OT: A senior student's "Gap year"

[Vermilion]

Been a really fun season this year friends and I'm already looking forward to 2018!!

Very off-track here, but I have a daughter who is a senior at The University of Wisconsin who will be graduating in May with a degree in Biology and plans to become a physical therapist, which will require another 3 years to get her doctorate in physical therapy in Med School.

Before she continues her education, she plans to take a "Gap Year", which was really sort of baffling to me after paying for her undergraduate education....I'm 52 and when I graduated from Penn State ('87-Smeal Business) it was expected that I would find a job and not travel around the country (and perhaps world) before either continuing my education and/or profession.

Anyone have any similar experiences or are the "Gap Years" now commonplace with todays students post graduation?

 

[ClarkstonMark]

millennials

 

[mcruny42]

I am 34 and studied abroad (Italy) in undergrad and also in law school (Australia). I honestly feel I learned more living abroad then a lot of what I learned in college. I recommend travelling as much as possible before life truly gets in the way.
Does she plan to teach English somewhere or to bar tend or something to help pay for this? I would not give her a blank check to travel and party, but to travel and work at least a little bit, I would support.

 

[Vermilion]

Funny you should ask Mcruny42. She mentioned teaching English in Thailand or Singapore and my wife and I looked at each other, like “really?”

Interesting perspective though...

 

[NedFromYork]

Gap year playing, with a part time position not in her field? A big no from me as a parent, any post grad school would be her responsibility at that point if it were me. Chances of not going back to school after a gap year would scare me so I would say continue on with school immediately at mom and dad's expense or you are on your own. Studying abroad full time would be a compromise I would listen to and consider.

 

[mcruny42]

I understand the hesitation from a parents standpoint. But teaching English in Asia has become a very popular option after undergrad, multiple friends of mine taught in Asia (Japan, S. Korea and Thailand) for a semester or year. They all finished school or went into their careers afterwards, but they had people in their programs that never went back. However, I think a lot of people that dont go back were probably already looking for options outside of a traditional career. No clue if that fits your daughter or not. The positive is that it enables you to see parts of the world and other perspectives that you are unlikely to see/experience later on in life. The negatives is it can delay her getting into her career and potentially getting 'distracted'

 

[ralphster]

I sense sour grapes from the older generation here. Just because you didn't seize the day as a young adult, why shouldn't she? When you are lying on your deathbed, are you going to say, "jeez, I really wish I would have worked another year?!?"

I am middle aged, with all the normal responsibilities, family, career, etc. I'd LOVE to go back to age 21 and travel for a year.

As long as she's paying, I say go for it. She'll have 40 years to be a physical therapist!

 

[Roar More]

Hell, I had three gap years, thanks to the U.S. Army.

 

[83wuzme]

I am 34 and studied abroad (Italy) in undergrad and also in law school (Australia). I honestly feel I learned more living abroad then a lot of what I learned in college. I recommend travelling as much as possible before life truly gets in the way.
Does she plan to teach English somewhere or to bar tend or something to help pay for this? I would not give her a blank check to travel and party, but to travel and work at least a little bit, I would support.

Its not really a Millenial thing unless there’s a blank check involved.

 

[Nitwit97]

YOLO

I have family friend who teaches English in South Korea. He and his wife have been there a number of years now.

I think if she has solid plans for when and where she is going to grad school, let her live. If not, then crack the whip!!!

 

[NitNE73]

My 25 year old daughter went right to living and working in NYC. Now she has started to travel for leisure and is in the middle of 15 days in New Zealand. She has spelunked, kayaked, and sky dived. Today she is Heli-hiking on a glacier and still later going bungee jumping off the original bridge that started it all.

I want her life.

 

[psu2434]

I'm currently on a gap year as we speak. I'm 36, married with 2 kids in tow (age 5, 2). We sold everything we owned and decided now was the most opportunistic time to travel before our kids get into schooling. Its the best decision we've every made. We get to watch our kids grow up right in front of us while hiking the Swiss Alps, tasting wine in Tuscany, waterfall spotting in Thailand & Bali, and snorkel the great barrier reef.
We're 9 months in now (just arrived in New Zealand) will spend 3 months here then reenter the workforce. I worked 14 years for the same company and am confident I'll reacquaint myself with the 8-5 M-F grind.
I'd tell her to go for it. I see the millennial stereo-type made and its way off base. The bottom line is millennials value experiences over tangible items. I drove the same car for 10 years and still hang onto my original iPhone 4s to save enough to make this trip a possibility. If I was her dad, she'd get the green light to experience and enjoy life, you just never know how long we get.

Here's an article in the Palm Beach Post that featured our story.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/lifest...ling-around-the-world/LGSyMx5yEaI22qyXCjE7DM/

 

[LionJim]

I'm currently on a gap year as we speak. I'm 36, married with 2 kids in tow (age 5, 2). We sold everything we owned and decided now was the most opportunistic time to travel before our kids get into schooling. Its the best decision we've every made. We get to watch our kids grow up right in front of us while hiking the Swiss Alps, tasting wine in Tuscany, waterfall spotting in Thailand & Bali, and snorkel the great barrier reef.
We're 9 months in now (just arrived in New Zealand) will spend 3 months here then reenter the workforce. I worked 14 years for the same company and am confident I'll reacquaint myself with the 8-5 M-F grind.
I'd tell her to go for it. I see the millennial stereo-type made and its way off base. The bottom line is millennials value experiences over tangible items. I drove the same car for 10 years and still hang onto my original iPhone 4s to save enough to make this trip a possibility. If I was her dad, she'd get the green light to experience and enjoy life, you just never know how long we get.

Here's an article in the Palm Beach Post that featured our story.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/lifest...ling-around-the-world/LGSyMx5yEaI22qyXCjE7DM/

That takes freakish courage. I could never have done that.

 

[LionDeNittany]

Been a really fun season this year friends and I'm already looking forward to 2018!!

Very off-track here, but I have a daughter who is a senior at The University of Wisconsin who will be graduating in May with a degree in Biology and plans to become a physical therapist, which will require another 3 years to get her doctorate in physical therapy in Med School.

Before she continues her education, she plans to take a "Gap Year", which was really sort of baffling to me after paying for her undergraduate education....I'm 52 and when I graduated from Penn State ('87-Smeal Business) it was expected that I would find a job and not travel around the country (and perhaps world) before either continuing my education and/or profession.

Anyone have any similar experiences or are the "Gap Years" now commonplace with todays students post graduation?

College today (and during my day) is basically a 4 year party event. People who feel the need to take a year off after college are not ready for the real world. Thus they probably should take a "gap year".

Having my first true job gave me more freedom than I'd ever had before. But then, I wanted freedom from my parents and financial freedom.

To each their own.

LdN

 

[mrtailgate]

This has been interesting reading. Thanks to all for sharing, I've learned a bit for sure.

 

[lostlion]

[
QUOTE="Vermilion, post: 3224594, member: 10968"]Very off-track here, but I have a daughter who is a senior at The University of Wisconsin who will be graduating in May with a degree in Biology and plans to become a physical therapist, which will require another 3 years to get her doctorate in physical therapy in Med School.

Before she continues her education, she plans to take a "Gap Year", which was really sort of baffling to me after paying for her undergraduate education.[/QUOTE]

Dad,
Why are you paying for Grad School?
If the job isn't going to pay enough to cover the cost then it's a bad idea but if she wants to do it anyway, let her go. And let her do the Gap thing on her dime too.
Nobody's stopping her stepping up.
Make the kids earn their own way today and maybe they'll be in the position and mindset to actually run a successful country and not a charity that calls itself a government.
Sorry about the rant but it stroked a raw nerve.

 

[theengineer]

Never heard of a "gap year" but I have heard of a Big Year - where you travel the world and identify (visually) as many birds as possible over a year.

 

[psrurock]

My son did a gap year after college. He earned some decent money and earned hours in his profession. Originally he was pre-pt but then switched to P.A. school, In his final year(clinic). In some ways he matured and other ways we thought it was lost time. He did gain experience working with a diverse population.

 

[LafayetteBear]

V: I had never heard of the term until a neighbor couple with two smart and accomplished sons told me that thier younger son wanted to take a Gap Year after high school and before college. The kid badly wanted to go to Cal, but had had his application denied. He took the Gap Year and spent it teaching English as a Second Language in Jordan. He traveled around the Middle East and Europe a bit, came home with some great stories, applied to Cal, and got in. It’s one person’s story, I know, but I thought I’d toss it in with the rest here.

 

[ftlpsu]

Hell, I had three gap years, thanks to the U.S. Army.

Then I went to Penn State!

 

[Vermilion]

These are very insightful comments and much appreciated. For the record, we have the means, but have decided to fully fund only undergraduate education for our three kids (the sophomore son at Penn State is a doozy at around $50,000 plus per year, all told.

In addition, my senior daughter at Wisconsin is also very outgoing and I am totally confident she will go back to get her doctorate in PT after a Gap Year and have a successful career.

 

[KnightSlayer]

[
QUOTE="Vermilion, post: 3224594, member: 10968"]Very off-track here, but I have a daughter who is a senior at The University of Wisconsin who will be graduating in May with a degree in Biology and plans to become a physical therapist, which will require another 3 years to get her doctorate in physical therapy in Med School.

Before she continues her education, she plans to take a "Gap Year", which was really sort of baffling to me after paying for her undergraduate education.

Dad,
Why are you paying for Grad School?
If the job isn't going to pay enough to cover the cost then it's a bad idea but if she wants to do it anyway, let her go. And let her do the Gap thing on her dime too.
Nobody's stopping her stepping up.
Make the kids earn their own way today and maybe they'll be in the position and mindset to actually run a successful country and not a charity that calls itself a government.
Sorry about the rant but it stroked a raw nerve.[/QUOTE]

The millennials are going to spend their lives fixing all the problems caused by the baby boomers.

 

[Lyons212]

Regarding gap years be after high school or college...technically the kid is now an adult and they can do what they want and also live with the consequences, good or bad. The parents should only have a say if they are contributing money towards their education, obviously provide advice.

Really it comes down to what you are doing with the gap year, laying around playing video games versus working a job to help determine if you want to pursue more education, extensive volunteer work, etc. Some are a good use of time, others not so much.

I would probably frown upon a gap year just for travel purposes. You have 3 to 4 months between spring and fall semesters, plenty of time to travel for fun. As some suggested, if traveling and teaching English for example and earning money, using a gap year for that purpose is most likely good.

 

[Sharkies]

Gap year is exceptionally common among Euros.. I studied abroad in NZ for six months and at every hostel we're young people from Germany, Austria, England, etc all taking a gap year and all on an 'around the world ticket'. As an American, I had never even heard of such a thing, but if I had to do it all over again... I woulda stayed in NZ another half year just traveling, spelunking, scuba diving, etc.

Long story short, let her take the gap year Pops.

 

[Langmuir]

I took a gap decade. I was 33 when I got my BS and 38 when I got my PhD. I did things and experienced things that would be very difficult for me to do now due to age and family. Sure it would have been nice to start my real career a little earlier, but I can't complain about where I am right now. Let her chose her own path as long as she is paying the bill.

 

[dbsteel]

Been a really fun season this year friends and I'm already looking forward to 2018!!

Very off-track here, but I have a daughter who is a senior at The University of Wisconsin who will be graduating in May with a degree in Biology and plans to become a physical therapist, which will require another 3 years to get her doctorate in physical therapy in Med School.

Before she continues her education, she plans to take a "Gap Year", which was really sort of baffling to me after paying for her undergraduate education....I'm 52 and when I graduated from Penn State ('87-Smeal Business) it was expected that I would find a job and not travel around the country (and perhaps world) before either continuing my education and/or profession.

Anyone have any similar experiences or are the "Gap Years" now commonplace with todays students post graduation?

I'm 52, and for what it's worth, I'm still kind of pissed I didn't take a year after graduating and take 6 months or a year and travel. I'll never get that chance again at this point.

 

[RU31trap]

This is an issue that revolves around money and only money. Since money is not an issue a Gap year or two is perfectly acceptable. I on the other hand have a different fiscal reality so no Gap year for my kids.

 

[LionDeNittany]

Regarding gap years be after high school or college...technically the kid is now an adult and they can do what they want and also live with the consequences, good or bad. The parents should only have a say if they are contributing money towards their education, obviously provide advice.

Really it comes down to what you are doing with the gap year, laying around playing video games versus working a job to help determine if you want to pursue more education, extensive volunteer work, etc. Some are a good use of time, others not so much.

I would probably frown upon a gap year just for travel purposes. You have 3 to 4 months between spring and fall semesters, plenty of time to travel for fun. As some suggested, if traveling and teaching English for example and earning money, using a gap year for that purpose is most likely good.

I think a gap year before college and after college are two completely different things and should be considered that way.

HS is free (mostly) and is a way to get into the best college of one's choice. If that is done (you get in and can defer) then there should be nothing to prevent a child from learning what it means to be independent and work. The year of work/travel will help prepare them for college.

College costs (at Penn State) about $200k. An inexpensive tuition for four years is $100k including all costs. A person who just spent 4 years spending money on college for a degree in a field, then deciding to take a year of vacation before they pay back that money shows a lack of understanding of what money is and costs in my opinion. Probably said person needed a year off before college just to realize how easy a time they had in college.

LdN

 

[psu00]

Not a big fan of gap years. It’s an English/ Euro thing that’s spreading to the US.

Let’s face it, while everyone would love a free year or 2 to travel and fool around, there are responsibilities. She’s just had 4 years in college where she’s worked hard for a degree but also had a lot of time to party, meet new people, travel for 3 months each summer, etc. If she’s like most students, her loans and other bills will come due shortly.

I guess a lot really depends on financial situation. She should be financially responsible for the year (not mom and dad or grandma ). She’s an adult. If she can afford it and pay back loans then I guess it’s her call (so long as she’s not doing something stupid like hiking the Pakistan/ Afghanistan border).

 

[SimplyComplicated]

I think a gap year before college and after college are two completely different things and should be considered that way.

HS is free (mostly) and is a way to get into the best college of one's choice. If that is done (you get in and can defer) then there should be nothing to prevent a child from learning what it means to be independent and work. The year of work/travel will help prepare them for college.

College costs (at Penn State) about $200k. An inexpensive tuition for four years is $100k including all costs. A person who just spent 4 years spending money on college for a degree in a field, then deciding to take a year of vacation before they pay back that money shows a lack of understanding of what money is and costs in my opinion. Probably said person needed a year off before college just to realize how easy a time they had in college.

LdN

So if someone attends a private high school (which requires a direct payment from that individual or their parent/guardian), they can't take a gap year ... but if they attend a public high school, which isn't free, at all (unless you're finding a way to avoid paying taxes), but is funded in a different, not-free manner, they can?

Head scratcher, for sure.

 

[fastlax16]

Dad,
Why are you paying for Grad School?
If the job isn't going to pay enough to cover the cost then it's a bad idea but if she wants to do it anyway, let her go. And let her do the Gap thing on her dime too.
Nobody's stopping her stepping up.
Make the kids earn their own way today and maybe they'll be in the position and mindset to actually run a successful country and not a charity that calls itself a government.
Sorry about the rant but it stroked a raw nerve.

Assuming you earned your own way through undergrad?

 

[Player2BNamedL8r]

The millennials are going to spend their lives fixing all the problems caused by the baby boomers.

They should since they are the product of said boomer problems.

 

[kgilbert78]

Well, I did a "gap semester", as I took a semester abroad at the University of Cologne my senior year and then got a month pass on Deutsche Bahn (German Rail) after classes were over. Mostly on my own dime (had to borrow money from my uncle that I later repaid--with interest). But glad I did it. Helped me to grow up and learn to do things on my own. In those days there was no quick way to get news back and forth, excepting very expensive phone calls. So if I made a mistake, or ran out of money, I was on my own. I didn't run out--barely (but planned that way). As I was in the sciences, and the class work I took was liberal arts, it was a needed break from the grind before tackling grad school.