4 ms·

Independence Days: My Perfect Imperfect Gap Year

23 points by wallflower 10y ago

thesmallestcat 10y ago
So this is what it's like to come from money... whole 'nother world. The paragraphs about how a "gap year" is not a privilege mostly enjoyed by the elite, and mental contortions therein, are so painful to read. > Although I appreciated my parents’ support, I also recognized the extent to which it had become detrimental. Their attempts to eliminate any possibility of real failure had guaranteed its own kind of failure. So you rejected it after your enlightening "gap year," right? Right?
- jcrben 10y ago
  Don't see the reason for negativity around "privilege". The point of the essay seems to be to explain how taking a year to live and work in the "real world" changes the perspective of a young adult, particularly with regard to finances.
  - remarkEon 10y ago
    >...changes the perspective of a young adult, particularly with regard to finances. FTA: Time free from the obligations of schoolwork had enabled me to realize my passion for writing, and to apply this to an English major, where I would discover the most formative classes and professors of my education. Hmmm.
    - asdfwhatever 10y ago
      Time scrubbing dishes enabled me to realize how lucky I was and that I should work harder in college.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
aaron-lebo 10y ago
Flaunting wealth isn't cool. This essay is mostly him discussing jobs that middle and lower class kids accept as part of life. They don't get a NYTimes article about it. His evidence that gap years aren't elitist is: The idea that gap years are inherently elitist may be due to the potentially high cost of travel and of independent programs, which offer a structured experience — typically of adventure, service and more or less education — that can cost upward of $20,000. But that criticism cuts against the realities most students already face — that is, average in-state tuition and fees of $8,940, or $28,308 at private colleges, according to the College Board. When factoring in room, board and other expenses, this would mean spending about $100,000 over five years at public colleges and more than double that at private ones. "See, college is expensive anyway, what's a little more debt gonna hurt?" Well, that's easy to say when your parents can shell out $50k to go to college. It's obvious the guy has gained some perspective and its great to see, but he's still talking like a rich person who doesn't know what it's like to not only not have money but to have a family that doesn't have a lot of money. It's bordering on Romney's "just borrow $20k from your parents and start a company!". What about when your parents are borrowing from you? His end point seems to be that gap years seem to reduce drinking or other goofiness in college. Why not instead of adding a gap year to the already ridiculous nature of today's college, get rid of the bloat which makes it so that you have to spend $50k to go to a 4 year summer camp?
- jcrben 10y ago
  The author said he worked through the gap year as his parents provided no support.
  - remarkEon 10y ago
    Yeah, sure, they provided no material "support." But they certainly would have if he'd asked, and that's the point. He always had a lifeline, so to speak.
dougmwne 10y ago
What should have been his correct response to growing up with some privilege? Something other than what he did?
- kneel 10y ago
  He questioned his place in the world and did a little soul seeking. It's unfortunate that most people don't have this option but there's nothing wrong with what he did, probably gave him a good perspective that a classroom could never teach.
remarkEon 10y ago
I think that we're even having this discussion about whether or not a "Gap Year" is appropriate is more evidence that the entire University system as it is today needs to be blown up. >More colleges in the United States are encouraging applicants to consider a “bridge” year before enrolling, and many independent programs and some campuses — like Florida State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Princeton and Tufts — even offer fellowships and financial aid. This is a huge red flag, is it not? To me this looks like a signal that Universities are becoming quite worried about their graduation rates (overall and "within 5 years", which I guess is difficult nowadays) and are willing to test out whatever it takes to keep enrollment up through all classes.
- gumby 10y ago
  FWIW MIT tracks 6-year graduation rate and takes action (good or not TBD) based on what they find out.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
bshimmin 10y ago
It's interesting from a UK perspective to see this described as a "growing trend" - the "gap yah" [1] has been a tradition amongst wealthy students for, oh, decades over here. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gap_Yah https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gap_Yah
geebee 10y ago
I think the equation is very different if you major in STEM rather than humanities or social sciences. An internship at Surfer would probably help you if you're an English major hoping to break into publishing or magazines, and I don't think a year off really harms your writing or reading skills the same way your math skills can atrophy if left unused. My only basis for this assertion is that I was a double math and English major, and I'd definitely say this is the case in my life, but I don't have any study to back it up. A gap year between high school AP calculus and the much faster science and engineering track "Calc through Differential Equations" sequence at a rigorous university, on the other hand, could be very risky. Especially in schools like the UC system where many popular STEM majors are "impacted" and you may get bounced from the major if your grades are low (I consider this loathsome, failing out kids who might be bright but struggle a bit in their first year, but it's a reality). I did read that the "eliteness" of your college doesn't really matter if you study STEM, but it makes a big difference if you major in humanities. That may also account for some of the class difference we see in this gap year issue. People who attend expensive, private schools, especially elite ones, and who major in humanities are probably not harmed by a gap year at all. Lower income people who attend state schools and major in STEM probably don't benefit much, and may watch their math get rusty just before they enter a challenging program with minimum GPA cutoffs.

23 points by wallflower 10y ago

So this is what it's like to come from money... whole 'nother world. The paragraphs about how a "gap year" is not a privilege mostly enjoyed by the elite, and mental contortions therein, are so painful to read. > Although I appreciated my parents’ support, I also recognized the extent to which it had become detrimental. Their attempts to eliminate any possibility of real failure had guaranteed its own kind of failure. So you rejected it after your enlightening "gap year," right? Right?

jcrben 10y ago
Don't see the reason for negativity around "privilege". The point of the essay seems to be to explain how taking a year to live and work in the "real world" changes the perspective of a young adult, particularly with regard to finances.
- remarkEon 10y ago
  >...changes the perspective of a young adult, particularly with regard to finances. FTA: Time free from the obligations of schoolwork had enabled me to realize my passion for writing, and to apply this to an English major, where I would discover the most formative classes and professors of my education. Hmmm.
  - asdfwhatever 10y ago
    Time scrubbing dishes enabled me to realize how lucky I was and that I should work harder in college.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]

aaron-lebo 10y ago

Flaunting wealth isn't cool. This essay is mostly him discussing jobs that middle and lower class kids accept as part of life. They don't get a NYTimes article about it. His evidence that gap years aren't elitist is: The idea that gap years are inherently elitist may be due to the potentially high cost of travel and of independent programs, which offer a structured experience — typically of adventure, service and more or less education — that can cost upward of $20,000. But that criticism cuts against the realities most students already face — that is, average in-state tuition and fees of $8,940, or $28,308 at private colleges, according to the College Board. When factoring in room, board and other expenses, this would mean spending about $100,000 over five years at public colleges and more than double that at private ones. "See, college is expensive anyway, what's a little more debt gonna hurt?" Well, that's easy to say when your parents can shell out $50k to go to college. It's obvious the guy has gained some perspective and its great to see, but he's still talking like a rich person who doesn't know what it's like to not only not have money but to have a family that doesn't have a lot of money. It's bordering on Romney's "just borrow $20k from your parents and start a company!". What about when your parents are borrowing from you? His end point seems to be that gap years seem to reduce drinking or other goofiness in college. Why not instead of adding a gap year to the already ridiculous nature of today's college, get rid of the bloat which makes it so that you have to spend $50k to go to a 4 year summer camp?

jcrben 10y ago
The author said he worked through the gap year as his parents provided no support.
- remarkEon 10y ago
  Yeah, sure, they provided no material "support." But they certainly would have if he'd asked, and that's the point. He always had a lifeline, so to speak.

dougmwne 10y ago

What should have been his correct response to growing up with some privilege? Something other than what he did?

kneel 10y ago
He questioned his place in the world and did a little soul seeking. It's unfortunate that most people don't have this option but there's nothing wrong with what he did, probably gave him a good perspective that a classroom could never teach.

remarkEon 10y ago

I think that we're even having this discussion about whether or not a "Gap Year" is appropriate is more evidence that the entire University system as it is today needs to be blown up. >More colleges in the United States are encouraging applicants to consider a “bridge” year before enrolling, and many independent programs and some campuses — like Florida State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Princeton and Tufts — even offer fellowships and financial aid. This is a huge red flag, is it not? To me this looks like a signal that Universities are becoming quite worried about their graduation rates (overall and "within 5 years", which I guess is difficult nowadays) and are willing to test out whatever it takes to keep enrollment up through all classes.

gumby 10y ago
FWIW MIT tracks 6-year graduation rate and takes action (good or not TBD) based on what they find out.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

bshimmin 10y ago

It's interesting from a UK perspective to see this described as a "growing trend" - the "gap yah" [1] has been a tradition amongst wealthy students for, oh, decades over here. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gap_Yah https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gap_Yah

geebee 10y ago

I think the equation is very different if you major in STEM rather than humanities or social sciences. An internship at Surfer would probably help you if you're an English major hoping to break into publishing or magazines, and I don't think a year off really harms your writing or reading skills the same way your math skills can atrophy if left unused. My only basis for this assertion is that I was a double math and English major, and I'd definitely say this is the case in my life, but I don't have any study to back it up. A gap year between high school AP calculus and the much faster science and engineering track "Calc through Differential Equations" sequence at a rigorous university, on the other hand, could be very risky. Especially in schools like the UC system where many popular STEM majors are "impacted" and you may get bounced from the major if your grades are low (I consider this loathsome, failing out kids who might be bright but struggle a bit in their first year, but it's a reality). I did read that the "eliteness" of your college doesn't really matter if you study STEM, but it makes a big difference if you major in humanities. That may also account for some of the class difference we see in this gap year issue. People who attend expensive, private schools, especially elite ones, and who major in humanities are probably not harmed by a gap year at all. Lower income people who attend state schools and major in STEM probably don't benefit much, and may watch their math get rusty just before they enter a challenging program with minimum GPA cutoffs.