Jamie is a high school
senior in Massachusetts, accepted ED to
Davidson. He started to feel burnt out this year, and also felt uncertain about
what he wanted to study in college. After joining a school trip to Spain this
spring, and researching his options, the idea of a gap year started to make
more and more sense. With a month of careful planning, his gap year has
really taken shape.
Two days ago Jamie sent his request for deferral to Davidson, which granted his request on the same day! Jamie’s letter was so personal, honest and thorough, we are posting it here with his permission with the hopes that it inspires and supports those of you in a similar position.
Two days ago Jamie sent his request for deferral to Davidson, which granted his request on the same day! Jamie’s letter was so personal, honest and thorough, we are posting it here with his permission with the hopes that it inspires and supports those of you in a similar position.
Dear Dean,
While I am very excited about attending Davidson, I feel it would be beneficial and in my best interest to take a gap year before attending this fall. I am respectfully writing to request to defer my admission to begin in the fall of 2019.
While I am very excited about attending Davidson, I feel it would be beneficial and in my best interest to take a gap year before attending this fall. I am respectfully writing to request to defer my admission to begin in the fall of 2019.
After a March school trip to Spain, I realized that while I
can speak Spanish somewhat well, I really want to improve my Spanish and see
more of the world. While I enjoy connecting with people, I think that improving
my language skills will allow me to do this better. I also want to explore
fields that interest me, so I can get a feel for what they are like before I
start college. With this preparation, I think that I will attend college with a
much better idea of what it is I want to study. Some areas that I would
like to explore are: teaching, environmental restoration, and medicine.
I’ve zeroed in on a few opportunities that will expose me to
these specific areas. To develop a gap year plan that gets me there, I am
working with...a gap year counselor with the Center for Interim
Programs...I am an outgoing person who loves to
meet new people and see new places. I’m also an athlete who doesn’t enjoy
sitting all day. [The counselor] and I have identified a number of programs to support my
goals.
The first program that I would like to attend is for 12
weeks in Costa Rica starting in September. During my stay, I will learn Spanish
and live with Costa Rican families in homestays. I will participate in several
internships to gain other skills, including:
--Biological
Station: This station helps protect the sea turtles that are found on the
Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. The project involves a lot of physical work in a
pristine part of the coast.
--Agro-ecological
farm: This is a farm in the mountains that offers guided tours, waterfall
rappelling, and bird watching to visitors. I would live with a family and work
and participate in the everyday routines supporting the tree nursery,
reforestation projects and eventually receive the training to guide groups of
visitors.
--Community
center. I will volunteer in a community center where children need help and
support with homework, assignments, school projects. The majority of these
children come from very poor families whose parents need to work for 10-14
hours a day.
--Medical
clinic: There will be various opportunities to shadow and support a medical
clinic in a rural community.
After this initial, 12-week phase of my gap year, I return
home in mid-November. At this point, I plan to work at a lodge in Alta, Utah. I
have already spoken with the hiring manager there and I have secured a work
commitment there from Thanksgiving through early April. I will have room and
board provided while I work. This will be unskilled labor, either bussing
tables or working at the front desk. This employment provides me the
opportunity to ski in my time off and earn money for travel in the spring. Most
of the seasonal workers will be around my age, so I am excited to work with
others who are exploring a less traditional path.
After returning home for a week or two, I plan to travel
back to Spain as part of a program where I can be a conversational coach to a
family for up to 15 hours a week. For this work and an additional fee, I
receive room and board. During this work experience, I plan to use my free time
to explore the region. I plan to do this for 4 to 12 weeks, depending on how
the experience goes.
While I was in Spain this past March with my school, we
hiked 150 kilometers (approximately 90 miles) of the El Camino de Santiago.
Despite miserable spring weather, including walking in rain and snow, I really
enjoyed this trip, and I want to go back to hike more of this famous pilgrimage
trail. I plan to go alone this time. It’s easy to meet people and make new
friends and find walking partners on the Camino. This final leg of my gap year
journey will, I hope, let me experience people in a foreign land and let me
experience independence in a deeper way than college will.
To me, these three very different experiences give me the
ability to get drastically outside of my comfort zone and to push myself. I
look forward to becoming more independent and self-reliant throughout the
course of the year. My hope is that I will return from my gap year energized to
contribute to your academic community. I believe a break now that involves
language learning and cultural discovery will make me a more focused,
self-aware student when I return.
Even though I think the sound of the Class of 2022 is far cooler than the Class of 2023, I respectfully request the opportunity to defer my admission to Davidson for a year to join the Class of 2023. After all, life is a marathon, not a sprint.
Sincerely,
Jamie