Considering Your Options: A Guidebook for Investigating Gap Year Opportunities

This guidebook is a tool for both parents and students who are considering a gap year as an educational option. A gap year is essentially a “break from formal education to become more immersed in another culture, to volunteer domestically or abroad, to gain experience and maturity…”. Taking a gap year is becoming more common in the United States, and can be even more common for students who graduate from high school earlier than expected. In this guidebook readers will find information on gap year options for students under the age of 18, the pros and cons of taking a gap year, what colleges think of students who pursue a gap year and much more.