Of course, travel costs money, but there are creative ways of doing that so it's not too pricey either.

Our oldest took a couple "gap years." (She is a 21 year old freshmen in college this year). She traveled internationally (3 different times), worked at an orphanage in Transylvania, learned 3 languages so that she is conversant in them, nannied, worked p.t. for various places, tutored homeschool students in 7th grade, science and in writing and grammar.

Our next oldest is 18 (as of August) and we made the decision that she would graduate next spring. This year she is doing some academics but she also volunteered for 2 mths at Above Rubies, is going to the "Back to DC" program with TeenPact (starts this Wed), will participate in a One Act Play, plans to be a paige for the state leg. session, lead a girls group (they study protocol and have formal teas), led a little girls tea party for homeschool girls and moms, and work p.t.

In many ways, this year is a "gap year" for her.

My oldest dd has been somewhat shocked at the laissez faire attitude of many of the other freshman in her program. But her time off from school has really solidified what she wants to do vocationally so she is there to get as much as she can in her area of interest and vocation.

The type of scholarship money you are looking at will determine if a gap year affects that. Most standard scholarships aren't going to care.

My dd was getting frustrated with where she was at in life and had been admitted to a couple of different schools (but she would have had to take out loans). A full time 4-year scholarship was literally dropped in her lap so she is taking advantadge of that now. I do think that she gained a lot of maturity over the past couple of years as far as finishing tasks she doesn't like and sticking with things.

My second dd is more competitive in a way so she is all about getting to college and graduating before her sis and older cousins. Personality plays into it all too.

[Michelle in MO]

It seems like a gap year can do a great deal of good for some students: building maturity, helping them to focus in on what exactly they do want to do in life, teaching them responsibility, etc.

 

It'll be interesting to see how both of my older dd's mature over the next few years. Even though I was very worried about them attending school this year, all three (the youngest is in 6th grade; the other two are in 9th and 11th grades, respectively) have been doing fairly well. My oldest is quieter and doesn't always like to be responsible for things :001_huh: , although this situation is improving because someone else is holding her accountable!

 

It seems that many use gap years for service or travel opportunities rather than working full-time. A year of service (like maybe working with Habitat for Humanity or another organization) or travel, like Lisa mentioned, could teach a student many valuable lessons. I wonder what SWB's son will be doing? I'll have to head over to her blog to check it out. At any rate, it's certainly a concept worth exploring. And, of course, my oldest dd may gain more focus within the next couple of years and have a better sense of where she's going in life. A lot can happen in two years!

 

Thanks for sharing your experience, Lisa. Thanks, Jane, for the link to Princeton's gap year program!

[HappyatHome]

I would really like for my dd to consider this. She is very involved in TeenPact and would be happy to work with them, but I would also like to fine tune some academics and just have some more time with her. She will only be 17 when she graduates and I think another year before college would be very beneficial.

 

I'm currently looking at different options. I know there are wonderful opportunities out there, just trying to find out what they are.

[Gwen in VA]

As a parent of a newly-diagnosed type 1 diabetic, I just keep on thinking about health insurance.......

[Riverfront Headmistress]

My family has discussed this and plan to use the year after graduating high school for a study abroad program; otherwise known as the 13th year. This program will have my daughter living with a host family while she teaches conversational English during the day.

[G5052]

As a parent of a newly-diagnosed type 1 diabetic, I just keep on thinking about health insurance.......

 

DH had "routine" surgery four years ago that ended up in a life-threatening infection and thousands and thousands of dollars in bills since despite having very good insurance. We have decent income and still live paycheck-to-paycheck because of his bills.

 

We can't take a chance with even a healthy teenager. Ours will have to go to college (our insurance covers them then), or work at a job with benefits.

[8filltheheart]

Absolutely!! We have been fighting a mal-function in dh's employer's system that keeps kicking our ds out of our coverage and he IS a full-time student. He turned 19 4 weeks ago. Every week since then we have received information on enrolling in Cobra. We keep calling, they keep saying they are fixing it, and we keep getting told he has been rejected from the system.

 

I can't imagine what we would do if he weren't a full time student.

[laughing lioness]

Always glad to share! I hope I conveyed that it was mixture of great experiences as well as really wrestling together about what was next. We did get antsy when she was ready to just nix the whole higher ed thing and move to E.Europe! Part of it was that we were letting her determine her options and we were trying to guide her. Part of the time she really appreciated this and part of the time she resented this. When the shcolarship came up she reallly considered walking away from it but we strongly pushed her to go (and now she is glad).

The insurance is a consideration. My dd was able to get traveler's insurance and was actually better covered than with us.

TeenPact is great! Tim Echols is a terrific mentor and well connected.

[Laura Corin]

We can't take a chance with even a healthy teenager. Ours will have to go to college (our insurance covers them then), or work at a job with benefits.

 

You might Google to see if there is something similar in the US, or if a UK company would cover you.

 

Laura

[Michelle in MO]

As a parent of a newly-diagnosed type 1 diabetic, I just keep on thinking about health insurance.......

 

aspect of things entirely! Yes, the insurance angle would be critical, especially in this day and age of almost unmanageable health care premiums.

 

You might Google to see if there is something similar in the US, or if a UK company would cover you.

 

I'll check this out, Laura. Thanks for the suggestion. I wonder if an official "Bridge Year Program" like Jane mentioned, or another program, would offer health care coverage.

[8filltheheart]

Dh's insurance covered ds his entire 18th yr.....fulltime student or not (he was). I guess this is a case where late b'days might actually have an advantage in some respects since he would have been covered until mid-Aug until age 19 regardless. His stoppage began on his 19th b'day (even though he is a full time student. i just hope we get it resolved soon)

[Michelle in MO]

Dh's insurance covered ds his entire 18th yr.....fulltime student or not (he was). I guess this is a case where late b'days might actually have an advantage in some respects since he would have been covered until mid-Aug until age 19 regardless. His stoppage began on his 19th b'day (even though he is a full time student. i just hope we get it resolved soon)

 

I've been out of college so long, but when I was in college, I think my parents carried me on their life insurance for a while, but I can't remember for how long. Then I believe I was able to get a very essential health-care policy through the university I attended.

 

I would hope my kids could be covered through college! Tell me it isn't so! Waaaaaah!

[8filltheheart]

He's supposed to be covered. For some reason, the employer's system keeps kicking him out. Everytime they tell us that they have it resolved, we get another Cobra letter saying he has lost his coverage but he is eligible for Cobra. We have no idea why it keeps happening.

 

My point was that he was covered through his 18th yr regardless. 19 is the age they are supposed to lose their coverage if they are no longer full-time students.

[Michelle in MO]

He's supposed to be covered. For some reason, the employer's system keeps kicking him out. Everytime they tell us that they have it resolved, we get another Cobra letter saying he has lost his coverage but he is eligible for Cobra. We have no idea why it keeps happening.

 

My point was that he was covered through his 18th yr regardless. 19 is the age they are supposed to lose their coverage if they are no longer full-time students.

 

aren't they? :glare: I remember when I was pregnant with our middle daughter----the insurance company kept saying I wasn't covered because I got pregnant right after my dh started a new job in our small town. We were covered from the time he started, but kept having to prove it. They didn't want to cover ultrasounds---anything! Finally they did, after much wrangling over the phone and ultrasounds to prove the age of the child.

 

I talked to dh this morning: you are right---they are supposed to be covered if they're full-time students. This issue obviously puts the whole issue of a gap year in a different perspective. I'll search it out, though, as Laura in China suggests. There may be "gap" programs out there that allow for coverage. Of course, I'd also have to check with the insurance company to find out how long they allow you to carry your dc on your policy.

 

So much to think about. Sometimes I think being a parent of teenagers is more difficult than when they were little: teaching them to drive, hold down a job, do homework at night, keep their lives in balance, assume more and more adult responsibilities (I guess all the previous are under the same category), make decisions about their future. Enough to keep me up at night, if I think on it too long.

[Laura Corin]

This issue obviously puts the whole issue of a gap year in a different perspective. I'll search it out, though, as Laura in China suggests. There may be "gap" programs out there that allow for coverage.

 

There are some gap programmes for Americans here that offer insurance. I don't know if these are available for post-high school students, or just university graduates.

 

There are more organisations here and here

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[Michelle in MO]

There are some gap programmes for Americans here that offer insurance. I don't know if these are available for post-high school students, or just university graduates.

 

There are more organisations here and here

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

 

I'll be checking them out, plus the insurance angle!

[LibraryLover]

I have checked on this with our insurance since we have at least one child who does want to do a gap travel year. Our children are covered until age 19 (and the gap year would be the child's 18th year, anyway), and were told is not much of an issue to extend the coverage beyond that for study purposes, even if it is not full time college enrollment.

 

If a child is going to school, our coverage continues until age 25.

[Michelle in MO]

I have checked on this with our insurance since we have at least one child who does want to do a gap travel year. Our children are covered until age 19 (and the gap year would be the child's 18th year, anyway), and were told is not much of an issue to extend the coverage beyond that for study purposes, even if it is not full time college enrollment.

 

If a child is going to school, our coverage continues until age 25.

 

It's apparent that, should dd decide to do this, one of our first steps should be to check with our insurance carrier. I'm going to call them, anyway, because I would like to find out how long they extend the insurance for, beyond the age of 18.

[Storm Bay]

I'd check with the type of scholarship. Some can be deferred for a year, for example. My sister took two years off between high school and university because she planned to go into medicine and wanted to travel, but she was mature enough she could have probably gone straight in. Her wide range of experiences, though, helped her get into med school (the travel, different jobs, sports, etc.)

 

One of my brothers did a couple of gap years. One was in between his B.Sc. and his M.Sc. Another brother really should have taken a gap year right after high school (I have 3 brothers, in case anyone is wondering) and partied all year (he's born in the fall and so graduated at 17). He managed to barely pass because he's gifted academically and was able to coast. He then took a gap year (or was it 2--so hard to keep track now) and went back to finish his degree elsewhere at a less prestigious university, but not a bad one.

 

My 13 yo is doing a "gap" year, but of academics will be included anyway, because I think she needs to start high school at 14 for reasons other than academic. She did well with that, but needs to grow up a bit--right now she's a "walking stem."

[TeacherZee]

 

This is from the Times so it is geared to the UK but there might be some useful information (I was reading it today and remembered seeing this thread)

[Karen in CO]

Due to his procratination at college chosing and time involved in student visas, my ds is taking a semster off before college. There are some issues with a non-student, semi-adult living with me that I hadn't considered, but the big thing for him when he goes back to school is that the school year will start with placement tests for his foreign language, English composition, and math. By the time the semester starts, it will have been a year since he touched his math book. He has been trying to keep up with his Japanese, but it isn't the same as being in a class.

 

So, if you are looking at a gap year, please plan for keeping up skills. I am pretty sure my ds will test into remedial Algebra instead of Calculus.