How to Plan a Last-Minute Gap Year
My husband and I were about to drive our son to college — until he changed his mind
Every now and then I remember the old "Candid Camera" line: "Don't be surprised if sometime, somewhere — when you least expect it — somebody steps up to you and says . . .
The punchline on the show was: "Smile! You're on Candid Camera!"
But I swear, going through life at middle age, it could be anything.
Last week, for us, it was: "Don't be surprised if your college-bound kid makes a sudden U-turn and says, 'I'm taking a gap year!' "
After spending the last many months gearing up to be empty nesters, and celebrating our son's big step toward independence, this was a shock.
"Don't be surprised if your college-bound kid makes a sudden U-turn and says, 'I'm taking a gap year!' "
The short version: Our son realized he didn't want to attend the institution we just paid a bunch of money to — two days before we were going to drive him there — and he wanted to take a year off to work and study at his own pace, instead.
OK!
Encouraging Stats About Gap Years
If you're reading this, you may know a teenager who wants to take a gap year. Maybe, like us, your teen is having a light bulb moment — and you feel worried. Yet also excited for them. Yet worried.
How do you set up this mythical thing called a "gap year"? Is it even a good idea?
The good news is, arranging a legitimate break from academia is more doable than we imagined that first night, when my husband and I sat immobilized by icy waves of anxiety and terror. According to the Gap Year Association (GYA) taking a break from your official education is increasingly common — and not a bad thing.
Each year about 40,000 U.S. and Canadian students take time off from formal education, and the number of kids enrolled in so-called gap year programs is rising. That doesn't sound like much, especially with Canada in the mix, but as the GYA notes, there isn't a comprehensive database of gap year alumni, so it's hard to know — the number could be larger.
Students and Professors Weigh In
Either way, the GYA's 2020 survey of post-gap students found that taking time off has a lot to recommend it.
- 96% of students report being more confident after a gap year.
- 84% said it helped them acquire skills that are beneficial in their career.
- 77% said it helped them find purpose in their life.
More convincing were these reassuring words from Balaka Basu, an English professor friend of mine at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, who I called in a panic after my son's sudden pivot: "In 15 years of teaching freshmen," she reassured me, "the kids who had taken a gap year always do better."
How to Set Up a Gap Year
This section is going to be quite short because . . . my son just withdrew from the college he was prepared to attend as of last week. We're still in the middle of building the plane as we fly it — although it feels more like we're dismantling the plane.
I will say this: You may think a gap year might be tough to plan, especially a last-minute one. Not at all. Turns out there are a remarkable number of gap-year programs poised to relieve you of the money you had planned to spend on actual college.
Taking a break from your official education is increasingly common — and not a bad thing.
So be careful.
I looked at a few of the pricier programs that promise total maturity and self-awareness and hands-on experience with a camel on a ship with an archaeologist. Yeah . . . no.
We're focused on the Affordable Gap Year Options (AGYO). My son's goal is to get a job, save money, take a couple of community college classes and figure out a direction that's a better fit than the one he was dutifully marching toward. And God bless. It took a lot of heart to admit that to himself, never mind his panicked parental units.
That said, I can tell you more about the financial side of gap-year planning, since one of the top parental concerns would have to be money.
Gap Year Financing 101
Here's what I've learned so far.
- Tuition refunds. Ideally you and your child will plan for a gap year well in advance, and you won’t need a tuition refund. But if you’ve already put down a deposit, or paid some or all of a semester’s tuition when (like us) the gap year comes out of the clear blue, you may be able to get some money back if the decision is made within a certain window. Check your school calendar, and ask the admissions people before you sign any paperwork.
Sidebar: Obviously, we didn't see this coming — but luckily, we'd taken advantage of the monthly payment plan at our son's college. (There was a small fee to set it up, but no extra costs to pay per month.) I say "luckily" because if I had already paid for a full semester, I might be losing my mind right now — even though we are still in the tuition-refund window.
This isn't an endorsement of tuition payment plans. Some charge fees, and you have to read the fine print. But if you have a kid who's iffy about college . . . - In many cases you can use 529 college-savings funds for a gap-year program. This cannot be emphasized enough. The money you’ve saved in your kid’s 529 plan is more versatile than you probably realized. In addition to paying for qualified college expenses, 529 funds can also help cover the cost of attending “any college, university, trade school or other post-secondary educational institution eligible to participate in a student aid program run by the U.S. Department of Education,” according to the IRS.
That includes vocational programs, music or art programs, community college, some study abroad programs and continuing education courses. - You can keep saving now! Needless to say, if your kid takes a gap year you might heave a sigh of relief because now you will have an additional year of savings toward their education. If your child plans to work, as my son does, have them contribute as well. Having a little skin in the game never hurts.
One Big Caveat
One gap-year strategy is to take the time off, then apply to your desired institution.
Another strategy, which became our default, is to be admitted to a college and then request a deferral — which delays your enrollment for a semester or a year, while keeping your spot for the following year. (If you no longer want to attend, you can simply withdraw.)
It strikes me as ridiculous that an institution of higher learning would discourage students from taking for-credit courses during a gap year.
It sounds clear, but it's not.
Although the website for my son's college said he could defer admission for one or two semesters, there was a significant catch: A student can defer admission — but only if they don't take any college credit classes during that time.
If you take a class for credit during the deferral period and wish to transfer that credit, you become a transfer student and have to reapply to the college.
Starting from Scratch
It strikes me as ridiculous that an institution of higher learning would discourage students from taking for-credit courses during a gap year. After all, many kids taking a break need the time to save money — and to grow up a bit. It's not that they want to stop learning.
In any case, their short-sighted policy helped cement my son's view (and mine) that this wasn't the right place for him anyway. So, he withdrew. And he's casting his eye on a new crop of colleges.
A fresh start in all ways . . . stay tuned.