American Gap Association National Alumni Survey

REPORT

Report Prepared by Nina Hoe, PhD

ninahoe@gmail.com | 215-410-0960

This survey ofAmericangapyearexperienceswasconductedin2014-15andreachedhundredsofgapyearalumni.Whilelimitationsdoexist (seeLimitations),overall,thisstudyrepresentsthemostcomprehensiveexplorationofgapyearexperiencesofAmericanstodate.

HighlightsInclude:Ø 81%ofallsurveyparticipantssaidtheywereverylikelytorecommendtakingagapyearto

someoneconsideringit.Ø Thegeneral experienceof “beinginanewanddifferentenvironment”wasthemostmeaningful

elementoftheoverallgapyear experienceØ HavingawiderangeofexperienceswasalsoimportantØ Gappers experiencedthegreatestimpactsrelatedtotheirpersonalgrowthanddevelopmentØ Thosewho participatedinagapyearhad,onaverage,shortertimesto graduationandhigher

GPAsascomparedtonationalnorms.Ø Gapperscurrentlyexperiencehigherlevelsofjob satisfactionandcivic participationas

compared tonationalnorms.2

TableofContents

Topic Page#

TableofContentsandExecutiveSummary 2

AmericanGapAssociationandResearch 3

TheNationalSurveyofGapYearAlumni 4

ParentalBackgroundsandGapYearTaking 5

WhereTheyWent(PrimaryDestinations)andWhen TheyWent 6

MotivationsfortakingaGapYear 7

GapYearProgramParticipation 8

GapYearNetPromoterScore 9

GapYearExperiences 10

GapYearExperiencesandNPS 11

ReportedGapYearOutcomes 12

GappersinCollege 13

GappersandCollegeOutcomes 14

GappersNow 15

SummaryandConclusions 16-7

Limitations, Recommendations,andMethodologicalNotes 18

ExecutiveSummary

AmericanGapAssociation(AGA)“TheAmericanGapAssociationisa501(c)3nonprofitaccreditationandstandards-settingorganizationforGapYearsthatisrecognizedassuchbytheUSDepartmentofJusticeandtheFederalTradeCommission.WecontinuetoadvancethefieldofGapYearsbycollaborativelypioneeringresearchonitsbenefits,aswellasservingasaninformationandadvocacyhubforuniversityadmissionspersonnelandeducationalcounselors.OurmaingoalistofocusonaccreditationsothateverystudentsigningonwithanAGAaccreditedorganizationwillhavethebestandsafestexperience.Wewillfocusonaccreditingorganizationsratherthanindividualsorindividualprojectsites.”

ResearchCommitteeTheResearchCommitteeoftheAmericanGapAssociation,headedbyKarlHaigler,hasoutlinedthefollowingpurpose,goals,andobjectives:Purposes:

• SupportAGA’sprimarymission--toincreasenumberofstudentstakinggapyears• ServeastheprimaryvehicleforensuringAGAasthecentralhubanddefactovoiceofthegapyearmovementthroughits“accesstoreliabledata”

• ContributetotheAGAStandardsandAccreditationProcesstopromotequalityandstudentsafetyaswellasprovidingaquantifiablefoundationforinstitutionalandgovernmentalsupportofgapyears

• Inform(andbeinformedby/responsiveto)workofotherAGAcommittees• Evaluateorganizationalmodelsthatcanfundongoingresearch

Goals:AGAStrategicPlanactivitiesinclude:• Increasingaccesstocrediblegapyearexperiencesforlow-incomestudentsbyextendingthenumberofaccreditedmemberorganizations,

• ProvidingeducationforallGapYearorganizationsdesignedtoensurestudentshavesafe,challengingandmeaningfulexperiences,

• Promotingthiseducationalmodeltostudents,families,educationalcounselors,anduniversities,andexpandingresearch.

Objectives:• A.StudentSuccess:Validateprogramoutcomes’contributiontostudentsuccessinbothcognitiveand“non-cognitive”evaluations.Theseinclude,forexample,suchcomponentsasGPA,grit,resilience,empathy,andself-awareness.

• B.MarketDevelopment:(1)Providemacro-dataonthegrowthofGapYeartobenchmarkdevelopmentandhelpmakethecasetothepublic.TheseincludedatafromAGAAccreditedPrograms,non-AGAPrograms,andbroadertrendsfromsurveysandpublicdatabases(e.g.Google,NACAC,NCES,etc.)aswellasongoingannualsurveysofGapYearorganizations(thatcurrentlyaskforenrollmenttrends,charitablegivingactivities,andstudentsatisfactionthroughtheuseoftheNetPromoterScore).(2)SupportandexpandpioneeringresearchinGapYearoutcomesinpartnershipwithfieldresearchersaswellasacademicresearcherssuchasTempleUniversity(InstituteforSurveyResearch),theSocietyfortheStudyofEmergingAdulthood,etc..“e.g.TheNationalAlumniSurveydatawillallowustocompareallvarietiesofGapYear(structuredvs.unstructured,post-graduatevs.post-secondary,etc.)aswellasexploredetailssuchasdebt-to-incomeratioascomparedtothenationalaverageandemploymentoutcomesversusnon-Gappers.”(3)Supportthegrowthofthefieldbydevelopingresearchtosupportthe“caseforaGapYear”forparenteducation,highschoolcollegecounseloreducation,andthebroaderpromotiontoeducationmarkets.

• C.ProgramIntegrity:Serveastherepositoryof“bestpractice”informationfromgapyearprogramsinvolvingprogramevaluationstrategies,staffdevelopment,studentdevelopmentmethods,educationalscaffolding(suchascurricula,pedagogicalmodels,etc.)andresourcestosupportthese.

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AmericanGapAssociationandResearch

Background:OnAugust28th,2014,theAmericanGapAssociationlaunchedthefirstever,nation-widecomprehensivestudyontheeffectsofGap/BridgeYearexperiences.ThesurveywasdesignedandhostedbyNinaHoe,PhDattheInstituteforSurveyResearchatTempleUniversity.Itwasdistributedthroughsocialmedia,programleadersandworthofmouth,andremainedopenfor11months.Ittookapproximately15minutestocompleteandparticipantswereenteredintoaraffletowin1of20$50AmazonGiftCards.TheSample:Thesurveyallowedrespondentstoanswerwhicheverquestionstheychoseanddidnotforceresponses.Asaresult,thetotalsamplesizeforeachquestionvaries.Overall,1,002peopleclickedonthelinkforthesurvey.Ofthem,863wereeligibletotakethesurvey–meaningthattheygaveconsenttobeapartofthestudyofgapyearalumni,hadparticipatedinagapyearaccordingtothedefinitionoutlinedinthesurveyintroduction,werecitizensoftheUSorCanada,andwereovertheageof18.Intotal,558peoplecompletedtheentiresurvey.Asageneralnote,inthisreportallfindingsapplyonlytothegroupofgapperswhorespondedtothissurveyandcannotbegeneralizedtoallAmericangappers. Aspreviouslydescribed,participatinginthesurveywascompletelyvoluntary. Thedemographicandbackgroundinformationofthesurveyparticipantsisreportedbelow.

TheNationalSurveyofGapYearAlumni

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ParentalBackgroundsandGapYearTaking

EstimatedParentalIncome

Freq. %%Parental

Contribution*Lessthan$25,000 24 3% 38%$25,000- $49,999 43 6% 46%$50,000- $74,999 75 10% 53%$75,000- $99,999 65 9% 55%$100,000- $124,999 78 11% 51%$125,000- $149,999 47 7% 57%$150,000- $174,999 36 5% 68%$175,000- $199,999 37 5% 60%$200,000+ 131 18% 71%Notsure 187 26% 63%Total 723 100% 59%

Thetabletotheleftshowstheestimatedlevelofparentalincomeatthetimeofthegapyear,andthenthepercentageofgapperswithinthoseincomecategorieswhoseparentscontributedfinanciallytotheirgapyear.• Forexample,18%ofgappersestimatedthattheirparentsincomewasmorethan$200K.Andofthe,71%saidtheirparentscontributedfinanciallytotheirgapyear.

Ø Thereisasignificantpositiverelationshipbetweenestimatedparentalincomeandparentalcontribution.

• Thehighertheparentalincome,themorelikelyparentsweretocontributefinanciallytothegapyear.

Parents’Highest LevelofEducationMother Father

Freq. % Freq. %Donotknowparent'seducationlevel 16 2% 44 6%Didnotcompletehighschool 10 1% 12 2%Highschooldiplomaorequivalent 39 6% 35 5%Vocationalortechnicaltraining 19 3% 16 2%Lessthantwoyearsofcollege 26 4% 27 4%Associate'sdegree 25 4% 0%Bachelor'sdegree 238 34% 195 28%Somegraduateschoolcoursesbutnodegree 26 4% 28 4%Master'sdegreeorequivalent 201 28% 184 26%Professionaldegree(M.D.,D.O.,D.D.S, 81 11% 111 16%Doctoraldegreeorequivalent(Ph.D) 27 4% 56 8%

• Thereisasignificantrelationshipbetweenparents’levelofeducationandwhetherornotgapperswereinfluencedbytheirparentsorpeerstotakeagapyear.

o Agreaterproportionofgapperswhoseparentshadhigherlevelsofeducationwerealsoinfluencedbytheirparentsandpeersintheirdecisiontotakeagapyear.

Ø Forgapperswhosebothparentshadlessthanabachelor’sdegree,only10% reportedbeinginfluencedbyparentsandpeersintheirdecisiontotakeagapyear.

Ø Forgappersforwhomatleastoneparenthadabachelor’sdegree,18% reportedbeinginfluencedbyparentsandpeersintheirdecisiontotakeagapyear.

Ø Forgappersforwhomatleastoneparenthadagraduatedegree,30% reportedbeinginfluencedbyparentsandpeersintheirdecisiontotakeagapyear.

Parental EducationandGapYearInfluenceχ2(2,N=708)=22.308,p=.000

NeitherhasBachelor’s

AtLeast1Bachelor’s

At least1GradDegree Total

Parental EducationLevel 13% 25% 62%

Parent/PeerDidNot InfluenceDecision 90% 82% 70% 76%Parent/PeerDid InfluenceDecision 10% 18% 30% 24%

24%ofallgapperssaidtheirparentsorpeersinfluencedtheirdecisiontotakeagapyear– butparents’educationmatters!

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[*=χ2(9,N=716)=20.362,p=.016]

Thetabletotherightshowseducationalbackgroundsofgappers’parents.ParentsofgappersarehighlyeducatedØ Ofgappers,81%

hadmothersand82%hadfatherswithabachelor’sdegreeorhigher

• (Censusshows~30%ofAmericanshaveabachelor’s)

Wheredidtheyspedthemosttime?Where TheyWent(PrimaryDestinations)

When TheyWent

• 77%tooktheirgapyearbetweenhighschoolandcollege

• TheU.S.,Ecuador,Israel, India,andAustraliawerethemostcommondestinations reportedamongstgappers

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MotivationsfortakingaGapYear

Ofthegapperssurveyed…ü 92%wantedtogainlifeexperiences andexperiencepersonal

growthü 85%wantedtotravel,seetheworld,andexperience other

culturesü 81%wantedabreakfromthetraditional academic track

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GapYearProgramParticipation63%ofrespondents(n=455)hadparticipatedinatleastonecommercialgapyearprogram,leaving37%whodesignedanindependentgapyear.Alsoseveralgappersparticipatedinmultipleprograms,soatotalof546programexperienceswerereported:

SESandProgram-TypeSelection

• GapYearprogramswereclassifiedintofivecategories:ü Individualü Teamü Domesticü Internationalü Accredited

EstimatedParentalIncome

ProgramType Lessthan$100K

$100-200K

Morethan$200K

Notsure

Overall

InternationalNo 52% 43% 32% 39% 42%

Yes 48% 57% 68% 61% 58%

AccreditedNo 78% 68% 50% 59% 65%

Yes 22% 32% 50% 41% 35%

Estimatedparentalincomewasrelatedtogappersselectinginternational andaccreditedprograms.

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GapYearNetPromoterScore

WhatisNPS?TheNetPromoterScore,orNPS®,ismetricusedintoassesscustomerloyaltyandsatisfaction.Howlikelyisitthatyouwouldrecommend[company,organization,experienceX]toafriendorcolleague? AppliedtoGapYearExperiences, surveytakerswereaskedthefollowingversionoftheNPSquestion:

“Basedonyourownexperiences,howlikelywouldyoubetorecommendtakingagapyeartosomeonewhohasexpressedinterest?”

Inthecontextofthissurveyforgapyearalumni:• Promoters(score9-10)aregapperswhoareavidsupportersandpromotersofgapyear

experiences,andarehighlylikelytoencourageotherstotakeagapyear.Theiradvocacycouldservetofuelthemovementthroughtheirpromotionandsupport.

• Passives(score7-8)aregapperswhoweresatisfiedwiththeirgapyearexperiences,butmaybemoreunenthusiastic,andnotfullysupportthemovementorrecommendgapyearexperiencestoothers.

• Detractors(score0-6)arethosegapperswhowereunhappyandmayimpedegrowththroughnegativeword-of-mouth.

NPSiscalculatedbytakingthepercentageofpeoplewhoarePromotersandsubtractingthepercentageofpeoplewhoareDetractors.

Promoters,85%

Passive,11%

Detractors,4%

Overall,theaveragescoregivenwasa9.43outofapossible10.

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“Ascoreof75%ormoreisconsideredtoberelativelyhigh.:-http://www.marketresearchworld.net/content/view/3674/78/

SurveyRespondentNPS

AmericangapperssurveyedherereportedanNPSof81%!Freq. %

Promoters 478 85%Passives 62 11%Detractors 20 4%NPS 81%

GapYearExperiences%ofGappersWhoReportedHavingtheFollowingExperiences

SeemethodologicalnotesonCorrelation:*p<.05,**p<.01,***p<.001

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Correlation(strengthofrelationship)betweenExperiencesandNetPromoterScore(NPS)

Strongpositiverelationshipbetweengap

yearexperienceandNPS

Positiverelationshipbetween

experienceandNPS

Norelationshipbetween

experienceandNPS

Negativerelationshipbetweenexperience

andNPS

GapYearExperiencesandNPSNumberofActivitiesMatters!• Thenumberofactivitiesgappersparticipatedinwaspositivelyassociatedwiththeirgiven

NPS.Eachadditionalactivityparticipatedinwasassociatedwitha0.06-pointhigherNPS.GoingAbroadisPowerful!• Spendingtimeabroadwasassociatedwitha0.93-pointhigherNPS.• Inaddition,therewasapositivecorrelationbetweenthenumberofmonthsspentabroad

andtheNPSscoregiven(r=0.12**).• Forthosewhoparticipatedinaprogram(n=455),havingparticipatedinaninternational

programwasassociatedwith0.25-pointhigherNPS,whilehavingparticipatedinadomesticprogramwasassociatedwitha0.33-pointlowerNPS.

However,therewasalsoarelationshipbetweenhavingspenttimeabroadandthenumberofgapyearactivitiesoneparticipatedin.Onaverage,gapperswhospenttimeoutsideoftheUSparticipatedin15activities, whilethosewhodidnotleavetheirhomecountryduringtheirgapyearparticipatedinanaverageof9activities.Whencontrollingforthenumberofactivitiesparticipatedin,theeffectofaninternationalprogrambecameinsignificant.

Thetablebelowshowstheproportionofgapperswhoparticipatedinactivities overall,ininternationalandindomesticprograms,alongwiththecorrelationofthoseactivitieswithNPS

Gap YearActivity%

OverallCorrelationwithNPS

%IntlPrograms

%Domestic

Beinginanewanddifferentenvironment 95% 0.18*** 97% 81%FormingrelationshipswithothersintheplacesIvisited(localfamilies,children,newfriends)

89% 0.10** 93% 63%

Formingrelationshipswithmypeers(alsoonagapyear) 86% 0.20*** 89% 66%Participatinginadventureactivities 81% 0.18*** 85% 50%Havingunstructured/down-time 81% 0.05 84% 58%Travelingstructured,withagroupand/orleader 78% 0.22*** 84% 34%Formingrelationshipswithstafffrommyprogram 80% 0.13** 83% 58%Volunteering/doingservicework 76% 0.14** 80% 55%Journaling 69% 0.17*** 78% 44%Managingmyownbudget 73% 0.20*** 76% 60%Travelingindependently 69% 0.08 74% 35%Keepingintouchwithfriendsandfamilyusingsocialmedia 65% 0.03 69% 44%Participatinginculturaltrainingorcourses 63% 0.11** 68% 26%LivinginaHomestay 58% 0.20*** 65% 8%Meditating,doingyoga,orexploringspirituality 61% 0.07 64% 47%Participatinginenvironmentalactivities 58% 0.19*** 61% 44%Takinglanguagecoursesortraining 55% 0.11** 61% 2%Supportingacause 44% 0.11** 40% 34%Partying 38% -0.02 40% 27%Takingcoursesnotforcredit 35% 0.02 38% 10%Interning 33% 0.07 37% 10%Takingcoursesforacademic credit 28% 0.03 29% 21%Working(forpay) 24% -0.10* 21% 47%

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SeemethodologicalnotesonCorrelation:*p<.05,**p<.01,***p<.001

TheImpactsAhigherproportionofgappersreportedimpactsfallingintothe”personal”category,followedby“Career”and“Citizenship.”Fewergappersreported“Academic”impacts.Thisfindingisnotsurprisinggiventhethatthemostcommonlyreportedreasonsfortakingagapyearweretogainexperiences,personalgrowth,andtotakeabreakfromthetraditionalacademictrack.

OverallGapYearImpactScoreAn“overallgapyearimpactscore”wascreatedforeachgapper.Thescorewascalculatedasthemeanofalloftheratingsonthe23items.Mean=4.06 (scalefrom1– 5where1=stronglydisagreewithimpactand5=stronglyagreewithimpact.)

Highlights• EstimatedparentalincomewasNOTrelatedtotheimpactsgappersexperienced.• Higheroverall‘GapYearImpact”scoreswerepositivelyassociatedwith:

• ParticipationinInternationalProgramsandTeam-BasedProgramsØ Gapperswhoparticipatedininternationaland/orteam-basedprogramsexperienced

higherimpacts.• NumberofmonthsspentonGapYear

Ø ThelongertheGapYear,themoreimpactwasexperienced.• NumberofmonthsspentoutsideoftheU.S.duringtheGapYear

Ø ThelongertheamountoftimespentoutsideoftheU.S.duringtheGapYear,themoreimpactwasexperienced.

• Numberofweeksspentdoingmorethan30hoursofcommunityserviceØ Themoretimespentparticipatingincommunityservice,thegreatertheimpact.

ReportedGapYearOutcomes

Thesurveyaskedgapperstoindicatehowmuchtheyagreedordisagreedwithaseriesofstatements.Allstatementsbeganwith,“MyGapYear…”The23statementsfellinto4categoriespertainingto4areasofGapYearImpactonone’slife:Personal,Career,Citizenship, andAcademic.

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GappersinCollege

Betweenhighschoolandcareer(nocollege),2%

Duringcollege/postsecondaryeducation(tookaleaveofabsence),

16%

Aftercollege/postsecond

aryeducation(beforestarting

graduateschoolorcareer),5%

Plannedtoattendaparticular

college/university,52%

PlannedtouseGapYeartoapplytoandfigureoutcollege

plans,25%

Betweenhighschoolandcollege/postsecondaryeducation,77%

GapYearTimingandPlans

Ofthe16%whotooktheirgapyearduringcollege,• 52%returnedtothesameinstitution• 37%transferredtoadifferentinstitution• 11%decidednottocontinuetheirpostsecondaryeducation

InstitutionTypesandAttendance

Full-Time Part-Time Total

4-year 93% 45% 90%

2-year 7% 39% 9%

Less-than-2-year 0% 15% 1%

21%reportedhavingstudiedabroad,whileanadditional 49%reportedplanning tostudyabroad!

TransferringinCollege

Trans-fered

Aftercollege(beforestartinggraduateschoolorcareer)

Betweenhighschool&college

Duringcollege(tookaleaveofabsence)

All

Yes 30% 16% 45% 22%

No 70% 84% 55% 78%

• Thereweresignificantdifferencesrelatedtoundergraduatetransferstatusdependingonwhenstudentstooktheirgapyear.Thosewhotookagapyearbetweenhighandcollege/postsecondaryeducationhadthelowesttransferrate(16%),whilethosewhotookaleaveofabsencehadthehighesttransferrate(30%).

• 34%ofalltransferstudentshadtransferredmorethanonce

Ofthe52%whoplannedtoattendaparticularcollege/university:• 12%reportedthattheydid

somethingdifferent

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SelectedCollegeMajors CollegeGPAsFreq. %

Biology, PhysicalScience,Math,ScienceTechnology 55 11%Business 29 6%Computer,InformationSciences 8 2%Education 13 2%Engineering,Technology 14 3%GeneralStudies&Other 8 2%HealthCareFields 22 4%Humanities 71 14%OtherApplied 79 15%SocialSciences 119 23%Undecided 104 20%

Freq. %A(4.0) 56 13%A- (3.7) 182 42%B+(3.3) 89 7%B(3.0) 30 21%B- (2.7) 23 5%C(2.0) 1 0%C+(2.3) 5 1%C- (1.7) 2 0%D(1.0) 2 0%D+(1.3) 2 0%F(below0.7) 1 0%Cannotremember 22 5%Collegedidnotawardgrades 17 4%

GappersandCollegeOutcomes

TimetoGraduation

Overall,105surveyrespondentsgavesufficientinformationabouttheirdatesofbeginningandgraduatingfromcollege.Anadditional72participantshadnotyetgraduatedbutprovided“expectedgraduationdates.”• Themediantimetograduationforgapperswas3.75years,withanaverageof4.07years

(forthe105college-graduated).• Themedianexpectedtimetograduationwasalsoexactly3.75years,withanaverageof

3.95years(forthe72gapperswhohadnotyetgraduated).Note:The20136-yeargraduationrateforfirst-time,full-timeundergraduatestudentswhobegantheirpursuitofabachelor'sdegreeata4-yeardegree-grantinginstitutioninfall2007was59percent.Thatis,59percentoffirst-time,full-timestudentswhobeganseekingabachelor'sdegreeata4-yearinstitutioninfall2007completedthedegreeatthatinstitutionby2013.(NCES,http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cva.asp)

Theaveragetimetograduationforgappers is4years!

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JobSatisfaction CivicEngagement

Freq. %VeryDissatisfied 12 4%Dissatisfied 30 10%Satisfied 177 60%VerySatisfied 76 26%Total 295 100%

86%weresatisfiedorverysatisfiedwiththeirjob!

“AccordingtothecurrenteditionofTheConferenceBoardJobSatisfactionsurvey,andfor

theeighthstraightyear,lessthanhalfofUSworkersaresatisfiedwiththeirjobs.”

63%reportedvotinginthe2014Novemberelections!Accordingtoanarticle intheWashingtonPost,

“just36.4percentofthevoting-eligiblepopulationcastballots”intheNovember2014

election.

89%reportedparticipatingincommunityserviceinthelastmonth!AccordingtotheBureauofLaborStatistics(BLS),“Thevolunteerratewaslittlechangedat25.3percentfortheyearendinginSeptember2014

GappersNow

(n= 309) Full-time

Part-time

Total

Lessthan$25,000 31% 85% 66%$25,000- $49,999 30% 2% 12%$50,000- $74,999 10% 1% 4%$75,000- $99,999 7% 0% 3%$100,000- $124,999 8% 0% 3%$125,000- $149,999 2% 0% 1%$150,000- $174,999 1% 0% 0%$175,000- $199,999 2% 0% 1%$200,000+ 2% 0% 1%Notsure/Prefernottosay 7% 12% 10%

EarningsBasedonEmploymentStatus

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309gapperswereemployed(eitherfull-timeorpart-time)

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SummaryandConclusions

Area1:BackgroundFactorsØ Gapperswhotookthesurveyweremajorityfemale,White,nativeEnglishspeakers,andfrom

familieswheretheestimatedhouseholdincomewasover$100,000peryear.Inaddition,whereasapproximately10%ofAmericanhighschoolersattendprivateschools,35%ofgappersdid.ThesurveyedgapperswerealsomajorityA-studentsinhighschoolandhadhigherhighschooltestscores(SATandACT)thannationalaverages.

Ø 24%ofallgapperssaidtheirparentshadinfluencedtheirdecisiontotakeaGapYear- butparents’highestlevelofeducationwasrelatedtowhetherornottheyinfluencedtheirgappers.Whereasonly10%ofgappersforwhomneitherparenthadearnedabachelorsdegreewereinfluencedbytheirparents,18%ofthosewithat leastoneparentwithabachelor ’sdegreeand30%ofthosewithatleastoneparentwithagraduatedegreewereinfluencedbytheirparents.

Ø Also,asignificantlyhigherproportionofgappersfromhigherincomebackgroundsreceivedfinancialsupportfromtheirparentsduringtheirgapyear.

Conclusion1:BecausethisreportoutlinesthepositiveeffectsassociatedwithtakingaGapYear,thesedemographicfindingshighlighttheimportanceof:Ø Recruitingmoremale,non-Whiteandlower-incomestudentstoparticipateinGapYears.Ø Providingparentsfromallbackgroundswithadequateinformationtosupporttheirpotential

gappers.Thisstudyhasshownthatparentswithlowerlevelsofeducationareless likelytoinfluenceastudentsdecisiontotakeagapyear.Becauseoftheknownbenefits,theseparentsmaybespecificallytargeted.

Area2:GapYearExperiencesØ ThethreemostcommonlyreportedreasonsforwantingtotakeaGapYearwere(1)wantingtogain

lifeexperiencesandexperiencepersonalgrowth;(2)wantingtotravel,seetheworldandexperienceothercultures;and(3)wantingabreakfromthetraditionalacademic track.

Ø Forgapperswhoparticipatedincommercializedprograms,estimatedlevelofparentalincomewasrelatedtothetypesofprogramstheyselected. Specifically,ahigherproportionofgappersfromfamilieswithanestimatedincomeofmorethan$200,000peryearparticipatedininternationalprograms,andprogramsthathadbeenaccreditedbyAGA.

Ø Overall,theNPSofthe surveytakerswas81%- andwaspositivelycorrelatedwiththenumberofGapYearactivitiesparticipatedin,aswellasspendingtimeabroadandhavingparticipatedinaninternationalprogram.

Conclusion2:Ø GapYearprograms,orsupporters/facilitators(suchasparentsorcounselors- forthosestudentsnot

participatinginaprogram)shouldaimtooffergappersawiderangeofexperiencesandactivities.Whengoingabroadisnotfeasible,programsshouldattempttofosterexperiencesthatallowgappersto“beinanewanddifferentenvironment”- whichiscorrelatedwithNPS.Inaddition,programsorfacilitatorsshouldprioritizecreatingenvironmentswheregapperscanformmeaningfulrelationshipswithbothpeersaswellasthosedifferentfromthem.

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SummaryandConclusionsArea3:ImpactsØ Ahigherproportionofgappersreportedimpactsfallingintothe”Personal”category,followedby

“Career”and“Citizenship.”Fewergappersreported“Academic”impacts.Thisfindingisnotsurprisinggiventhethatthemostcommonlyreportedreasonsfortakingagapyearweretogainexperiencesandpersonalgrowthandtotakeabreakfromthetraditionalacademic track.

Ø Thereweresignificantdifferencesrelatedtoundergraduatetransferstatusdependingonwhenstudentstooktheirgapyear.Thosewhotookagapyearbetweenhighandcollege/postsecondaryeducationhadthelowesttransferrate(16%),whilethosewhotookaleaveofabsencehadthehighesttransferrate(30%).

Ø Comparedtonationalaverages,gappershadloweraveragetimetograduation(4yearsorless,comparednationallytoonly59%graduatingwithin6years).

Ø Ahigherproportionofgappersreportedmajoringinthesocialsciencesandhumanitiesascomparedtoscienceandtechnology-related(STEM)fields.

Ø Gappergradesareskewedtowardshighergrades.Ø Beyondacademics, 86%ofgapperssurveyedweresatisfiedorverysatisfiedwiththeirjobs,63%

reportedvotinginthe2014Novemberelections,and89%reportedparticipatingincommunityserviceinthelastmonth.

Conclusion3:Ø Somegraduatingseniorsneed achancetodeveloppersonally,andneedabreakfromthe

traditionalacademictrack!Ø GapYearstakenbeforecollegemayhelpstudentstobemorefocusedandmorecloselyselect

collegestudyplans,reducingthelikelihoodoftransferringwhileincollege.Ø TakingaGapYearmayhelpstudentsbemoredeliberateincollege,stayingontrackandcompleting

studiesfasterthantheyotherwisemighthave,butitmaybelessacceptableinSTEMfieldsØ Basedonthefactthatthissurveyfoundanassociationbetweenjobsatisfactionandcivic

engagement,andtakingaGapYear,participatinginaGapYearmayhaveimplicationsbeyondimmediatepersonalandcollege/academic outcomes.

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Limitations

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Thestudyofgapyearparticipantsischallenginginmanyways– butinparticularbecausethereisnowaytoaccuratelyaccountforandreachall(orarepresentativesample)ofthosewhohavetakenagapyearintheUS.Thus,thisstudyissignificantlylimitedbythemethodsusedtorecruitsurveyparticipants.Mainly,participantswererecruitedthroughwordofmouthandbytheprogramsinwhichtheyparticipated.Thus,thereislikelyanoverrepresentationofcommercialgapyearparticipantsinthissample,whichcouldskewdata.ThegroupofsurveytakersdescribedherearenotrepresentativeofAmericangappers,andatbest,canonlyprovideinsightintothebackgroundandexperiencesofAmericangappers.ThefactthatparticipationinthissurveywascompletelyvoluntarymayhaveskewedresultstowardsthosewhofeltstronglyabouttheirGapYear(eitherpositivelyornegatively).

Ø Thislimitationpointstotheneedfordevelopingmethodsnationallyforidentifyingandtrackinggapyearparticipations,sothattheirexperiencescanbeunderstoodmorescientificallyandmeaningfulcomparisonsbetweengappersandnon-gapperscanbemade.

Ø ThisstudystronglyrecommendsthatfuturestudiesconductedbytheNationalCenterforEducationStatistics(NCES)specificallydefine“takingagapyear”andaskstudentstoreportwhetherornottheyparticipatedinagapyear.

Ø Inordertounderstandthetrueeffectsandimpactsoftakingagapyear,anaccurateandrepresentativegroupofgappers,andanappropriatecomparisongroup,mustbeidentified.

Findingsfromthisstudyhighlighttheimportanceofongoingresearchrelatedtogapyeartakers,theirbackgrounds,experienceshad,andtheimpactsoftheirgapyears.Specifically,apre- andpost-gapyearexperiencesurveywouldhelptobetterisolatetheoutputsandoutcomesrelatedtoparticularexperiencesaswellastheirrelationshipstogappers’backgroundcharacteristics.Inaddition,anareaofimportanceforAmericanGapAssociationisfacilitatingandprovidingopportunitiesforstudentsfromallbackgroundstoparticipateingapyears.Usefulfutureresearchmayincludecasestudiesofbothlow-costgapyearprogramsoritinerariesaswellastheGapYearexperiencesoflow-incomeindividuals.Findingsfromthesecasestudiesmaybeusedtobetterdesignandsupportmoreaccessible(low-cost)GapYearprograms,andbetterunderstandhowlow-incomegapperscanbesupportedtohavethemostfruitfulgapyearexperiences.

Inaddition,casestudiesofcollege-sponsoredgapyearprograms,suchasthoseatPrincetonandTufts,mayalsobeimportantininformingandsupportingthisgrowingtrend.

RecommendationsforFutureResearch

MethodologicalNotes

Correlation:“Thecorrelationisoneofthemostcommonandmostusefulstatistics.Acorrelationisasinglenumberthatdescribesthedegreeofrelationshipbetweentwovariables.Let'sworkthroughanexampletoshowyouhowthisstatistic iscomputed.”Readmore:http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/statcorr.php