Gap Year

You probably entered Westminster thinking you would attend college immediately after graduation. In most cases that is what Westminster students do. However, it is not uncommon for students to have doubts about why they are going to college and questions about what they might pursue while they are there. For those students, considering taking “time out” may be worthwhile. There are many internship opportunities in the arts, environmental conservation, education, and community service as well as exchange opportunities that allow students to take a “thirteenth year” in another school setting. Some educators have made it their profession to guide students through a planned year of travel, work, and education while living with families in other regions and around the world. Below are several resources that you might find helpful in exploring this possibility. We also keep a file on select programs in our resource room.

 

If you are considering taking a year to explore your interests before college, we strongly recommend that you go through the college admissions process, wait for admission offers, and defer your entrance to the college of your choice for a year. Colleges are happy to support students making this choice and are happy to welcome students into their community who have had a rich and varied year-off experience.

 

Resources and Reference Guide

• AmeriCorps, (800) 942-2677

• Audubon Expedition Institute, (207) 338-5859

– Focus on environmental issues.

– Interdisciplinary while camping out and traveling in a bus classroom.

– College credit available. 

 

• Center for Interim Programs, Cambridge, MA (617) 547-0980

• The English Speaking Union, 16 East 69th Street, New York, NY 10021

www.esu.org - a 13th year educational exchange with boarding schools in Great Britain and Argentina. See the college office for more information.

• City Year, 285 Columbus Avenue, Boston, MA 02116

– Programs in Boston, Chicago, San José, Providence, Columbus Ohio, Columbia SC, and San Antonio.

– A national service organization uniting young adults for community service, leadership development and civic engagement.

 

• Directory of Interim Programs, online through Fastweb.

• Dynamy, a yearlong program of internship. They work with you to figure out what would be interesting to you. You live in apartments owned by the program with a roommate.

• English Speaking Union The ESU Secondary School Exchange is a merit-based scholarship providing tuition, room and board for scholars to spend a year between high school and college at a British boarding school.

• Earthwatch, scientific expeditions.

• Habitat for Humanity

• Taking a Break from School to Travel, Work and Study in the U.S. and Abroad, Robert Gilpin, Time Out Associates, P.O. Box 503, Milton, MA 02186. (617) 698-8977.

• National Outdoor Leadership School

• Outward Bound

• The Student Conservation Association, Inc., P.O. Box 550, Charlestown, NH 03603 (603) 543-1700.

• Where There Be Dragons, trips to Asia, (303) 413-0822

• World Learning, a college semester abroad.

• Up with People

• The Directory of Undergraduate Internships,
National Center for Public Service Internship Programs

1735 Eye Street, NW, Suite 601, Washington, DC 20006.

• Work Your Way Around the World, Writer’s Digest Books, Cincinnati, OH.

• International Directory of Youth Internships, Learning Resources in International Studies, 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017.

 

Suggesting Readings

• Transition Abroad: Working Your Way Around the World by Susan Griffith

• Taking Time Off by Colin Hall and Ron Lieber

• Time Out by Robert Gilpin and Caroline Fitzgibbons

• Time Out or Burn Out for the Next Generation by William Fitzsimmons, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, Harvard College; Marlyn McGrath Lewis, Director of Admissions, Harvard College; Charles Ducey, Director of the Bureau of Study Counsel, Harvard University