High School Gap Year Ideas

[balletmommy]

Hello - I'm searching for some guidance and suggestions for my 16 yr old dd.  She is on tract to complete all her required hs credits this spring 2024, which would allow her to graduate a year early.  She has been homeschooled her entire school career with some years in Classical Conversations and most recently enrolled in a 2 day a week hybrid for the past 2 years.  She wants to attend a 4 year university away from home for college next fall.  My husband and I are starting to think this is not the best move for her socially.  She is mature and responsible although very innocent and somewhat shy/introverted.  I'm not convinced being on a college campus with older teens/young adults is the best plan for her.  All of her current friends will be moving away for college, which would leave her socially isolated if she were to stay at home and do DE courses at our local university - also not ideal.   She enjoys writing, baking, art, and literature/history courses.  I'm wondering if a gap year may be a better move for her after graduation?  She has been a strong A student and has taken some honors and AP classes through our local accredited hybrid school.  She is definitely interested in college and possibly pre-law, although she is really undecided.  She is not planning on taking any DE classes this year. 

Does anyone have suggestions for a gap year that would be enriching and geared for her age (not a post-college gap year program)???  Any other ideas how to best handle this? Thanks for any help!

[Lori D.]

There are a few threads on the topic of taking a gap year linked on PAGE 6 of the "College Motherlode" thread pinned at the top of the WTM College forum. Also linking for you here:

Let’s chat about gap years 
Revisiting the gap year concept
Talk to me about a gap year after high school
Gap year ideas: have we lost our minds (specifically a wilderness experience) 
When to apply for college when a gap year is being planned? 
Gap year and financial aid 

A few key things to consider in taking a gap year, when the student will go to college the following year:

• Do NOT take ANY college classes -- for credit OR for audit -- from a university or community college or other
That automatically kicks the student out of freshman status into "transfer student status -- which loses the student eligibility for freshman scholarships -- which are the most plentiful awards / largest awards / renewable awards (good for more than 1 year).

• Talk to the future college
Some will want the student to apply during the 12th grade year as normal, and be accepted, and be offered a financial aid package FIRST, and then will want the student to follow the school's process for deferring entry by a year in order to take a gap year. Other colleges will not grant deferments, so you need to find out if she can wait a year and apply as a freshman (again -- having taken NO college classes during the gap year).

• Go into a gap year having FIRST made a plan
Make sure you and the student have outlined expectations of what will happen during the gap year -- is the student going to self study? do volunteer work? get a job? learn or work on real-life "adulting" skills? or... ??


In your situation... a few thoughts:

- I've known several families with a 16yo, too young to send to college; so they have the student "walk" the graduation ceremony with their peers, but do NOT award the diploma. For the following year, the student continues to live at home and does all dual-enrollment (college level) courses. At the end of the year, the parents award the diploma, and the credits transfer to the future university, so the student still entered with freshman eligibility for scholarships, but was already going in ready for more advanced courses, and with the gen. ed. courses knocked out, so ready for core concentration course focus for the degree, and able to graduate college in less time.

- I understand that Law degree programs really like having students come in with a wide variety of Bachelor degrees -- Science, Economics, History, Political Science, etc. -- because that allows for a lot of helpful background info depending on what kind of law the student decides to "specialize" in.

For both reasons above, would your daughter be willing to consider this option? Especially if the DE was all coursework that could be applied toward a future minor or towards doing a double major?

- Again, how about "walking graduation" and then doing a year of DE -- and getting her Paralegal AAS degree? That would make her more employable at a higher salary and in the field she is potentially interested in WHILE she goes to college to earn her Bachelor's degree. There are online Paralegal AAS degrees, so no need to be on any college campus, if that is a problem.

- Or, if DD is adamant about graduating high school this year, and sending her to college next year is not in her best interest, then how about using the gap year to either work -- in a law office, if possible -- or doing student internship work -- again, in a law office, if possible. You would possibly need to work with a law office or place of business to create an internship program for DD.

- Or, what about spending a gap year where she sets up and runs her own business -- baking, for example.

Just some rambling thoughts, and hopefully others will jump in with more ideas. BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D.


ETA:
- Or, what about a year of a combination of activities to deepen/extend her knowledge/experience:
+ working part time
+ actively pursuing personal interests -- like writing towards a project (a novel, or creation of a blog or newsletter, or whatever the type of writing is that she is interested in)
+ self-studying in art, literature, history
+ volunteer work

- OR, what about she plans and accomplishes a big year-long project as either her no-classes senior year, or as the gap year if you go ahead and award the ? Something like a managing a group community project, or a business venture, or teaching a course, or...? What a fantastic activity that would be on a college or job application. 😄 

Edited September 3, 2023 by Lori D.

[balletmommy]

Hello Lori D,

Thank you so much for all of the links and information.  These are all wonderful ideas!  
I appreciate the time you took to compose this and share your experience and ideas.  😇

[ScoutTN]

Seconding the part about not taking any college classes if you graduate her! Those freshman four year merit scholarships are not to be tossed away for a couple of courses! 
 

I know it works for some kids to head to college that early, but I think you are wise to hold off til she is at least 17, maybe 18. I have seen going at 16 have significant negative effects for several kids. 
 

If she’s interested in structured, Christian gap year programs, maybe Impact 360 or something similar? 

[Alice]

My son did a gap year. We had always planned for it, he was young for his grade so he still left for college at 18 with the gap year. We didn't say he had to do it but we'd talked about it a lot as a possibility and he'd saved money towards it. 

We had him apply everywhere during his senior year and defer. We preferred that so that he didn't have to spend the gap year worried about applications. We asked everywhere if they allowed deferments. Our experience was that everywhere said yes. There was a process and it technically wasn't guaranteed but the impression we got was that they almost always allow it. From the college's perspectives there isn't a huge downside. We also asked up front about financial aid. Everywhere said that scholarships would defer, but you have to redo FAFSA so any grants/loans aren't guaranteed. You have to redo FAFSA every year for college anyway, so that wasn't a surprise. We made sure to have it in writing from the college he ended up choosing that his scholarship deferred. And we found that as our financial situation didn't change, the rest of the package also didn't change. And yes, they all told us he couldn't take any classes for credit. 

He is also a college athlete, for Division III and all the coaches also said they were fine with deferment. He is a swimmer so there one suggestion was that he shouldn't take a year off of swimming but should continue to train. That might be different for people who are team sport athletes. 

We had thought he would do more travel internationally and perhaps some service trips. However, his gap year was 2021-2022 and things were still so unknown with Covid that there weren't the official programs available and we didn't want to spend money on non-refundable trips. So he ended up traveling domestically. He traveled to every state (except Hawaii and Alaska) and swam in each state, just to say he had done it. He did the trips in sections of about 2-3 weeks each. His brother went on three of the trips with him. We did one as a family. And he went on one with his aunt/uncle. We were not okay with him traveling alone as it was a lot of driving. In between, when he was home, he worked to make money for the trip. The trips ended up being all between September-February so that he could return and train for swimming more consistently in the spring.

It was a great experience for him. The trips with his brother were especially bonding and I think they will never forget them. The main unexpected thing for us was that it's virtually impossible to stay in a hotel under the age of 18 and difficult under the age of 21. On the first trip he was 17 so that became an issue, but we were able to have him stay with people we knew and some friends of friends and do some camping to make it work. The other trips was a combo of hotels and friends. 

One other positive thing from the gap year was that he said he was felt he was more fresh for college than most of his friends. He said most people were a bit burnt-out both academically and as swimmers but he was really ready to get back to both. 

[balletmommy]

Thanks again for the information!  I believe the Impact 360 is for kids that are at least 18 years old, so she's probably too young for this yet.  She will be 17 when she graduates.  However, it looks like a great program that would be perfect for her.  Thanks for the suggestions!

 

 

[Library Momma]

Can I ask is she only taking a gap year because of age?  If she will be 17 when she graduates that really isn't very unusual.  Most kids in my state with Sept - Dec birthdays are 17 when they start college.  Red shirting is uncommon.

 

[balletmommy]

Hi Library Momma,

Yes, my main issue is her age.  I was concerned she may be too young to handle the social pressures at college.  She's a strong A student, very organized, and responsible with sweet friends, who are similar to her in temperament and values.  She has a shy nature and rarely causes us any trouble, but she tends to be more passive and is very innocent.  I'm concerned she may feel very young and a little lost at college from a friendship perspective.  She has always been homeschooled although she has participated in some more mainstream activities - job at chick-fil -a , a summer study abroad program through Hillsdale college, and some international travel.  This is to say that I haven't purposely sheltered her.😉  However, she hasn't really experienced any peer pressure from a negative standpoint - friends that are drinking, boyfriends, rebellion, etc.. things that she will come across at college possibly.  We are concerned she may not be ready to handle that environment and needs a little more self-confidence and maturity first.   She also isn't completely decided on a major.  I wonder if she selects a smaller, more nurturing type of college she may be fine and find some like-minded peers??  Our main concern about taking a gap year and staying at home is that she may feel a lack of peer friendships since all of her friends are older (normal graduating age) and likely moving away for school.  She's the last one at home, so it tends to be more quiet now!  Thanks again - I appreciate all of the advice and ideas!  

[balletmommy]

I guess I have one more question....

Could she take local CC classes, purse an AA/paralegal certificate, or attend an art program - one of these suggestions.....but not submit it to the college if she has deferred for a gap year?  Do you have to disclose what has been done during the deferment?  Or even if the college is aware of the gap year plans, and we aren't submitting these classes for college credit, could she still be considered a freshman with the scholarship advantage?

I would prefer for her to enter college as a normal 18 year old and a freshman - to have the opportunity to have classes and interact with other freshman vs entering the college as a sophomore with many credits.  

[Clemsondana]

If you take dual enrollment courses, that is part of your transcript and has to be submitted to colleges.   But, there is nothing saying that she can't retake classes if she chooses.  Although at this point a lot of students start college with some DE and AP so there will be plenty of freshmen who aren't taking freshman composition or the first math class in the series.  

You've gotten a lot of good suggestions, but after reading the later posts I guess I'm curious about how most things that a student would do during a gap year would address your main concerns, which seem to be innocence and lack of exposure to peer pressure.  My own kids have had fairly little exposure to peer pressure, but even growing up when and where I did, there wasn't a lot of it.  I mean, I remember working on a group project where some kids raided the liquor cabinet so it's not like I wasn't exposed to stuff, but there was no actual pressure to participate.  Socially, my friends wouldn't have pressured me to do anything that I didn't want to, even if they sometimes did things without me because they knew I wouldn't participate.  A gap year will give her another year of maturity, but unless she starts hanging out with a different crowd it won't necessarily change some of the issues that worry you.  I know that the kids now live in a different world than we did, but in both cases it seems like people sort themselves into groups with similar lifestyles and have a 'you do you' attitude about differences.  

I have some of the same concerns about my kids, but I've realized that some of it isn't lack of exposure, but their choice to not spend a lot of time with people and situations that might put them in a bad spot, which is a decision that they'll hopefully keep making.  

[Lori D.]

2 hours ago, balletmommy said:

... Could she take local CC classes, purse an AA/paralegal certificate, or attend an art program - one of these suggestions.....but not submit it to the college if she has deferred for a gap year?  Do you have to disclose what has been done during the deferment?  ...

ALL COLLEGE transcripts MUST be submitted when you apply for admission to a university. Failure to do so is, in essence, a form of fraud, and universities frown very heavily on that. Consequences can include:
- student losing scholarship monies from the college -- and possibly even be required to pay back scholarship monies awarded and used
- student may be kicked out of the university
- student may even be stripped of a degree earned at the university (if the deception is not discovered until later)

ANY CC or university courses taken, whether as DE while still in high school, or as a college student after high school graduation, WILL show up on that transcript from the CC -- which you are required to submit when applying for admission to the university.  

So, if wanting to do CC courses towards an AA, or courses in a CC/University art program, do them as DE, while she is still a high school student. That way she maintains freshman eligibility.

2 hours ago, balletmommy said:

... Or even if the college is aware of the gap year plans, and we aren't submitting these classes for college credit...

If you mean taking courses for audit, rather than for credit -- be very careful. Many colleges still will count for audit classes as knocking the student out of freshman eligibility and into transfer college student status. And audited courses also show up on the transcript, and all transcripts are required to be submitted when applying to the university.

I would highly recommend speaking directly to the university and find out their policies on all of these details -- and get it in writing of what they will/won't accept or allow.

It is NOT worth the risk to try and "hide" any college classes a student took during a gap year.

[ScoutTN]

Agreeing. If she is going to take some local college classes, do them as DE while she is still officially a high school student. 
 

What would she like to do? What are her goals? 

[J-rap]

On 9/2/2023 at 10:04 PM, Lori D. said:

• Do NOT take ANY college classes -- for credit OR for audit -- from a university or community college or other
That automatically kicks the student out of freshman status into "transfer student status -- which loses the student eligibility for freshman scholarships -- which are the most plentiful awards / largest awards / renewable awards (good for more than 1 year).

I just wanted to weigh into this a bit.  This really depends on the college.  Of course, if a student wants to keep all options open, then this is wise advice.

My kids took gap years and we researched this pretty carefully but only colleges where they were planning to apply.  It really varied!

One college allowed two college courses taken after high school graduation and before entering their college, and would still count the student as a new freshman and allow them to apply for freshman scholarships.  Another allowed one course ahead of time.  Yet another counted even a gap year -- if it involved more than just a full-time job, but even if it didn't include any courses at all -- as a year of "education" and would prohibit them from applying for a freshman scholarship.  So, a year of travel or volunteer work experience abroad would have disqualified them from freshman scholarships (even though they'd be entering as freshmen).  Only ONE school was that strict and it seemed really stingy.  I think that's pretty rare.

Yet at the same time, at least a couple of the schools had transfer scholarships which were nearly or even just as good as the freshman scholarships.

Lastly, some one-year school experiences in other countries (not a credited school but still a school-like experience) were not a problem for any of the colleges we checked with except for the stingy one that didn't even allow an experience.  These are school-like programs that are not recognized as part of the official school system in their own countries.

And yet, two colleges (the ones that would have allowed one or two college courses to transfer and still apply for a freshman scholarship) would have allowed the incoming student to petition for credit for one or two courses of their school experience in order to fulfill requirements at the college -- although the credit numbers would not have been tallied into the total number of credits required to graduate.

Sorry if this all sounds confusing!  Mostly just wanted to point out that it does vary a bit.

 

 

[Lori D.]

Yes, as with everything, you really need to check with the specific college for their specific policy.

Since it didn't sound like there was a specific future college/university selected at this point for the original poster, I just felt it was safer to make that point very strongly so that there would be no accidental slip-ups. 😉

[ScoutTN]

9 hours ago, Lori D. said:

Yes, as with everything, you really need to check with the specific college for their specific policy.

Since it didn't sound like there was a specific future college/university selected at this point for the original poster, I just felt it was safer to make that point very strongly so that there would be no accidental slip-ups. 😉

Yes.

I only have one college student and she just started, so not the voice of much experience, but her freshman scholarships are over 80% of her tuition cost, so not having them would have been disastrous.  

[EKS]

Dynamy.  But do not take any college classes offered.

[ScoutTN]

35 minutes ago, EKS said:

Dynamy.  But do not take any college classes offered.

Looks like a cool program, but pricey! 

[balletmommy]

Many thanks again for all the great information! Much to consider!

[Lori D.]

20 hours ago, balletmommy said:

Many thanks again for all the great information! Much to consider!

And, at some point, please consider popping back in to let us know what you all decided on, and how it all worked out! 😄