◼ BUSINESS Bloomberg Businessweek May 18, 202017ILLUSTRATION
BY
CAROLYN
FIGEL
THEBOTTOMLINE A surveyfoundthat12%ofstudentsare
considering deferring college enrollment this fall. That would hit
schools’ budgets since gap year students tend to pay the full cost.ofcolortogotoprivateschoolsandthentotop
colleges. Only 1 of 132 high school graduates in its
program this year asked for a gap year, according
to Shari Fallis, director of college guidance.
Similarly,atCollegeMatch,a nonprofitthatworks
with 30 LosAngelesschools,only1 ofabout 200 is
evenconsideringaskingforadeferral. The major-
ity are like Li, the high schooler headed to MIT, who
worked with the program. Josue Estin, the 18-year-
old son of a housekeeper and a plumber, is going
to Amherst College on a full scholarship. “Part of
it comesdownto,I perseveredsomuch,”hesays.
Counselorsare encouraging CollegeMatch
students to go ahead and enroll this fall because
they shouldn’t risk forfeiting a life-changing oppor-
tunity. Lower-income students often benefit from
the high graduation rates, small classes, and vast
resources of selective schools. Still, the organiza-
tions worry about the prospect of starting out
online, where less affluent students tend to strug-
gle. Some may have trouble finding internet con-
nections and quiet places to study. “We foresee
that being a huge challenge for our students,” says
EricaRosales,CollegeMatch’sexecutivedirector.
Untilthisyear,schoolshadoftenencouraged
gapyears—with some giving aid so low-income stu-
dents participate—because many studies have shown
deferrals can give burned-out students a chance to
recharge and even improve future academic perfor-
mance. Gap years can range from a break to work in
a coffee shop to a formal experiential or educational
program whose costs can rival a college’s tuition.
Hostin, the View host, says her son had been
considering taking a year off before college last fall,
and some friends were skeptical about the wisdom
of the break. Now they’re thinking about following
suit. “They don’t want to pay for an online experi-
ence at the cost of an Ivy League tuition,” she says.
Such thinking has left some institutions con-
cerned about having enough students to fill up their
classes and make their budgets. Schools including
Brown and Cornell say they won’t automatically
grant deferrals. Colleges usually ask for a good rea-
son and a plan; concern about a diminished expe-
rience during the pandemic isn’t enough. Amherst
says it may limit gap years because it doesn’t want
to fill up so many future spaces that a year from
now there won’t be enough room to accommodate
current high school juniors. At Princeton, accepted
students who ask to defer may have to wait more
than a year before they can begin because of enroll-
ment and housing constraints. And at some other
schools, admitted freshmen will either have to
attend or forfeit their acceptance and gamble on
reapplying after the crisis.“I don’t blame students and parents for feeling
concerned about what the experience will be like
to be doing online classes in the fall and not having
alltheotherelements,”saysHollyBull,president
oftheCenterforInterimPrograms,whichcounsels
familiesresearchinggapyears.“Ifmydaughterwas
a seniorthisyear,I wouldhaveseriousconcerns
abouthersteppingintothat—andpayingthetuition.”
Even those who can wait a year face challenges.
Amid the pandemic, they won’t be able to sling a
backpack over their shoulders and head to Europe.
And that internship at the community theater or
nonprofit? They’re heading into a job market that
looks like the Great Depression.
In Newton, Mass., the Goodmans had encour-
aged their high school senior, Sophie, to take a gap
year before starting Harvard. The school has green-
lighted the plan. Well before the pandemic hit, she’d
wanted a break from academics. Her parents, both
Harvard alums, had taken time off themselves.
Part of their daughter’s pre-virus gap year plan:
teaching circus arts in Costa Rica. “That is clearly
not going to happen,” says her father, Mark, who
runs a boutique fitness company. So Sophie is look-
ing at alternatives such as working on an organic
farm or a political campaign. If those ideas don’t
pan out, then what? A gap year in her parents’
house? “That,” her father says, “is the challenge
she faces.” �Janet Lorin