American Students
and their Parents.
Change Your Life,
Change the World.
Gap Year/Semester Options
The Learning Adventure of a Lifetime…After High School, but Before College!
High School Seniors: what are you doing next year? Not quite ready for college? Thinking about deferment? Do you want an educational experience that will to prepare you for your future?
Consider a Gap year/semester option with YFU! A Gap year/semester is an important option American high school graduates are considering. It’s taking time between high school and college to do something valuable and enhance your personal development. Something that will allow you to explore your world, find more focus, enhance your maturity and more. There are a variety of gap year/semester opportunities available through YFU that offers graduating high school students the opportunity to study abroad and explore the world.
Many prestigious universities including Harvard encourage the concept of a Gap year. A Gap year/semester experience can help a student focus their studies and be ready to take on the challenges of a university life.
“For over thirty years, Harvard has recommended this option (taking time off), indeed proposing it in the letter of admission. Harvard's overall graduation rate of 98% is among the highest in the nation, perhaps in part because so many students take time off.”
Time Out or Burn Out for the Next Generation
By William Fitzsimmons, Marlyn McGrath Lewis, Charl
es Ducey
Harvard Admissions.
Youth For Understanding USA offers Gap year and semester study abroad opportunities for graduating seniors. On a YFU gap year/semester option you learn a new culture and language by living with a host family in a host community. Academic programs vary by country: On most programs, you will attend a local high school, in others you will participate in college-level courses. Other options include programs with a focus on a volunteer experience, the arts, cultural tours and more. Some countries may need additional information in order to accept Gap year students and there may be limitations on program space -- please contact an Admissions Counselor at 1.800.TEENAGE in order to discuss your application.
Study abroad is a unique experience that is both challenging and extremely rewarding. Unlike most college and university options, a key component of YFU programs is the homestay experience. Living with a family in another culture opens your world and your perspective on the world.
Many colleges and universities encourage applications from YFU alumni. (link to Beyond Exchange)
"I went on exchange between High School and University. An in between year, to discover sides of yourself that you've been ignoring and to learn to accept a new culture and respect its 'other' ways of doing things, provides an excellent foundation for further exploration within the academic framework. And there's no better way to get to know another culture than living with a host family."
Flannery Denny
Germany
Outside Articles and Resources
HuffingtonPost.com; by David D. Burnstein, Millennial writer and activist; Executive Director, Generation18
Time Out or Burn Out for the Next Generation
Harvard College: Office of Admissions
PlanetGapYear.com
On-line Gap Year Community
For Some College Graduates, a Fanciful Detour (or Two) Before Their Careers Begin
New York Times; By Alan Finder; October 2005
Should your child have a ‘gap year’ before college?
MSNBC; By Danielle Wood; April 2008
Gap Year
American Chronicle; By Maria Scott; September 2008
In a Year Off the Beaten Path, a New Direction for Life
New York Times; By Lauren Clark; As told to Patricia R. Olsen; June 2008
Step 12: Consider a Gap Year
nextSTEP Magazine
'Gap year' before college gives grads valuable life experience
USA Today; By G. Jeffrey MacDonald; June 2008
