Plan B: When College is not the Immediate Next Step

We recently attended the National Conference for Independent Educational Consultants Association – IECA). These are our takeaways from the session on Plan B: When College is not the Immediate Next Step.

Presenters: Nicole Oringer, Founder of Ivy Ed, and Kristin White, educational consultant and author of 2 books – “The Complete Guide to the Gap Year: The Best Things to do Between High School and College”, and “It’s the Student not the College: The Secrets of Succeeding at any School Without Going Broke or Crazy”.

Why Delay College?
– Changes due to Covid
– Online learning
– Financial concerns/value
– Health concerns
– Opportunity to make a social impact – internships/volunteer
– Want/need to develop self awareness (college readiness)
– GAP year
– Studies show GAP year students perform better (better GPA) than non-GAP year
– Many international programs are hoping to run and/or are moving programs to the US or
safer locations
– Do I defer? Questions to ask:
– How will my learning experience be (hybrid, in person, virtual)
– Do I want an internship
– Can I take classes locally
– Bridge programs – live on campus but take Community College classes
– Foundation programs – build language skills before taking regular college classes
– Community College/Online degrees
– VERTO – GAP year experience / college credit w/guaranteed transfer options