Breaking the mold: A guide to post-grad gap years
Unsure what’s next after graduation? Discover the benefits of a gap year and how to plan one that works for you.
Artwork by Sophia Arango/The Barnard Bulletin
October 27, 2024
For many seniors, the last year of college is not only a time to meet remaining Foundations Requirements or reach the credit threshold necessary for graduation — it’s a year of planning what post-graduate life will look like. Many senior students are applying for master's programs to start right away or already have job offers lined up, but others are unsure and find themselves in an in-between stage. While uncertainty is scary at this stage of our lives, for some, the idea of rushing into more years of higher education and accumulating debt — without being certain of their interests or career goals — can be just as daunting. For those in this in-between stage, a gap year is worth considering. But what are the benefits and how should you go about planning it? Let’s talk about it.
According to The Gap Year Association, a gap year is “an intentional period of time devoted to personal growth and exploration through experiential learning opportunities.” Over the course of this year, individuals can embrace the break from adhering to traditional timelines of how one’s life should go and create experiences that foster development in a different way, primarily through the real-world experience that cannot be gained in curriculum-based learning environments.
Jordan Lewis (CC ’25), a double concentration student in psychology and business management, spoke to The Bulletin about her desire to pursue her passion for photography in a way that a master’s program wouldn’t allow. “I’m hoping to pursue an Artist-in-Residency,” she shares. “I think it’ll be a great opportunity to access the studio space and resources I need to explore before committing to a career path.”
Lewis explains that an Artist-in-Residency position would allow her to “move beyond an amateur level” in her craft, providing her with mentorship paired with hands-on experience that has the potential to propel her passion into a career. For students in similar positions, engaging in learning opportunities such as fellowships, Fulbright programs, or trade schools can provide valuable work experience that complements their academic journey.
Other students, like Mimi Gillies (CC ‘25), an English major on the pre-medical track, are choosing to use this gap year, or two, to primarily study for specialized school exams. “The application for med school is super long…a year and a half long process,” she explains, adding that to be enrolled in the 2025-2026 year, she would have needed to “submit her preliminary applications last June.” This break from academic demands provides the ability for those like Gillies to hunker down.
At Barnard College, stepping outside of the norm is highly encouraged, and for students contemplating gap years, this is no different. In fact, it offers numerous benefits, including the following:
Fosters personal growth
While this can look different for everyone, overarching personal growth is about finding your personal values and setting goals accordingly. Higher education and work can confine students and professionals alike to a major or a field with little room for play — these rigid distinctions do not exist in gap years. Instead, it’s an open field. That openness can be daunting since we have been trained for the past sixteen years to follow a pre-decided curriculum. It’s diving off the deep end, but the life experiences and lessons gained from leaning into your talents and interests, along with trusting in them, help you discover what you truly want to do.
Refines career interests
As you learn who you are, you inevitably uncover your true interests in more distinct ways. During a gap year, you have the ability to pursue a variety of learning opportunities like fellowships or work exchanges, and with this comes the chance to discover what you like and what you don’t.
As someone studying business management, Lewis explains her prior “marriage,” as she describes it, to acquiring an MBA (Master of Business Administration) post-grad and subsequently working for “big corporate media companies.” However, due to her recent semester abroad in Florence, Italy, and having the opportunity to sit with her passion for photography, she says that moving forward she wants to be “more loyal to the performing arts, and potentially getting an MFA [Master of Fine Arts] later down the line.” This ability to explore allows you to rule out career paths you once found interesting and fully embrace the industries and passions that either align with your expectations or completely surprise you.
Grace Batesi (BC ‘25), with a budding interest in production management, is taking her gap year with this specific goal in mind as well. She explained the contrast between her major in applied mathematics, a choice driven by her background and familiarity with the subject, and her passion for theater, a recent discovery through campus organizations, highlighting the difficulty she faces in deciding her next steps. “One day I think maybe I could be a doctor, or I could be a lawyer,” says Batesi. “I want more clarity about my purpose, what my career is going to look like, and then actually go for it.” For students with similar concerns, gap years provide ample opportunities to focus on their interests.
Develops professional skills
The learning experiences you choose will undoubtedly boost your professional resume and set you apart from the traditional paths students are often encouraged to follow. Depending on how you structure your gap year, the skills you gain can vary. For example, someone who chooses to volunteer abroad during their gap year could gain project management, community development, and language skills that they wouldn’t necessarily acquire by attending a master’s program right after graduation. Traditional education is not the only avenue of learning; real-life experience is incredibly valuable, and the skills it teaches individuals will help along the professional paths they choose.
Alleviates burnout
College curricula feed off of constant and nonstop working patterns. The weekly readings, papers, labs, exams, coding assignments, presentations, projects — many times overlapping with each other — introduce a normalized stress into the lives of students. For some, this causes emotional and mental exhaustion that decreases one's motivation, productivity, and increases levels of frustration.
Gillies mentions this as a reason for her considering taking two gap years: “It’s important to give myself time to really prepare,” she says, adding that “it’s more important to prioritize that I’m feeling ready to apply and would be ready to matriculate the following year.” Gap years allow students to recharge, rebuild healthy patterns, refocus on who they are outside of the classroom, and reignite their desire to learn more and do so effectively.
When considering these benefits, it’s important to structure a gap year in a way that ensures a maximized experience. After all, preparation is key to success. Here’s what to keep in mind:
Pinpoint your reason.
Before committing to anything, it’s important to consider the “why” behind your choice. By understanding the motivations for taking a gap year, you can research and create a more tailored plan that aligns with your goals and ensures you get the most out of the experience.
Do your research!
The learning experiences available are vast. Students can choose from international travel programs, fellowships, internships, graduate professional school (medical school, law school, etc.) preparation, work exchanges, volunteering, and more. With so many options, it’s crucial to research the best opportunities that will help you develop the skills and professional experience necessary to reach your end goal.
If you're interested in fellowships, it's important to understand the application process and to consider if they offer payment and are in your preferred field, among other details. Beyond Barnard offers an excellent database for fellowships available to Barnard students that allows you to filter the listed fellowships by discipline focus, location, and program length. Websites like Handshake and, of course, LinkedIn, are also littered with numerous opportunities for internships and fellowships available, and plenty of overseas options for those interested in working abroad.
For those interested in the pre-medical or pre-law track, Gillies highlights “on-campus advisors in Student Advising Services,” as well as LISTSERV subscriptions that provide students with professional development skills and job opportunities. Additionally, the Gap Year Association has a database of vetted programs, ranging from educational travel and work to language learning and service work abroad, called the Accredited Gap Year Programs.
Plan your finances.
For Batesi, unemployment is a major concern for her upcoming gap year, which is why she’ll actively seek part-time positions. “I don’t think anyone, even with savings, can afford more than four months off without working in this economy,” she said.
There are also ways of gaining practical, applicable experience related to your interests with this as well. For example, Gillies plans on getting a “clinical-related job, whether that be a research associate on a clinical project or a medical assistant of some kind.”
Financial budgeting and planning is imperative, especially in this current economic climate. As with any experience, there will be costs involved, and it’s important to consider this before starting a gap year. If you’re planning to use this time to prepare for medical or law school, there are key factors to think about: Will you move in with your parents to reduce living expenses? Will you stay in your current area and need a job to cover rent? How will you afford LSAT or MCAT prep courses? If you plan on traveling internationally, especially for an extended period, how much will the program you enroll in cost? How will you cover your living expenses abroad? And what are the fees for visa applications? Ultimately, careful financial planning and consideration of these factors will help ensure that your gap year is manageable and financially achievable.
Create an action plan.
Once you have identified your motivations and what you want out of this year, researched the opportunities that align with those wants, and considered what is needed financially, you can create a concrete plan to follow. In the formation of this action plan, it is necessary to include the resources, the application materials and deadlines for programs, calendar timeframes, contingency plans in the case of challenges, and any other factors you think will apply to your year.
Set milestones.
Establishing measurable goals will allow you to track your progress while creating checkpoints that encourage productivity and focus. In the same vein, setting these milestones will remind you of the reasons you are undertaking this gap year in the first place.
For college students, it is understandable that a gap year might be intimidating, and the traditional path students are taught to follow advises them to avoid it altogether. Anthonella Mendoza (CU ‘25), a senior who is interested in social impact work or college access work, relays the comforting words adults established in their careers have given her: “A recommendation generally given is that you have so much time and plenty of paths you can take, and it’s really hard to visualize with the amount of pressure of being at Columbia, but I’ve finally started to listen to that advice.”
“After listening to faculty stories, they’ve made so many different career changes, and I think that comforts me a little bit because at the end of the day, people are going to end up finding the things that interest them, and I think for me, I want to give myself time to explore the different interests I have,” she further explains, In her conversations with these professionals, Mendoza says that some have made significant jumps, whether within a particular field or out of it: “People that are already in the working world have gone from the government sector to the private sector, or the government sector to the NGO or nonprofit space, or the social impact space or professorship.”
It is incredibly important to consider all the options at your disposal within the scope of your interests and explore the different sectors effectively with a gap year if you choose to take one.
For students nearing the end of their undergraduate journey, remember that you don't have to follow the predetermined path set for you. Taking a gap year can be a transformative experience, giving you the space to find more clarity about your path in this life. Know your options. Whether you choose to volunteer, travel, pursue a fellowship, or take a break before professional school — as Batesi says, “Have a year to yourself” — and trust that you have the ability to shape that year into what you want it to be.