Get Into Harvard: Year Off After High School

A reader who wanted to do some volunteer work in Africa before reapplying to an Ivy League school recently asked me this question. He wondered if the volunteer work would make him a more desirable candidate.

I told him that it might.

Why “perhaps” and not “absolutely”?

The reason is that there are a number of things to keep in mind when applying to an Ivy League School. All factors must be balanced. Take these points into consideration:

1. As with my advice regarding summer activities, it makes sense to take a year off as long as you are busy the whole time doing very note-worthy things.

Second: Be sure that the activity you choose fits in with your “big picture”. It must support the image you plan to present in your Common Applications. It should be connected with your stated areas of interest and/or your major course of study.

Third: Understand that a gap year really only lasts about six months, so don’t over commit your time. You will have from the time you graduate from high school in the late spring until the time you submit your Common Applications near the end of the calendar year to complete your tasks and add them to the Common Applications.

Click here for more info on waitlisted at Ivy League schools.

#4 Your total application must be strong in order for a gap year to do you good. If you have negligible extracurricular activities, low grades, poor transcripts, and/or low SATs, a gap year will not fix problems with your application.

When you are thinking about working for your dad’s textile sales company for a year before applying to Ivy League colleges ,keep these four factors in mind.

After you have weighed all of these considerations, you may decide that a gap year will, indeed, be beneficial to you. If you determine that you are already a very strong candidate, and a gap year will make you even stronger, then it is definitely a good idea.

A gap year is a very good thing as far as personal development is concerned. They are also a good way to have a productive break from academic life. However, a gap year will not insure your admission to the school of your dreams.

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