Some Parents Don’t Want Students to Take a Gap Year
Let’s start by trying to understand why your parents might not want you to take a gap year. Here are the most common reasons we hear:
It would be a waste of a year
Students often identify “burnout” as their reason for needing a gap year. Parents assume this means the gap year is going to be about sitting on a beach, playing video games on the couch, or something that looks like an extended vacation.
You might not go to college afterward.
Generally speaking, parents really want their kids to go to college. They want them to prepare for their future, a profession, and a fulfilling life. The idea that you might be having doubts about college as a next step can be a scary thought for parents. Some parents assume a student asking for a gap year is unsure about or avoiding college.
It’s too expensive.
It is no secret that college is really expensive. The idea of adding to the cost of higher education with a gap year can seem hard to justify. And, many parents assume gap years are inherently expensive.
Why You Should Take a Gap Year
Your gap year has purpose.
You are asking to take a gap year not because you want a vacation, but because you are burned out on the classroom. You still love learning, but you want to connect with real issues in the real world. Your education up to now has been entirely theory — math, science, literature — without any clear relationship to things that matter to the issues facing people, communities, and our global society. Your gap year is an intentional effort to find a clear purpose for your college learning. Making an effort to connect your learning to real world issues can help you prepare for an engaging, powerful, and fulfilling college career.
You’re going to college, and this is an important part of the process.
College is an incredible learning environment where you’ll spend four years surrounded by the world’s experts in everything who are there to help you learn. You are excited for this. You want college to be more than parties. But, to be ready to make college all it can be, you need to be passionate about what you are going to study. You want to arrive on campus with burning questions that matter to you and to the world. Your gap year is about identifying the questions and passion that will help you get excited for the learning opportunities college offers.
College is a HUGE investment and this is how you’re preparing for it
Over four years, you are going to make an enormous investment of money, time, and energy in your college education. While you were a good high school student, the burnout you feel now won’t necessarily go away when you get to college. You want a gap year to ensure you are ready to make your college years about preparing for the professional career that awaits. Here’s a strong argument from a parent that the investment in a gap year for her son more than paid for itself in tuition savings.
Tips for Making Your Case for a Gap Year
Here are the steps you can take to make your case:
Know your goals.
Create a list of your learning and growth goals for your gap year. Then, identify the things you’ll need to ensure you will be supported in your learning and growth.
Make a plan.
Sell it.
Present research on the power of gap years (here’s some from the Gap Year Association and Thinking Beyond Borders). Talk about your goals, your plan, and include examples of the options that aren’t right for you. Present options for funding your gap year, and be sure you take responsibility for helping to fund it.
Share testimonials from students who have taken gap years.
Here’s a powerpoint Ozanne Alexander used to convince her parents.
Talk it out.
Listen to your parents’ questions and reactions. Ask questions to be sure you understand what they are thinking and feeling about this option. Be patient and give them time (sometimes days or weeks) to think about this. Offer other sources for research. Be open to alternative plans or thoughts about how to make a gap year work for you. While they may not say yes to your initial plan, your parents may be able to help you make your plan stronger.
Just remember — the clearer you are about why you want and need a gap year, the easier it will be for your parents to buy into the concept.
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*Article originally written and posted on: https://thinkingbeyondborders.org/choosing-gap-year-program-2019/