How to Defer Enrollment to Take a Gap Year

So you’re considering a gap year! There are tons of benefits that come with taking a gap year. You’ll learn about yourself and have tons of fun. At the same time, you can further your professional and educational goals. During your gap year, you will make new connections and life-long friends.Taking a gap year allows you to call your own shots and explore your newfound freedom in the best way.

There’s nothing wrong with taking some time off before diving into your degree.

Only one problem: college admission. You’ve already applied to college and been accepted, but now you’re wondering if it’s possible to put your enrollment on the backburner while you have the adventure of a lifetime.

How exactly does it all work? How do you defer admission for a gap year and for how long? Should you still even apply to colleges? Is it a gap year worth it? These concerns are valid! Read on to learn what deferring means and how to defer college acceptance.

READ MORE: Pros and Cons of Taking a Gap Year

What is deferring admission?

If you choose admission deferment to your college of choice, you are choosing to wait to start school for a certain amount of time (usually a year). You’re not giving up your acceptance. In fact, deferring admission means you are still technically enrolled in college. You’re just putting your start date on hold.

People defer college admission for many reasons, gap years included. There are tons of options for how to spend this gap year between high school and college! You can travel, work, or pursue other educational activities. It’s entirely up to you.

Can you defer college acceptance?

Once you’re accepted to college, you can defer admission for a gap year.

You can defer enrollment, but you can’t defer acceptance. Colleges want you to take a gap year! But they also want to know that after your gap year, you’ll come to their school. You must accept the offer of admission from the college in order to apply for deferred enrollment.

If you’re unsure of which college you want to go to, that’s okay! You can use your gap year to explore college options and apply to different colleges. If you go this route, you won’t have to defer enrollment. It also means you won’t have a guaranteed spot in any school though.

The good news? You get to decide which option works best for you and your goals!

READ MORE: How Do Gap Years Work?

Why defer admission for a gap year?

There are tons of reasons for admission deferment and taking a gap year! Such as:

• You feel burned out from high school and want a chance to recover before college
• You want to learn a foreign language and practice your skills
• You want real-world experience that can benefit the degree you plan to pursue
• You want a chance to travel and see the world before you settle into college and a “grown up” job later on

Whatever the reason, gap years allow opportunities for tremendous personal growth.

You might not even recognize yourself after a gap year!

Students who take gap years improve their self-reliance, communication skills, and problem solving abilities. You’ll also gain a new understanding of the world through immersing yourself in other cultures.

Because of the many benefits of a gap year, many colleges actually actively encourage deferred enrollment, and want students to take a year off in between high school and college.

How to defer admission for a gap year

Deferring enrollment for a gap year sounds like it would be a complicated process, but it’s actually somewhat simple, depending on your university.

Step 1: Apply to colleges

Have you done your research and made your top choices for universities that will help further your academic and career goals? Great! Step one is to apply to all the colleges you’re interested in and wait to hear back. (Easier said than done, right?)

Step 2: Accept admission to the college of your choice

Once you hear back from the colleges you’ve applied to, the next step is to choose where you want to go! You must accept admission in order to defer enrollment, so this step is extra important. Every university has different processes for expressing your intent to enroll, but they’ll let you know what you need to do in your acceptance letter or email.

Step 3: Decide what you want to do with your gap year (and apply to programs if necessary)

Will you plan a solo gap year or travel with a group?

There are tons of possibilities for both your gap year destination and the type of gap year you can take. You could spend your gap year working with animals or being a ski instructor. You could go to Australia or Switzerland (or multiple locations!). Picture what your ideal gap year would entail, and go from there.

You also definitely don’t have to work; you can spend your gap year just traveling the world and seeing as many countries and cultures as you possibly can. This step is probably the most fun because you get to design a gap year that is perfect for you. If you decide to do a more structured program, this is also the time to apply to some.

Step 4: Submit the necessary documents to your college

Policies on how to defer admission vary from college to college, but usually colleges will require you to submit a letter explaining why you want to defer enrollment and how you’ll spend the gap year. If you’re totally unsure where to start, your academic advisor or even the dean of your college will be a great resource.

Whatever the case, make sure you check application deadlines and get the required documents in as soon as possible.

Step 5: Enjoy!

Enjoy your gap year! Use your goals as a guideline, but don’t let them control you. Gap years are meant to be a time of personal growth, and a big part of that will be changing your mind if something doesn’t work for you, or even switching locations if your first choice isn’t working out. Do your best to get the most out of your gap year.

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College will still be there after your gap year

There’s no rush to get to college. Why not see the world first?

College is great, but there’s no rush to enroll! Gap years help you take your time, learn more about yourself, and prepare you even more for college. You’ll have amazing experiences that will stick with you for the rest of your life! And you’ll have great stories to tell once you go to college.

So go ahead, take that gap year! You got this.

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