Although the Education Wonks aren't sure if they'd recommend this, I heartily agree with the idea of taking a year off:
Many college admissions officers support the idea. While cautioning that a "gap year" between high school and college isn't for everyone -- and that just goofing off isn't worthwhile -- they say many students who take one return more confident and self-aware...Still, the popularity of gap years appears to be increasing only modestly if at all. Most of a dozen or so colleges contacted in the last week said the number of students who defer admission is relatively small, and flat year to year or even declining as an overall percentage...
But experts say that as the admissions process gets more stressful, the case for a gap year gets stronger. Colleges generally encourage the practice -- as long as students who have committed to one school don't use the extra year to apply elsewhere. Since the 1970s, Harvard has used the letter it sends to admitted applicants to advise them to consider a gap year. Some, like Sarah Lawrence, have sent similar letters after realizing more students than they expected planned to show up in the fall.
I think the gap year is a great idea, for several reasons:
1. Students arrive at college somewhat more mature, and often more removed from the petty high-school drama that can fuel freshmen-year bad behavior.
2. If students use the time to work from home, they get to experience the "full-time job" while still having a safety net.
3. Students who take the opportunity to travel will arrive at college much more worldly-wise, and with some great stories to boot.
4. Students who know they want to go to college will really be ready after a year's wait.
5. When else in life is it possible to take a year off and be relatively sure that you'll end up better than when you started off?
My year off (actually 18 months) was in between undergrad and grad school, but in that time I worked several jobs (some in my chosen field), lived away from home for six months, and got married. I had tolerant parents, who were fine with my working part-time and living at home while being a punky chick who kept night-owl hours (I used to go out at midnight, meet my stepfather for breakfast in the city, then go home and sleep). And I was lucky enough to find part-time work in data entry and statistics tutoring at USC that allowed me to gain experience, make decent money, and still live at home. I had ample time to study for the GREs and my applications looked better to boot.
There was no question that I was going to go to school when I did, and I felt much more prepared for it. Thus, I was amazed at how many of my fellow grad students were amazed that I took time off in between; just like in the CNN article, it was obviously the "thing to do" to rush right to grad school right after undergrad. They never considered doing otherwise. If your life's dream is to get your Ph.D. by the time you're 25, a year off won't work, but otherwise I heartily recommend it. I wish I'd done it before undergrad as well.
Posted by kswygert at July 12, 2005 03:34 PM