As you no doubt know, European students have been taking gap years for around forty years now, but on the other side of the pond it’s quite different. Americans have really only just discovered the gap year phenomenon and it’s still trying to find its feet. Why?
Although college can be relatively cheap for international students in America thanks to generous scholarships, the same can’t be said for home students. We all know there was uproar when the coalition decided to raise tuition fees, but that’s still a bargain in relation to American universities. A year of college costs around $20,000, and for a four year course, you’re looking at a very hefty price tag.
With such huge costs, gap years don’t really appeal to American parents; they’re already forking out a lot of money so letting their child explore the world for a year incurs even more costs. Gap years don’t have to cost a fortune, and the rewards you gain from travelling are invaluable. But understandably, parents don’t want to think about the mounting costs of their child’s lifestyle.
Over here, an average 7% of UCAS applicants choose to defer their enrolment every year, and usually universities don’t have a problem with candidates taking a year out. You can gain valuable experience and widen your perspective which will ultimately benefit your studies and you as a person. However, it’s a different matter in the States – only 5% of universities offer the deferment system. In 2010, of the 300,000 students applying to university in the US, a mere 1.2% opted to wait a year before attending.
It’s interesting to note that the biggest endorsers of gap years tend to be the most popular universities in America, rather than smaller colleges. “Princeton University has just announced a new program called the ‘bridge year’ that will allow newly admitted students to spend a year performing public service abroad before beginning their freshman year,” says Danielle Wood, Editor in Chief of Education.com. Although not strictly a gap year, the function is the same; to enrich your life and garner as much experience as possible before your studies.
Wood makes the following comparison: “Sending a kid who’s not ready to college is like sending a kid who’s not feeling hungry to an all-you-can-eat buffet.” It’s a good way of looking at it. Not everyone will feel ready to go to university, and this is something we seem to have recognised and embraced here in the UK. But why are they so slow on the uptake?
Perhaps it’s because it’s not the normal route to take, and there’s fear attached to going off-course. Parents may think that because college costs so much, it’s not ideal to volunteer abroad, where you’ll be earning little or no money.
But at the end of the day, can you really put a price on self-discovery, experience and memories? Probably not, and only time will tell if the Americans catch on.
