Choosing a Gap Year Program

Answers to Your Questions on a Gap Year

Our gap year experts, Bob Clagett and Holly Bull, return with answers to your questions. You can see their previous posts with information on choosing a gap year program and how to apply for a gap year, including resources, here and here.

What tips do you have for students who are hoping to pursue a gap year, but don't necessarily want to do a program? I know there are organizations like WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) where students can work independently and safely across the globe, but are there other ways to connect with far-away places without traveling with a group of American teens?

A Gap Year: How to Choose the Right Program

Holly Bull, president of Interim, an independent gap year counseling service, joins us today to talk more about the value of a gap year and how to choose the right program. Join her here for more information about cost, safety and outcomes, including resources for further research. 

I took two gap years -- one before and one during college. So I am, admittedly, biased in favor of taking gap time. And for the past twenty-three years, I have counseled over a thousand students through the gap-year process at the Center for Interim Programs. From a personal and professional vantage point, I am convinced that the gap-year option needs to be woven more universally into the formal educational process.

When Interim was founded in 1980, it was the first gap-year counseling organization of its kind and there was very little awareness of the gap year or much support for it as an option. In the United Kingdom, on the other hand, it was in full swing and it has been gratifying to witness what started as a novel idea for Americans become a trend and now a solid movement over the past thirty-three years. We are at a point where many colleges are recognizing that gap-year students are highly desirable to have on campus given their maturity, focus, and leadership skills. And future employers value the practical job skills these students already have in place.