The Gap Year - Travel and Volunteer
The Gap Year
Many families and students feel that a "Gap Year" is still considered a taboo path after high school - not the case! Research has shown that structured gap years have students feeling more emotionally and academically ready for the college experience as compared to students who started college right after high school. The key is that they're structured -meaning, students are just sitting at home on the couch wondering what's next! Here are a couple great articles to read as you consider the idea of taking a year between high school and college.
AmeriCorps vs. PeaceCorps
AmeriCorps is a service program open to individuals ages 18-24 to provide service throughout various regions across the country. There are two main tracks for high school graduates: NCCC and FEMA. The National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) allows students to provide various services including sandbag preperation, community outreach on sanitation, updating hiking trails, building handicap access, and more. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) allows volunteers to assist during natural disasters and other emergency situations. Both tracks allow for students to volunteer for 10 months with a $4,000 living stipend and an educational award to be used to pay back student loans or as a scholarship at select colleges. For more information on both the program and the benefits, please visit:
In contrast, the PeaceCorps allows individuals to travel the world in support of various service funded projects. Most PeaceCorps programs require at least a Bachelor's degree, although some allow for just a few years of related work experience. To learn more, please visit:
National Outdoor Leadership School
While NOLS is not a Gap Year program, many students may utilize the courses during their gap year experiences. If you're interested in the outdoors and developing leadership skills while seeing other parts of the country/world, then check out the programs at NOLS and see if any are a good fit!
Other Popular Gap Year Programs
There are hundreds of different programs out in the world that assist students with developing Gap Year opportunities. Some are free, some cost very little, and others can add up to about $30,000. Please do your research! Here's a great place to start: