Preparing for a Gap Year

Preparing for a Gap Year

Preparing for a Gap Year

A 'gap year" is when a young adult decides to take a year off from school and work in order to travel or volunteer. Although this is primarily a European tradition, it is gaining popularity with Americans as well. A gap year can provide the opportunity for long stretches of travel and the ability to immerse yourself in another culture.

The key to getting the most out of your gap year is to prepare for it properly. Here's how:

Decide how you want to spend the year. Do you want to volunteer somewhere? Would you prefer to travel? Study? What are you hoping to gain from the time off?

Determine your budget. Then, determine how to get the experience you desire while staying within your budget. Even if you don't have much money to work with, alternatives like youth hostels and even couch-surfing can make your dollars stretch further.

If you're volunteering, research the program requirements and the food and lodging conditions to make sure you are prepared both mentally and physically. Especially in less-developed areas, there's a good chance you'll be roughing it.

If you're taking a gap year between high school and college and you've already been admitted, contact your school's admissions department and ask for a deferred admission. Most schools are happy to do this.

Study the culture of the places you plan to travel. If you can learn some of the language before you leave, even better.

Make a list of everything you'll need, including clothing, equipment and travel documents.

Apply for your passport if you don't already have one. You'll need to do this as far in advance as possible, since it takes time to process a passport application. Regular passport processing can take 6 weeks or longer, while expedited processing takes at least 3 weeks. Also, if you need a visa to travel, you have to have your passport first in order to apply.

If you've waited until the last minute to apply for your passport, don't despair- you can still get a passport, it will just take a couple of extra steps. Either make an appointment with a regional passport agency office or use a private company like RushMyPassport.

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