Gap Year Article
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ESL11B–Spring2013 Section2038 GapYear:Congrats!You'reAcceptedtoCollege,NowGoAway BySUSANDONALDSONJAMES(abcNEWS) May14,2012 SamHeldrop,18,hasdeferredhisacceptancetoHopeCollege inMichiganandoptedtoteachEnglishandbackpack inThailandnextacademicyear. (CourtesySamHelderop) SamHelderopreceivedanacceptanceletterfrom Michigan'sHopeCollegethisspring,buthasno intentionofgoi ng--atleast notinthefallof 2012. Thecollegehasallowedhimtodeferhisadmission, andHelderopwill takeagap yeartoteachEngli sh withtheDaLaa projectina remotevillageinTh ailand,thenback packthroughoutSoutheast Asia-"untilmymoneyrunsout." "Ialwayswan tedtotravelpretty muchmyentirelife,"sa idHelderop,agraduatingsenior fromGrandRapids,Mich."Butafter18 yearsofthesameold routine,goingtoschooland sittinginclass,I amnotmotivated enoughrightnowto gothroughfouryear sofcollege." "Ifeellikeagap yearwillna rrowdownwhat Iwanttostudya nddoinmylife,"h esaid."To getmyinterestineducationbackagain." Helderop'smotherisnot happyabouth isplanstostepof ftheacademicladderanddo volunteerwork.However ,highereducationexp ertssaythatgivi ngstudentsanopp ortunity toexploretherealworldhelpsthemmature.Moreover,earlyresearch revealsthatonce theyrestarttheira cademicstudies,theyactually performbettertha nthosewhogostrai ght fromhighschooltocollege. Anestimated1.2per centoffirst-timecollegef reshmentakeaga pyear,mostofthemmale students,accordingtothe HigherEducationResearchInstitute attheUniversityof CaliforniaLosAngeles. "Thesearestillsmall percentages,"saidJohn Pryor,directorofthe cooperativeinstitutional researchprogram atHERI.Nevertheless,collegea dmissionofficerssay thegapyear is gainingmomentum. InBritainandEuropethegap yearhasbeenresp ectablefordecades,buta 2011surveyof Americancollegesestimatedonlyabout18,000of the1.5millionfreshmen hadtakenayear offafterhighschool. Recently,however,someofthen ation'smostcompetit ivecolleges(Harvard,Middlebury andPrinceton,a mongothers)havea doptedformalpolicies toallowstudentstodeferth eir admission,andp ubliccollegesliketheUn iversityofNorthCa rolinaoffera Gappl scholarshiptopursueacademicsandserviceabroad. "Whatadmission officerstellyouisthat thegapyearin creasesindependencean dself- relianceandstudents haveaconfidenceaboutthem,"saidJulia Rogers,directorofVermon t- basedEnRouteConsulting .Inapersua sivecolumnintheBur lingtonFreePress,she paraphrases Middlebury'sacceptan celettertothosewhohave askedforagap year deferment:"Congratulat ions,you'rein.Now goaway." Herstudentshavespa nnedtheglobe.Rightnow,CindyLiofChester brook,Pennsylva niais interningfora radicalartcollecti veinMexico.MicaThompsonofCapeElizabeth,Maineis
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Transcript of Gap Year Article
7/28/2019 Gap Year Article
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/gap-year-article 1/3
ESL11B–Spring2013
Section2038
GapYear:Congrats!You'reAcceptedtoCollege,NowGoAway
BySUSANDONALDSONJAMES(abcNEWS)May14,2012
SamHeldrop,18,hasdeferredhisacceptancetoHopeCollege
inMichiganandoptedtoteachEnglishandbackpack
inThailandnextacademicyear. (CourtesySamHelderop)
SamHelderopreceivedanacceptanceletterfromMichigan'sHopeCollegethisspring,buthasnointentionofgoing--atleastnotinthefallof2012.Thecollegehasallowedhimtodeferhisadmission,andHelderopwilltakeagapyeartoteachEnglish
withtheDaLaaprojectinaremotevillageinThailand,thenbackpackthroughoutSoutheastAsia-"untilmymoneyrunsout."
"Ialwayswantedtotravelprettymuchmyentirelife,"saidHelderop,agraduatingseniorfromGrandRapids,Mich."Butafter18yearsofthesameoldroutine,goingtoschooland
sittinginclass,Iamnotmotivatedenoughrightnowtogothroughfouryearsofcollege.""IfeellikeagapyearwillnarrowdownwhatIwanttostudyanddoinmylife,"hesaid."Togetmyinterestineducationbackagain."
Helderop'smotherisnothappyabouthisplanstostepofftheacademicladderanddovolunteerwork.However,highereducationexpertssaythatgivingstudentsanopportunitytoexploretherealworldhelpsthemmature.Moreover,earlyresearchrevealsthatoncetheyrestarttheiracademicstudies,theyactuallyperformbetterthanthosewhogostraightfromhighschooltocollege.
Anestimated1.2percentoffirst-timecollegefreshmentakeagapyear,mostofthemmalestudents,accordingtotheHigherEducationResearchInstituteattheUniversityofCaliforniaLosAngeles.
"Thesearestillsmallpercentages,"saidJohnPryor,directorofthecooperativeinstitutionalresearchprogramatHERI.Nevertheless,collegeadmissionofficerssaythegapyearisgainingmomentum.
InBritainandEuropethegapyearhasbeenrespectablefordecades,buta2011surveyofAmericancollegesestimatedonlyabout18,000ofthe1.5millionfreshmenhadtakenayearoffafterhighschool.
Recently,however,someofthenation'smostcompetitivecolleges(Harvard,MiddleburyandPrinceton,amongothers)haveadoptedformalpoliciestoallowstudentstodefertheir
admission,andpubliccollegesliketheUniversityofNorthCarolinaofferaGapplscholarshiptopursueacademicsandserviceabroad.
"Whatadmissionofficerstellyouisthatthegapyearincreasesindependenceandself-relianceandstudentshaveaconfidenceaboutthem,"saidJuliaRogers,directorofVermont-basedEnRouteConsulting.InapersuasivecolumnintheBurlingtonFreePress,sheparaphrasesMiddlebury'sacceptancelettertothosewhohaveaskedforagapyeardeferment:"Congratulations,you'rein.Nowgoaway."
Herstudentshavespannedtheglobe.Rightnow,CindyLiofChesterbrook,PennsylvaniaisinterningforaradicalartcollectiveinMexico.MicaThompsonofCapeElizabeth,Maineis
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workingonanelephantconservationprojectinSouthAfricaandTeganHenderson,anAmericanlivinginLondon,islearningfashionalongsidedesignerStellaMcCartney.
"Weliveinanincreasinglydigitalworldandexistmorevirtuallythanbefore,"saidRogers."Thegapyearforcesthemintoarealexperience-learningalanguageontheground,meetingpeople,engaginginsituations-allofwhichisbecomingmoreandmorerareamong
theirpeers."
Thegapyearisalsoanattractiveoptionfinancially,costinganaverageof$10,000to$25,000comparedtocollegetuitions,whicharenowupwardsof$55,000ayear,accordingtoRogers.
RogersishelpingHelderopshapehisplansprobono(withoutcharge)becausehismotherisnotsupportinghisgapyear,andhisfatherdiedeightyearsago.
"TravelmakesAmericansnervous,andwearesuspiciousofothercultures,"Rogerssaid."ButIthinkthat'schangingandevolving,especiallythisgeneration,whichisexploringtheworldmore."
Forstarters,Rogersrecommendsthatgapyearstudents"dogoodwork,beinasafelocationandhavealocalcoordinator."
Helderopestimateshisyearabroadwillcostabout$7,000,moneyhehassavedhimselfthroughcoachingtennis,workingatadiner,andevendonatingplasmatogetclosermakingtohisdreamareality.
Agapyeardoesn'thavetobeoverseas.AlexGalarcefromIllinoisisvolunteeringfor10monthswithCityYearinChicago.There,heservesasafull-timetutorandmentortokeepstudentsontrackforgraduationfromhighschool.Nextyear,he'llattendNewCollegeofFlorida.
"DoingCityYeariswhatmademeconsiderbeingateacher,"saidGalarce,whohadnoideawhathewantedtostudywhenhegraduatedfromhighschoollastyear."IfIhadn'tdoneagapyear,teachingwouldnothavebeensomethingIwasinterestedin."
RobertClagett ,whohasworkedinadmissionsforbothHarvardUniversityandMiddleburyCollegeforthreedecades,isapassionateconvert.
WhileservingasdeanofadmissionsatMiddlebury,heandhiscolleaguesdidacomparisonstudyofincomingfreshmen:thosewhobeganinthespringterm-so-called"Febs"-andthosewhotooktheregularrouteandenrolledinthefall.
Theycontrolledforvariableslikehighschoolcredentials,havinganaffluentbackgroundorattendingabetterhighschool.TheFebsnotonlyhadhigherGPAs,butthepositiveeffects
lastedallfouryears.Theresultswere"startling,"accordingtoClagett."Andweknewwewereontosomethinghere."
"ThebestpredictorofoverallacademicsuccesswasbeingaFeb,"hesaid."Mytheoryisthatstudentswhohaveanopportunitytogetoffthetreadmilldobetter."
TheFebresearchledtoanotherstudythatalsosuggestedthatstudentswhotakeafullgapyearmayalsooutperformtheircollegepeers.
"Thepressureofgettingintocollegetakesoverstudents’educationalgoalsinhighschool,"saidClagett."Andthestudentswhogetintocollegestepbackandsay,'WhereamInow?'
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Thatdoesn'thappenasmuchforFebs,whohavehadintenseexperiencesormaybeworked."
Clagett'sresearchisbackedupanAustralianstudyof2,502studentspublishedinthe2010JournalofEducationalPsychology,whichsaidgapyearstudentsaremorehighlymotivated.
"Theconventionalwisdomisyouruntheriskofthekidlosinghard-earnedstudyskillsand,maybetheywon'tgoontocollege,"hesaid."Butthosearen'tlegitimateconcerns.Inmy30years,Ihavenevermetastudentwhotookagapyearandregrettedit."
Inadditiontoits100Febs,Middleburyaccepted40studentswhochosetotakeagapyearin2011-"thehighestweeverhad,"hesaid.
Oneofthem,CarolineCatingofArlington,Massachusetts,hasworkedonorganicfarmsinHawaii,learnedtoflyandworkedasaskiinstructor.Today,sheisvolunteeringatadaycarecenterinMexicoforlow-incomechildrenofsinglemothers.
"Iabsolutelylovechildren,andnothingisaswonderfulasmakingmeaningfulbondswiththem,"shewroteABCNews.cominanemail."Ithasalsobeenwonderfultopracticemy
Spanishandlearnanewculture."
CarolineCating,19,volunteersatadaycarecenterin
Mexico.
Forher,agapyearhasmeant"individual,unmonitored,personalgrowth."
"Allofmydifferentexperienceshavehelpedmelearntobepatientandtohavefaiththatthingsworkout,though
notalwaysasplanned,"saidCating."I'velearnedtobudgetforgroceriesandgasandrent,tonavigatenewsocialsituationsinwhichthereisn'talwaysarightorwronganswer."
ChloeSharplesofAustin,Texas,willstartColoradoCollegeinthefallafterspendingawhirlwindyearabroadwiththefullsupportofherparents.
Today,the19-year-oldisinChiangMai,Thailand,volunteeringforArtReliefInternational,aftergoingonadaddy-daughtertriptotheremoteHimalayankingdomofBhutan.Lastfall,sheimprovedherSpanishvolunteeringinanenvironmentalprogramwithCarpeDieminEcuadorandPeru.
"Collegeisachoiceratherthanapathforme:Iamgoingtocollegetrulyexcitedtolearn,"shewroteABCNews.cominanemail."I'veseensomanyamazingthingsthisyearandmetandlearnedfromsomanyincrediblepeopleandI'vebeensoinspiredandbecomesocuriousaboutsomuchthatIcan'twaittotakecoursesonalloftheseamazingsubjects."
Heradvicetothenervousparent,likeHelderop's:"Don'tbeafraid."
Heradvicetostudentscontemplatingagapyear:"Bebraveanddothingsthatareoutsideyourcomfortzone(butdon'tbedumb).Talktopeople,theworldhassomuchtoteach."
Editedfrom:http://abcnews.go.com/Health/gap-year-momentum-grows-studies-show-higher-performance/story?id=16339935#.UaX-KZwkJ8E
