Find Your Purpose – Alumni of well-designed gap years report that, above all else, a gap year is a time to find your purpose and direction. For the last 13 years, you’ve been a student. Your goal has been to get the grades and test scores to get into a good college. A gap year is your chance to choose learning that is meaningful. It’s an opportunity to engage with real issues and real people in the real world. It’s a moment to gain experience with your interests and passions without the pressure to perform in the classroom. And, there’s no better time to do this. Starting college with the real perspective on the world, yourself, and who you want to be is crucial to making the years of study and learning exciting and productive. Even the Dean of Admissions at Harvard thinks so.
Meaningful Learning – Classroom and book learning is important. But, it’s rarely exciting, emotional, and personal. Gap year learning is about the excitement of helping a young student read her first words. It’s about the nagging sadness of supporting a patient who is struggling with illness. It’s about the sense of pride that comes from harvesting the crops you helped plant to make a meal with your host family. These are examples of deep and meaningful learning about the dynamic challenges of education, health care, and food systems. Immersing yourself in this kind of learning leads you to be emotionally and personally connected to the topic. It raises questions about how these systems can be better. A gap year puts you in an environment where your learning matters because you are contributing to a broader system and community. There is no better way to prepare for higher education.
Mentorship – You know that teacher or coach in high school that challenges and supports you? Mentors like that are important to our success as students and in life. A well-planned gap year is an opportunity to find a mentor to support you as you shape who you want to be as an adult in the real world. College campuses are notoriously bad at providing great mentorship. During a gap year, the right mentor will have the time and space to help you explore your beliefs, your values, and how they can shape who you want to be in the world.