Any advice on gap years?

[Lisafuller]

It is really competitive this year.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/to-get-int ... 1650546000

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Do you think things will ease up next year? Or somehow get even harder?

[Lisafuller]

At this point, she’s got about a week to decide which school to attend. To my knowledge she’s only seriously consider Syracuse, either that or just taking a full gap year. Frankly, I don’t think she knows what she’s going to pick, but I’ll update on her decision soon.

[NYY1]

Do you think things will ease up next year? Or somehow get even harder?

I would look at the schools she's most interested in and see whether they have declared the SAT/ACT policy for next year. If scores aren't required, volumes will likely remain high. Perhaps there will be less of an issue to deal with as it relates to deferrals but probably not going back to what it looked like a few years ago.

Only way it may be harder (that I can think of) is if the kids that took straight gap year (i.e. didn't even apply upon finishing Year 12) are looked at more favorably than those who are going through the application system again (to be clear, I don't know if this is the case). For better or worse, it may be the same person looking at the application if re-apply next year. Of course, she may be able to make her application stronger over the course of this year as well.

Best of luck to her with the decision. Either way just keep pressing on and work towards what one is interested in.

[Myasis Dragon]

You’re exactly right. It’s the same for my daughter - whether or not she wants to attend college she acknowledges its importance in securing a respectable, secure job. Where did she go to college?

Texas A&M University. "Momma, don't let your babies grow up to be Aggies."

Very good school, but yeah I always thought most of those who attended were there to study agri/something related.

Oh, no... it's a huge school... nearly 73,000 grad and undergrad student population... much more than agriculture It's had its own nuclear reactor since the 60's. Highly rated engineering school.

I'm a Rice University grad... 6740 total population, about 4100 undergrad. Highly rated in engineering and liberal arts.

I took an electrical engineering degree, and offer you this. A small school like Rice offers intimacy and connection... smaller classes... more connection. And academically, it's more limited, depending upon what you want to study. Example: If you want to do an EE degree in robotics, both A&M and Rice offer great programs. But if you wanted to learn about "big power", ie, to how to design our electrical transmission networks, you'd want to go to University of Texas... 51,000... where they have a specialty in that.

[NYY1]

BTW, I noticed that some universities classify international students differently. Option one is international = based on where you went to school. Option two is international = not holding US residency.

Obviously your residency is what it is, and at any particular school you can only apply under whatever rules it has. However, any thoughts on what bucket is preferred? Or doesn't really matter (i.e. just apply for the schools you want most regardless of how they classify you).

[BBCDoc]

BTW, I noticed that some universities classify international students differently. Option one is international = based on where you went to school. Option two is international = not holding US residency.

Obviously your residency is what it is, and at any particular school you can only apply under whatever rules it has. However, any thoughts on what bucket is preferred? Or doesn't really matter (i.e. just apply for the schools you want most regardless of how they classify you).

Presume they charge International Students a lot more. In some murky areas, perhaps they are less likely to fail too…


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[NYY1]

Presume they charge International Students a lot more. In some murky areas, perhaps they are less likely to fail too…

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Yes, definitely charge more. However, I think this also exists within the domestic/local students. The high "sticker price" of US university admission is basically a transfer payment; those that can pay do, and this is used to subsidize grants to those who cannot pay.

Perhaps a noble objective until it is abused by society or creates the pervasive incentive of spending every dime you have waiting for others to pick up the tab...

Regardless, I am mainly interested in Bucket A vs. Bucket B as it pertains to admissions odds...

[malcontent]

Perhaps a noble objective until it is abused by society or creates the pervasive incentive of spending every dime you have waiting for others to pick up the tab...

Be careful, that is heresy to the liberal left!

*gasp* where is your privilege guilt?

LOL… that is the world we live it today.

It did cross my mind to quit my job and “appear poor” while my kids attend college in the US.

It’s the same way in US hospitals, everyone who can afford it, they pay through the nose to subsidize those who can’t. Although I wouldn’t advocate going to the extreme like here, demanding money upfront or letting you die.

[Swn4]

BTW, I noticed that some universities classify international students differently. Option one is international = based on where you went to school. Option two is international = not holding US residency.

Obviously your residency is what it is, and at any particular school you can only apply under whatever rules it has. However, any thoughts on what bucket is preferred? Or doesn't really matter (i.e. just apply for the schools you want most regardless of how they classify you).

According to my American friends who have kids at the International Schools in Singapore - their kids have to compete for an acceptance letter amongst the pool applying from Singapore. And it is tough although not as competitive as applying from China.


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[malcontent]

BTW, I noticed that some universities classify international students differently. Option one is international = based on where you went to school. Option two is international = not holding US residency.

Obviously your residency is what it is, and at any particular school you can only apply under whatever rules it has. However, any thoughts on what bucket is preferred? Or doesn't really matter (i.e. just apply for the schools you want most regardless of how they classify you).

According to my American friends who have kids at the International Schools in Singapore - their kids have to compete for an acceptance letter amongst the pool applying from Singapore. And it is tough although not as competitive as applying from China.


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That is interesting, never heard that one. My daughter who is US citizen in the local system should fare well, even against the local competition. My son is in international though, so maybe it would be better to let him finish out his final HS years in the US.

[Swn4]

BTW, I noticed that some universities classify international students differently. Option one is international = based on where you went to school. Option two is international = not holding US residency.

Obviously your residency is what it is, and at any particular school you can only apply under whatever rules it has. However, any thoughts on what bucket is preferred? Or doesn't really matter (i.e. just apply for the schools you want most regardless of how they classify you).

According to my American friends who have kids at the International Schools in Singapore - their kids have to compete for an acceptance letter amongst the pool applying from Singapore. And it is tough although not as competitive as applying from China.


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That is interesting, never heard that one. My daughter who is US citizen in the local system should fare well, even against the local competition. My son is in international though, so maybe it would be better to let him finish out his final HS years in the US.

Their complaint is that Raffles & Hwa Chong get more admits (accurate) than say SAS would get.


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[Lisafuller]

Do you think things will ease up next year? Or somehow get even harder?

I would look at the schools she's most interested in and see whether they have declared the SAT/ACT policy for next year. If scores aren't required, volumes will likely remain high. Perhaps there will be less of an issue to deal with as it relates to deferrals but probably not going back to what it looked like a few years ago.

Only way it may be harder (that I can think of) is if the kids that took straight gap year (i.e. didn't even apply upon finishing Year 12) are looked at more favorably than those who are going through the application system again (to be clear, I don't know if this is the case). For better or worse, it may be the same person looking at the application if re-apply next year. Of course, she may be able to make her application stronger over the course of this year as well.

Best of luck to her with the decision. Either way just keep pressing on and work towards what one is interested in.

Well, so far, only MIT has made the decision to reverse course and require the SAT, so not sure how many will follow suit when the time comes. As for the point about straight gap year VS re applicants, I can only hope that they are looked at equally. At the very least, she wouldn’t be taking a gap year out of desperation but rather out of a genuine wish to improve herself.

[Lisafuller]

Texas A&M University. "Momma, don't let your babies grow up to be Aggies."

Very good school, but yeah I always thought most of those who attended were there to study agri/something related.

Oh, no... it's a huge school... nearly 73,000 grad and undergrad student population... much more than agriculture It's had its own nuclear reactor since the 60's. Highly rated engineering school.

I'm a Rice University grad... 6740 total population, about 4100 undergrad. Highly rated in engineering and liberal arts.

I took an electrical engineering degree, and offer you this. A small school like Rice offers intimacy and connection... smaller classes... more connection. And academically, it's more limited, depending upon what you want to study. Example: If you want to do an EE degree in robotics, both A&M and Rice offer great programs. But if you wanted to learn about "big power", ie, to how to design our electrical transmission networks, you'd want to go to University of Texas... 51,000... where they have a specialty in that.

She wants to take political science, which is a pretty popular degree no matter which school you’re looking at. The nice thing is she was admitted to Syracuse, which has a school of public affairs that outranks even Harvard (this is something that made her seriously consider attending - it’s ranked first in the nation). They’ve got an undergrad population of about 14,000 so it’s a medium size school for sure.

[Lisafuller]

BTW, I noticed that some universities classify international students differently. Option one is international = based on where you went to school. Option two is international = not holding US residency.

Obviously your residency is what it is, and at any particular school you can only apply under whatever rules it has. However, any thoughts on what bucket is preferred? Or doesn't really matter (i.e. just apply for the schools you want most regardless of how they classify you).

I think she was classified as the latter at most of the schools. She holds US residency so she qualifies for local grants, scholarships, and aid. Of course in terms of admissions I have no way to tel which basket she fell into.

[Lisafuller]

BTW, I noticed that some universities classify international students differently. Option one is international = based on where you went to school. Option two is international = not holding US residency.

Obviously your residency is what it is, and at any particular school you can only apply under whatever rules it has. However, any thoughts on what bucket is preferred? Or doesn't really matter (i.e. just apply for the schools you want most regardless of how they classify you).

Presume they charge International Students a lot more. In some murky areas, perhaps they are less likely to fail too…


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Most definitely. Internationals tend to pay 30-50% more than domestic applicants, and at most schools they do not qualify for any financial aid at all. Part of the reason why you don’t see many internationals applying to non-ivy leagues/big name (large endowment) schools.