By: Raney South
After twelve years of school, it isn’t surprising that some students might want to take a year off, but there needs to be more thought behind this idea. There are important factors to take into consideration before taking a gap year.
A gap year is when a student takes a year off before going to college, but it is important to keep a couple of things in mind.First, students should research whether the college they plan on attending defers admissions. At some schools, gap years have no effect on admissions, but that is not always the case. Second, students should do something worthwhile during their gap year.
Some schools will defer admission from one term to another. This means that a student can apply for one semester, take a gap year, and come back the next semester. This is preferable, because the student is guaranteed a spot at the college the following year. Unfortunately, not all schools will supply students with this luxury. North Carolina State University, for example, does not defer admissions, so if a prospective NC State student wanted to take a gap year and attend the following year, the student would have to resubmit an application the year he or she planned to attend. Auburn University in Alabama also does not defer admissions. The policy for deferred admissions differs from school to school, so students should check with the university of choice for the proper procedures.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill does allow students to defer admissions, but students must follow a specific process. They must apply as they normally would, get accepted, pay their enrollment fee, request (by July 1st) a deferral, and even then they might not be granted the deferral. Also, Chapel Hill’s website reminds applicants that the school does not allow students to “enroll in any for-credit or degree-seeking course of study during their deferral year.” If students do, they will have to reapply.
Thomas H. Griffin, the director of undergraduate admissions at NC State University, believes that “students can really benefit from a gap year to mature and find a passion.” NC State does not frown upon gap years, but only if they are done with purpose. This means that a student cannot take a year off to sit around at home and avoid school. During a gap year, students should do something important such as volunteer at an orphanage, tour with a ballet company, work as a professional model, be the primary caretaker for a terminally ill patient or travel abroad, etc. In all of these examples, the student will either be bettering him or herself, helping others or finding his or her passions. Chapel Hill, similarly, wants students to do something of value during their gap year such as working, traveling, partaking in military service, participating in required religious observance or pursuing some other extraordinary opportunity.
According to Holly Springfield, the recruiter for Auburn University, Auburn does not care what a student does during the gap year. The only thing Auburn University does not want students to do during a gap year is to take college classes, because then they will be transfer students, changing their application status and putting them ahead of the rest of the students. A gap year, to Auburn, is a time away from school, so they frown upon students taking college classes for credit. Students should check with their future college to see if a gap year is possible, and then determine if a year away from school is what they want or need. It might be an exciting opportunity.
留言