What is Planet Gap Year?

Planet Gap Year is a new web site designed to assist US students, their parents and advisers plan a productive 'gap year' before college, and provides information -insightful and timely news articles and commentary about the student gap year movement in America via a Blog and US Gap Year News feed. Additionally, Planet Gap Year provides a FREE database of US and internationally based companies and organizations offering volunteer, community service, internships, expeditionary travel, language study and teaching, study abroad, cultural immersions, paid work and more!

Tens of thousands of high school graduates in the US are taking year long detours before starting college, in an effort to gain maturity broaden their perspective of the world, explore interests, and even discover their passions! The gap year is becoming a frequent topic of conversation in the national media as public colleges and universities have woken up to the fact that gap year students who arrive on campus a year older, are refreshed and eager to learn, and more likely to succeed in college than students who come directly from high school. Gap Year students often spend their year out doing a combination of activities ranging from volunteering, interning, traveling in the US and abroad, learning a foreign language, immersing themselves in a foreign culture, working, and the list goes on...

Perhaps most importantly, the site seeks to educate US students(and their parents) about the benefits of a gap year, how to plan and pay for a gap year, and answers to a host of gap year related questions. Planet Gap Year publishes stories written by US "Gappers" -Students across the US who have previously planned, participated in, and benefited from a productive year out.