College Admissions Consulting Is Taking a Gap Year Right for Your Student? Written by Emily Toffelmireon December 12th, 2019 I came to College Coach after working for many years in college admissions and high school counseling. As a school counselor, I assisted students in the college application process and wrote hundreds of letters of recommendation, while also helping them and their families cope with any emotional, social, and academic concerns throughout the year. I transitioned from the high school setting to the admissions office when I joined the University of Southern California as an assistant director, reading freshmen and transfer applications and collaborating on admission decisions for over 150 majors, including the liberal arts, engineering, business, cinema, and the fine and performing arts. I subsequently took on the role of senior assistant director in the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, where I coordinated the division's Mork, Stamps, Trustee, Presidential and Dean's merit scholarship selection process, as well as recruitment publications and outreach, and traveled everywhere from Honolulu to Miami presenting to and interviewing hundreds of applicants each year. Learn More About Emily gap year, study abroad, Long popular in Europe, the concept of a gap year is only recently catching on in the US. But with this new-to-us concept come questions, fears, and a lot of confusion. We turned to our friends at Global Citizen Year to learn the basics of just what makes a gap year a gap year, plus a starter’s guide to planning ahead in case students want to spend time abroad before starting college. Click to read “What is a Gap Year?” on globalcitizenyear.org. Related Resources Read | Posted on June 4th, 2025 Legal Documents Your Child Needs to Sign Before Heading to College Read | Posted on May 20th, 2025 What is Demonstrated Interest? Read | Posted on April 29th, 2025 Navigating the Ethical Use of AI Tools in College Admissions
