Additional Resources

Curious about how to best position yourself for success?! How you spend your free time over your high school years is very important in college admissions. Elon University recently did a presentation focused on intentionality in time management to pursue purpose over 4 years that aligns with your values. You can review the slides here.

College Counseling has created a comprehensive resource guide with leadership programs and summer opportunities to help you use all four years well! Doing so should create a cohesive narrative about who you are, what you're passionate about, and how you've sought out leadership opportunities to impact the communities you're engaged with throughout your high school years. Check it out below! 

If you are considering taking a gap year after graduation and deferring enrollment at a college or university, this is a great resource to consider what a gap year could offer and refer to this resource to find great opportunities to make the most of your time. 

A gap year consultant focuses specifically on helping students explore options that could be a good fit. Take a look here! If you'd like to set up a family brainstorming conversation to discuss how a gap year could look for you, consider filling out this questionnaire and take a look at this resource on How to Write a Deferral Letter as we encourage all students to apply to college during the senior year of high school. 

Here is a list of programs that come highly recommended by colleagues in College Counseling:

• Alzar Gap

• Americorps

• Art history abroad

• City Year

• College Internship Program (CIP)

• College Living Experience (CLE)

• Conservation corps

• Carpe diem gap year

• Jesuit volunteer corps

• Joshua Program

• Free Spirit

• Gap Year Association - has the most comprehensive list of college deferral policies on the internet. See also their student planning guide and list of accredited programs.

• Gap Year Radio Podcast: A podcast that features gap year students telling stories from their gap time. Available on spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher.

• GoOverseas

• Global Citizen Year

• Ingenuity year

• Mansfield Hall

• National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS)

• National Park Service volunteer program

• The Outer Coast Year

• New Zealand's Holiday Visa Program

• ServiceYear

• SOAR - ADHD and LD adventure program

• Verto Education

• Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF)

Articles

Time Out or Burn Out for the Next Generation
Harvard College
https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/apply/first-year-applicants/considering-gap-year

Gap Years:  What Does the Research Say?
Student Conservation Association
https://www.thesca.org/connect/blog/gap-years-what-does-research-say

The Need For Discovery Gap Years, Microinternships As Students Choose College
Forbes, September 10, 2019
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelhorn/2019/09/10/the-need-for-discovery-gap-years-microinternships-as-students-choose-college/

Making a Gap Year More Than an Overseas Vacation
Chronicle of Higher Education, January 22, 2019
https://www.chronicle.com/article/Making-a-Gap-Year-More-Than-an/245521

Welcome to College. Now Take a Year Off
Wall Street Journal, December 25, 2018
https://www.wsj.com/articles/welcome-to-college-now-take-a-year-off-11545742801

The Best Freshman Year Is a Gap Year
Chronicle of Higher Education, June 3, 2018
https://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Best-Freshman-Year-Is-a/243563

What are the advantages of a gap year before college?
Colorado Academy News, March 9, 2018
https://news.coloradoacademy.org/advantages-gap-year-college/

Closing the Gap Year Gap
Usable Knowledge, Harvard Graduate School of Education, May 17, 2016
https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/16/05/closing-gap-year-gap

Starting college? Here’s why you should think about a gap year
The Conversation, May 29, 2016
https://theconversation.com/starting-college-heres-why-you-should-think-about-a-gap-year-58700

How a Gap Year Can Make Students Successful
US News & World Report, September 23, 2014
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2014/09/23/how-a-gap-year-can-make-students-successful

As Jan. 1 Application Deadline Nears, an Argument for a Yearlong Breather
New York Times, December 27, 2011
https://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/author/robert-clagett/

There are several routes for a student who may be interested in the military. This resource and this summary  provides a helpful overview of the:

• 5 Service Academies (The guide to applying to the US Service Academies)

• 7 Senior Military Colleges

• 7 Maritime Academics

• ROTC

The five federal military Service Academies have very specific and unique application requirements. If your student is interested in the military, please review these resources with them. You can learn more about application requirements here and access a timeline and checklist here.

Travis Wittick of Academy Endeavors provides individualized support and help to those applying to military service academies or ROTC programs. He has worked with several Trinity students and can be a good resource if your student is interested.

Naval Academy - Post Graduation Assignments

Air Force Academy - Post Graduation Assignments

15 Best ROTC Colleges 

Barron's Profiles of American Colleges. New York: Barron's Educational Series, Inc. Updated every two years.

The College Board College Handbook. New York: The College Board. Published annually.

Peterson's Guide to Four-Year Colleges. Princeton, NJ: Peterson's Guides. Published annually.

Peterson's Guide to Two-Year Colleges. Princeton, NJ: Peterson's Guides. Published annually.

Fiske, Edward, and Robert Logue (contributor). The Fiske Guide to Colleges. Illinois: Sourcebooks Trade. Updated annually.

Greene, Howard, and Matthew W. Greene. Greene's Guide to Educational Planning: The Public Ivies. HarperCollins, 2001.

Greene, Howard R., and Matthew W. Greene. The Hidden Ivies: Thirty Colleges of Excellence. New York: HarperCollins, 2000.

Pope, Loren. Colleges That Change Lives: Forty Schools You Should Know About Even If You're Not a Straight-A Student. New York: Penguin, 2006.

Staff of Yale Daily News. The Insider's'Guide to the Colleges. New York: St. Martin's Press. Updated annually.

College Board Book of Majors. New York: The College Board. Published annually. Detailed descriptions, written by professors, of more than 180 popular majors, plus lists of 900 majors and the colleges that offer them.

Getting Financial Aid. New York: The College Board. Published annually.

Mathews, Jay. Harvard Schmarvard: Getting Beyond the Ivy League to the College That Is Best For You. New York: Prima Publishing, 2003. Good insights on the college choice process from the education columnist for the Washington Post.

Schoem, David. College Knowledge: 101 Tips for the College-Bound Student. University of Michigan Press, 2005. Practical advice on how to become engaged in college intellectual and cultural life.