The ‘gap year’ not just for rich kids anymore

Katie Couric and Yahoo! News released an incredible feature on Global Citizen Year! Check out the video below to see how we are re-imagining the ‘gap year’ as a launch pad for global citizens – and how top colleges are taking notice. By Katie Couric When the White House announced that Malia Obama would be […]
How to take a gap year overseas when you’re not wealthy

Written by Joanna Nesbit My first year in college, I was lonely, lacking direction and supremely worried about money. A first-generation student paying my own way, I had no idea how I would fund year two without subsisting on loans, even in 1982-dollar days. Quite simply, I yearned to travel the world, and three […]
Malia Obama is taking a ‘gap year’ before attending Harvard — here’s why that’s a great idea

Written by Jeremy Berke The White House announced Saturday that Malia Obama will attend Harvard as a member of the class of 2021 — after taking a year off before her freshman year, otherwise known as a “gap year.” Gap years are gaining in popularity among American students, as the New York Times reports. For example, Harvard […]
How To Have A Successful Gap Year — Tips For Malia Obama And Other High School Grads

By Anya Kamenetz Imagine your bright young son or daughter comes to you, high school mortarboard in hand, and says, “Mom, Dad, I’m not going to college next year.” What’s your reaction? If you’re the commander in chief or first lady, the answer is, reportedly, supportive. Their older daughter, Malia Obama, made headlines this […]
Why more teens like Malia Obama are taking a gap year

President Barack Obama’s eldest daughter Malia announced plans to take a gap year before she attends Harvard in 2017, an idea that is taking hold among more and more students. In 2015, 30-40,000 students took a year off after graduating high school, a 20 percent jump. William Brangham talks to Joe O’Shea of Florida State […]
Malia’s decision to take a gap year isn’t just good for her — it’s good for the country, entrepreneur says

By Abigail Falik When the White House announced Sunday that Malia Obama would attend Harvard University but take a year off first, it sparked a lot of conversation about “gap years.” Abigail Falik, founder and chief executive officer of Global Citizen Year and an award-winning entrepreneur, writes her views on the benefits of taking an exploratory […]
Malia Obama’s ‘Gap Year’ Is Part of a Growing (and Expensive) Trend

By Mike McPhate It sounds awfully nice: A yearlong postponement of schoolwork. The White House announced on Sunday that Malia Obama, the president’s older daughter, would be among the thousands of students to take a so-called gap year between high school and college. The hiatus from classrooms, textbooks and tests has become an increasingly popular […]
Why more high-school seniors need to be like Malia Obama and take a gap year

By Jeffrey J. Selingo Sunday’s announcement from the White House that Malia Obama would take a gap year before starting at Harvard University in the fall of 2017 drew swift reactions on social media—a mix of support, ridicule for delaying adulthood, and some envy that the idea of taking a break before college is […]
Why a gap year is increasingly popular for many would-be freshmen and their parents

The deadline is looming this week for local high school students to decide where to go to college. But more and more kids are deciding to take the year off instead. And for many, that’s increasingly proving to be an enticing alternative. KIRO Radio’s Josh Kerns introduces us to one such student who found a […]
Don’t Send Your Kids to College. At Least Not Yet.

This op-ed was originally published in The New York Times with Nicholas Kristof on April 5th, 2016. View the original publication of the article at this link. In the past few weeks, anxious high school seniors across the country have received admissions decisions from colleges. Some might feel like they’ve won the lottery; others have dashed […]