Taking a gap year between high school and college has become increasingly common.   Although there is no official poll that tracks the number of students who choose to take gap years nationwide, Whitman students who choose to take a year off seem to support the idea.

The Whitman students who choose to take a year off believe that their experience abroad was incredibly valuable for their personal maturity, yet unexpectedly, did not help inform them of the direction in which they want to take their studies or potential careers.

“High school is a really busy time. College had always been the thing that was planned… [my gap year] was kind of a spur of the moment thing. I kind of decided in one day because, why not?” sophomore Becca Peterson-Perry said.

With increasing pressure to meet top qualifications for colleges, high school seniors often find themselves needing time away from high-stress academics.  Many high school seniors spend their year off taking classes abroad or traveling.   Peterson-Perry spent the first three and a half months of her gap year living with a host family outside of Santiago, Chile while taking classes at the university. She returned home for a month and then set off for Madrid, where she also stayed with a host family and took classes.

“And from [Madrid] I spent a couple weeks in Germany [and then] went from there to Italy,” she said.

Based on a survey taken by incoming first-years, Director of Institutional Research Neal Christopherson estimates that 4-5 percent of the incoming class of 2015 took a gap year.

Sophomore Paul Lemieux spent his gap year on the northeastern coast of Brazil. Rotary International helped Lemieux find host families as well as Portuguese classes at the local university.

“I think I was the only one of my friends who did a gap year,” Lemieux said.

Although Lemieux found relaxation in his time abroad, he stresses that the time away did not help him discover what he wanted to pursue after college.

“I was hoping my year abroad would give me time to decide what I want to do [after college], but it didn’t do that,” Lemieux said.

Peterson-Perry, on the other hand, didn’t expect the year to give her a clearer picture of what she wanted ultimately or even for her studies at Whitman.

“I didn’t do it to prepare myself for college. I did it for myself,” Peterson-Perry said.

Sophomore Hilary Leonard, who finished high school in three years so that she could spend her senior year of high school abroad, spent her gap year in the Czech Republic and also used Rotary International.

“It was my first time traveling outside the U.S. and Canada,” Leonard said.

While in the Czech Republic, Leonard traveled with her host families to Greece, Italy, Poland, and Slovakia.

“I’m really glad I did it. I went back and visited this summer. It’s not something in the past. I’ve grown from it and it’s very much a part of me,” Leonard said.

According to Leonard, putting herself in a foreign environment was essential to her personal development.

“When you’re separated from your own language you have lots of time to think and reflect,” Leonard said.

Although most gap-year students do not necessarily use their time away to pursue academic interests, Whitman still supports students who want to put their academic careers on hold while they take time to see the world and to learn about themselves.

“We definitely support students who choose to take a gap year. If students decide to take a year off to mature and grow, the college absolutely supports them,” said Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Tony Cabasco.