by Mary Sue Youn, former admissions officer at Barnard College

In my college counseling practice, I’ve worked with a few students over the years who are excited to attend college but may not be ready for college…yet. At times, these students consider a gap year, which is a break in their academic progression from high school to college that allows them to travel, work, or volunteer. However, sometimes these students don’t want an academic break, yet they also aren’t quite ready for the next college step either. That’s where the post-graduate (PG) year comes in. A PG year is offered by many private boarding schools as an extra year of high school, a 13^th year, where the student can continue to grow in a way that might help them move towards their college goals productively.

by Mary Sue Youn, former admissions officer at Barnard College

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…

Well, truly, it was neither, but it was the most confusing of times.

Let me tell you about two students I’ve been working with this fall:

by Mary Sue Youn, former admissions officer at Barnard College

In July, I wrote in a blog post about a question we get often from current senior families:

“What will happen if a higher percentage of the class of 2020 takes a gap year? Won’t that mean that there will be fewer spots for the class of 2021?”

by Mary Sue Youn, former admissions officer at Barnard College

In my last blog post, I reviewed the pros and cons of applying to accelerated BS/MD programs. If you’ve decided an accelerated medical program is a good fit for your educational goals, let’s move next to what the programs are looking for from successful applicants.

by Mary Sue Youn, former admissions officer at Barnard College

Have you always known you wanted to be a doctor? Maybe you have always been fascinated by medicine, or perhaps this is a more recent but intense interest. As you begin your college search, you may become interested in an accelerated medical program where you apply in high school to be admitted to a seven- or eight-year track to obtain both your Bachelor’s degree and your Doctorate in Medicine. But is this type of program the right fit for you?

With college applications looming on the horizon, many rising high school seniors are feeling the pressure to figure out in the next few months, not only where they want to study, but what they want to study. This choice, many believe, will determine the path of the rest of their lives. That’s a weighty burden for a 17-year-old to bear, and some may wonder if all this stress is really necessary. Find out from former Barnard and Whittier College admissions officer, Mary Sue Youn, in this installment of the College Coach video series, Ask the College Admissions Expert. Mary Sue answers the burning question on the minds of rising seniors and their parents, “Is It Okay To Apply To College With An Undecided Major?”

by Mary Sue Youn, former admissions officer at Barnard College

As we talk to families, a version of the same question keeps popping up over and over again:

“What will the impact be on the class of 2021 if a high number of the class of 2020 takes a gap year?”

A “gap year” involves delaying enrollment at a college for one year, oftentimes for travel, volunteer, or employment experiences. Students must ask their enrolling college for permission to use this option, and generally students are not permitted to take courses at another college during their gap year. Annually, about 3% of American college students opt for a gap year, but recent articles have touted that the number of gap years will skyrocket in the age of coronavirus. If 30% of the incoming class didn’t enroll this fall and held off until next year, it would certainly mean that colleges would have 30% less spots for next year’s applicants, right?

In a previous blog post, Using Naviance: How to Get Organized, we discussed how to get started with Naviance. This installment focuses on how to best utilize the program.

When working with high school students on their college admission process, I get a few common questions about STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) majors and careers. “I like my math and science classes; what STEM field should I major in?” or “How can I find out if I really like engineering?” or “I want to go further in my STEM studies; where can I start?”  There are literally hundreds of careers that fall under the umbrella of STEM, and sorting out which ones are right for you might seem daunting. The answer may be finding a STEM mentor who can help you explore these questions and help you discover opportunities to further your interests. But where would you look for such an advisor? Here are some of my best tips:

Once upon a time, a boy in my middle school Math League questioned why I was a member because “girls weren’t really good at math anyway.” The remark stung and happened to coincide with my own self-doubts. Although I had always been a very strong math student, I was struggling with that particular unit of 8^th grade Algebra. I really questioned whether to go to the next Math League meeting.

I hadn’t thought much about that moment since then, until my own daughter, at age 13, came home with a similar story after attending a tech club meeting. I would have thought we had progressed more in thirty years, but apparently not.