It seems like the option of "taking a gap year" is increasing in popularity among homeschoolers. A gap year is a time period (typically between 6 months and a year in total) in which the high school graduate takes a job or maybe does some volunteer work to gain experience before beginning their college career.
Gap Year guidelines vary WIDELY between colleges. Many colleges say if you take one, you could be deemed a transfer. Other colleges (including Ivy League colleges) will admit you, offer you good scholarships, ENCOURAGE you to take a gap year, and STILL allow you to have your scholarships and freshman status when you return! Regretably, any specific information I offer on this subject is going to be incomplete. Your best bet is to contact three or four colleges that your child would MOST like to
go to, and question them specifically regarding their gap year information. Bear in mind too that their procedures may change from year to year. Also, be careful to get assurance that the policy they quote you is "grandfathered" and won't change if your student leaves for a year!
Even if your student is considering a year off, you will want to prepare your application and fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) while in their senior year! If they don't apply as a senior, then they really MAY be deemed a transfer student and miss out on several freshman scholarships. Therefore have them fill out an application while they are still in high school.
General advice: submit the applications the same as any other student, along with transcript, reading lists, and course descriptions. In one of the application essays, they should concentrate on their gap year plans, what specifically they will do and what they expect to accomplish. Keep in mind the essay is COMPLETELY written by the student. On the other hand, you as the parent could help your student brainstorm specifics to include in that essay. While your student completes the application and essay, you can get in touch with the colleges to research their policy. Make sure that you pay a visit to each college, and have your student talk one on one with someone in the admission department. That's as good as an "interview" and can go a long way to proving they truly are taking a gap year and not just goofing off.
Without a doubt, submit the FAFSA. Colleges will base their financial aid selections on the FAFSA, and (with luck) that financial aid decision will carry over once your student returns. You don't want your child to come back with a college admission but not be able to afford the college!
Gap year is NOT affected by "dual enrollment" college courses. Those are college level classes taken at community college or online that are taken while the student is officially a high school student. When they have dual enrollment credits, you put the information from the community college course onto the high school transcript, to confirm that it is "dual enrollment" and NOT just a college class. Only college classes taken AFTER high school graduation will mess up your gap year. Your student can take anything BEFORE graduation but NOTHING after graduation (no classes during the gap year.
Gap Year guidelines vary WIDELY between colleges. Many colleges say if you take one, you could be deemed a transfer. Other colleges (including Ivy League colleges) will admit you, offer you good scholarships, ENCOURAGE you to take a gap year, and STILL allow you to have your scholarships and freshman status when you return! Regretably, any specific information I offer on this subject is going to be incomplete. Your best bet is to contact three or four colleges that your child would MOST like to
go to, and question them specifically regarding their gap year information. Bear in mind too that their procedures may change from year to year. Also, be careful to get assurance that the policy they quote you is "grandfathered" and won't change if your student leaves for a year!
Even if your student is considering a year off, you will want to prepare your application and fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) while in their senior year! If they don't apply as a senior, then they really MAY be deemed a transfer student and miss out on several freshman scholarships. Therefore have them fill out an application while they are still in high school.
General advice: submit the applications the same as any other student, along with transcript, reading lists, and course descriptions. In one of the application essays, they should concentrate on their gap year plans, what specifically they will do and what they expect to accomplish. Keep in mind the essay is COMPLETELY written by the student. On the other hand, you as the parent could help your student brainstorm specifics to include in that essay. While your student completes the application and essay, you can get in touch with the colleges to research their policy. Make sure that you pay a visit to each college, and have your student talk one on one with someone in the admission department. That's as good as an "interview" and can go a long way to proving they truly are taking a gap year and not just goofing off.
Without a doubt, submit the FAFSA. Colleges will base their financial aid selections on the FAFSA, and (with luck) that financial aid decision will carry over once your student returns. You don't want your child to come back with a college admission but not be able to afford the college!
Gap year is NOT affected by "dual enrollment" college courses. Those are college level classes taken at community college or online that are taken while the student is officially a high school student. When they have dual enrollment credits, you put the information from the community college course onto the high school transcript, to confirm that it is "dual enrollment" and NOT just a college class. Only college classes taken AFTER high school graduation will mess up your gap year. Your student can take anything BEFORE graduation but NOTHING after graduation (no classes during the gap year.
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