NOTE: SEE UPDATE FOR 2020 Here
what they want to see in a deferral letter, but generally, the more specific
the better. “We require students to demonstrate a concrete plan for their year
of how they are actually spending time,” explains Jason Tesone, Director of
Admissions at Vassar College. This means including the names of specific
programs or detailing an itinerary if you are not going through a program.
expect them to!” says Osgood. Most schools will not hold it against you if you decide to do something different than what you outlined in your letter. University of Puget Sound has gap year students check in the February before they start college to update them on how their plans evolved. Check with your school to see if they also require this step.
benefits to students who have taken gap time. “We pretty much always grant deferrals if they meet our criteria and find that students who take meaningful time away arrive at Vassar as great students,” says Tesone.
Dear Mr. Smith,
I am writing to request a one-year deferral of my admission to Aplus College. I was accepted into the Aplus College Class of 2018. After reading about, hearing about, and visiting Aplus, I’m extremely excited to attend. I love its small size, intellectual and alternative atmosphere, great student support, and enthusiastic professors. I am sure it’s the college for me.My life, thus far, has been preparing me for both higher education and life outside of academia. I have never doubted that college would be for me, and have been looking forward to the college experience for years. Now, however, I feel truly that a Gap Year between high school and Aplus is what’s best for my personal development.
From late June to early August this summer, I will live at home on the weekends and spend my weeks living as a backcountry trail crew member. My crew will restore trails on public lands in Northern Vermont with the Green Mountain Club. This is an exciting adventure of living in the woods for the first time, working and living extremely collaboratively and learning about stewardship of public lands. This work will generate some money to facilitate the next stages of my gap year.
Following my trail crew work, I will spend the fall on a leadership and outdoor education course with Woodlands Outdoor School. I will spend 80 days with my group navigating the terrain of the American Southwest while honing skills in orienteering and various outdoor pursuits. I am excited for the physical challenge of this experience and the personal development Woodlands will provide.
After the New Year, I plan to travel to in Costa Rica with the language immersion program, SICR. At SICR I will study Spanish and intern with a coffee export business. In addition to learning about international business concepts, I will get to see the life cycle of a product. I will be working on the coffee farms, witnessing the processing of the beans, and be involved in the final packaging and export of the finished product. This will nurture my interests in sustainable business practices and cross-cultural exploration.
In another year, I expect to be a more mature and engaged member of the Aplus community. I sincerely hope you will grant my deferral request and welcome me as a member of the Class of 2022.
Sincerely,
Jake Williams