Why Take, or Not Take, a Gap Year

College Admissions Decoded

The gap year – that space after high school and before college devoted to experiential learning – can be magical and mystifying. Our guests define the gap year and its many iterations, offer grounded advice for deciding if it’s right for you, and point you to resources that can help you plan and successfully complete the gap year and the subsequent transition to college.

Guests: Jade Domingue, associate director of admission at Agnes Scott College, Victor Thomas, associate director of undergraduate admissions at Washington University, Dean Jacoby, a college guidance counselor at the Albuquerque Academy and a board member of the Gap Year Research Consortium at Colorado College. Moderated by NACAC member Eddie Pickett, a college counselor and dean at Polytechnic School in Pasadena, California.