Gap Year: Kids Need to Be Fully Invested

Malia Obama is taking a gap year before starting at Harvard University in the fall of 2017. While this is a viable option for some high school graduates — for others it’s just a way of putting off growing up.

A successful gap year depends completely on the student — and on the gap year opportunity.

“What kid wants to be doing calculus, business ethics and creative writing when you could be scuba diving?” said one dad.

“I worked in a factory after graduation. I was going through a ‘Norma Rae’ phase and wanted to be with real people, not just students,” said one Rockville, Maryland, physician, 54. “I spent a year making diode boards for computers. Believe me, after that year I was running to college. Kids don’t realize what a luxury college is. One thing I would say about a gap year: If you use it just to work, beware of making too much money. Money can be the lure that ends your higher learning forever.”

A structured gap year with a great learning opportunity may be just the ticket to a better college experience down the road.

“The benefits of a gap year are showing up in both concrete metrics with college GPAs, and some less concrete metrics such as observable increased student engagement on campus,” Ethan Knight, founder and executive director of the American Gap Association, told LifeZette. “Fundamentally, it comes down to students oftentimes not having a relationship to the information they’re learning. A gap year builds an experiential relationship to college topics.”

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Examples of ways to spend gap years are limited only by the imagination, it seems. Students can do a semester at sea — called a “seamester,” spending up to 90 days learning to sail, scuba dive, and explore the places they want to see. Students can earn up to 12 college credits wearing flippers and a swimsuit.

“Sign me up!” laughed one Boston dad of three sons when hearing about the oceanic opportunity. “What kid wants to be doing calculus, business ethics, and creative writing when you could be scuba diving?”

Base Camp at Sky Ranch Horn Creek in Westcliffe, Colorado, is a nondenominational Christian program that makes metaphors out of mountains. Its website explains that the experience equips men and women ages 18 to 22 with “the tools, training, and spiritual disciplines necessary for life’s challenging ascent.”

[lz_bulleted_list title=”Students’ Motivations for a Gap Year” source=”http://www.americangap.org”]92% wanted to gain life experiences and enjoy personal growth|85% wanted to travel the world and experience other cultures|81 percent wanted a break from the traditional academic track[/lz_bulleted_list]

San Rafael, California’s Thinking Beyond Borders’ global gap year programs, are specifically designed for students who are “passionate about learning and are eager to create meaningful social change in the world,” according to the website. “We combine deep cultural immersion, working with inspiring local leaders, and engaging readings and discussions to create an exciting, supportive, and transformational learning environment.”

So what kind of students pursue a gap year?

“There are four gap year student profiles,” said Knight. “The first one is the pragmatist — he or she wants to make sure they are studying the right subjects in college before they spend tens of thousands of dollars on an education. A student today typically changes his major 3-5 times, and the average number of years it takes to graduate is now north of 6 years. The pragmatist wants a better sense of what he wants to get out of college.”

“The high achiever is the second profile — this person did everything right in high school,” Knight continued. “They joined the clubs and took the honors classes. The high achiever is looking for a re-charge of the academic batteries through a gap year.”

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The meaning-seeker student says, “I just don’t know what it’s all about and I don’t know why I should care,” said Knight, explaining the third profile of a gap year student. “They’re looking to connect the experience to the theories they’ve been exposed to thus far.”

The struggler — the last profile — is someone who may have a learning difference, said Knight, or perhaps hasn’t experienced success in traditional academia. “You put ‘the struggler’ into experiential learning, and they realize they are smart — they just didn’t realize how to engage their intellect with what is going on around them,” Knight explained.

One pitfall of a gap year is too much or too little structure, says Knight. “If you put the right student into the wrong situation, they will not succeed.”

Knight also says it is important the student does most of the work. “In our culture right now, people look at the increased cost of education and they stand back and say, ‘Well, I’m paying for it, so do your education thing on me.’ Learning in whatever form should be an active endeavor.”

Knight also warns the gap year student about helicopter parents: “Don’t let Mom and Dad take it over. It’s your experience.”

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Knight encourages students on a gap year to work — at least part of the time. “Think of a gap year as two to four distinct chunks,” he said. “At least one chunk should be some level of work. I want students to invest some of their own money, so they have a vested interest and achieve a better outcome.”

One pitfall of a gap year is too much or too little structure, said one expert.

Although most students who take a gap year are in higher economic brackets, Knight says it is possible to have the experience with very little money. “One of the best lower cost programs I’ve seen is the Americorps City Year program.”

The most important thing for a student to ask when determining a program is: “Where do you get your definition of success?” said Knight. “Most of the time for a high school graduate, it’s not self-generated. You have heard friends and family and even the media talk about what you should do with your life — but what do you want to do?”

The Maryland doctor said if she had her gap year to do over again, she would still do it — with limits. “I worked too hard and had no downtime as an 18-year-old.” Then she paused and added, “Maybe that’s why I was so focused on my medical studies. My downtime scared me into obtaining focus!”