THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT IN YOUR HIGH SCHOOL:  If you want to participate in competitive programs—whether debate, mathematics, or robotics for example—make sure the school offers these electives. If you love art and doing hands-on projects, look for a high school that has lots of opportunities and depth of course offerings in art. If you’re big into sports, look for a school with a good athletic program. If music is your thing—is there an active orchestra, band or chamber music group? Will your passion for drama and performing arts be fueled at this school? Does this school offer its students opportunities to create new clubs, to participate in regional/national competitions, to create policy within the school, to have a voice in the school’s governance?  If you are the type of person who wants leadership opportunities and the ability to foster and enhance existing passions—as well as try new experiences—make sure the school you’re interested in offers these student-directed options.

CONSIDER WHERE YOUR FRIENDS ARE GOING, BUT DON’T LET IT DICTATE YOUR DECISION:  Be confident that you will meet and make friends with like-minded peers if your high school of choice fits your needs and the person you are—or want to grow into throughout your high school experience. This is YOUR decision— and if you are mature enough to be proactive about your high school placement, YOUR needs should be your primary imperative.

SHOULD EVERYONE BE LIKE ME? THE DIVERSITY QUESTION: While you’re going to want to attend a high school where you will find like-minded classmates to befriend, high school should also be a time for you to expand your horizons—to meet, interact with and get to know a diverse student body.  High school is the ideal time for you to become culturally aware and literate in order to become a successful global citizen. You should feel comfortable asking about class content. Does it include other cultures, as well as student experiences such as school-sponsored international trips, exchange programs and digital cultural exchanges (e.g. videoconferencing involving multiple schools, sharing student work with a sister school abroad or using Skype to link different international language students together for conversations)?

DISCUSS YOUR CHOICES WITH YOUR PARENTS:  Dialoguing with parents is a key element of this process. Granted, you may have differing thoughts and opinions about a particular school, but this is a time when the more feedback you have, the better it will be when it comes to assessing all elements of this major decision. Even though YOU will be the one attending a particular school, this is still a decision that will impact other members of your family, and they should be included as factors and a reality check when it comes to funding your education as well as being your transportation to many school-related scenarios. It sure makes things a lot easier when all of you are on the same page and comfortable about your decision.

WHEN YOU GO ON A TOUR ASK QUESTIONS:  Ideally, your tour guide will be a current student at this particular school, and you should be able to ask him/her questions and get honest, direct feedback (understanding, of course, that this will come from their perspective): What electives are there? How are the teachers? What are the clubs? Are there community service and internship options? That’s what tours are for—not only to familiarize YOU with a school, but as an on-site information gathering tool for answers that aren’t always found on a website or viewbook.

DON’T LEAVE A TOUR WISHING YOU ASKED SOMETHING: Remember—you will be spending the next four years at this school. Be sure you want to attend HERE and are able to verbalize why, both to yourself and your parents.

DON’T RULE OUT A SCHOOL FOR ONE THING: Try to look at a school OVERALL and not just for one area of interest of yours.  There are virtually no 100% perfect placements… but you can absolutely get close to your optimal wish list.

TRY TO IMAGINE YOURSELF GOING TO SCHOOL HERE EVERYDAY:  How does it feel walking down the halls? What’s the cafeteria culture like? How are the classes taught? Are the students engaged? Is the teacher engaged? Can you envision yourself there for four years—fulfilled, learning, challenging yourself? If you’re comfortable and happy with many aspects of a particular school, then definitely make it an option.

P.S. HIGH SCHOOL IS NOT JUST A STEPPING STONE TO COLLEGE: It is a profound mistake and misstep to select a high school thinking that ANY school will up your chances to get into the college of your choice.  First of all, you are not the same person you’re going to be four years from now when you apply to college, and these days in the uber-competitive college application process, there are no guarantees regardless of how exceptional a person/student/story you bring to the admissions table. Far better to put college aspirations on the back burner and aim for future success through finding the right high school match that will allow you to put your best self forward in ALL aspects of developing yourself as a student and multi-dimensional person of interest and accomplishment.

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Kate Duey is a private college counselor serving gifted students. She has worked with students on traditional schooling paths, home schooled students, community college students, and students seeking accelerated or early college entrance. Kate is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School. She has a Certificate in College Counseling from UCLA.

What happens if a student graduates from high school exhausted? AP classes, standardized testing, extracurricular activities, sports, music, community service, research projects…and all of those college essays! What if they worked so hard they can’t remember what they like? Are they ready for four or five or six more years?

Among gifted high school students, it is especially important to remember that giftedness is innate to a person, and we should embrace the whole student by supporting their intellectual, social, spiritual, emotional and physical growth. When a gifted student’s high school years disproportionately emphasize intellectual development, the whole person is neglected. Refreshing all parts of a gifted student’s self helps to focus his or her intensities in ways that work with and for the student.

For graduating high school students who find themselves exhausted, an intentional pause to decompress and plan their next steps – a “gap year” between high school and college –could be a viable option. They often enter college with better perspective, more maturity, chronological alignment with his or her class, and enthusiasm for an old or new interest elevates the student’s whole experience.

Taking a gap year does not mean the student does not apply to college as a high school senior; they absolutely should. As a high school student, he or she has access to the teachers and counselors who will write letters of recommendation, grades and test scores are in hand, and good reference materials to search for college are easier to access. Definitely apply! Then, defer.

As a college counselor working with gifted high school students, I’ve twice seriously advised a gap year. One student considered extreme mountaineering, the other living in Europe with extended family. (Admittedly, neither did it.) I’ve talked about it with every student who has an interest in studying foreign languages. Among our tabloid friends, Prince William and Kate Middleton took gap years. Kate spent much of hers studying Italian. Every year, fifty to seventy students defer entrance into Harvard College for a gap year. In 2006, Harvard reported some of the focuses of those gap years:

• Backpacking
• Caring for grandparents
• Writing the Next Great American Novel
• e-commerce startup
• Figure skating
• Kibbutz life
• Language study
• Military service
• Mineralogy
• Ěý˛ŃłÜ˛őľ±ł¦
• Political campaigns
• Reading
• Special needs education
• Sports
• Steel drumming
• Storytelling
• Swing dancing
• Working to save money for college

Parents often worry that, by detaching from a year-to-year academic progression, their child will fall behind. Colleges seldom see it that way, and many letters of admission come with the option of deferring for a year. Once in college, students are often encouraged to take a year off, and college student counseling centers freely offer advice about opportunities. Splitting the difference, some colleges offer mid-year entrance, allowing the student a “gap semester.” American University and Brandeis University have formal off-campus programs for first-year fall semester.

A year off can center around any endeavor. Now that average student indebtedness at graduation is $25,200, saving for a year before college can create more flexibility after college. Another opportunity is more family time, especially with grandparents, which may have been sacrificed for academic achievement.

Some parents and students prefer a structured year. There are many services which will match a student with a gap year program, and a quick internet search will yield many. Also, think outside of the box; my personal favorite was a year at Austin Community College studying blacksmithing.

A gap year can make for a more interesting student, capable of adding more to the academic community. Best of all, students can discover their passions and capture their zeitgeist before they begin college.

Has your child considered taking a gap year? Please share your experience in the comment section below.

Kate will be discussing college admissions at our next . The talk will take place at 6:30 pm on February 13, 2013, at the ÓĹĂŰĘÓƵ Learning Center, located at 625 Fair Oaks Avenue, Suite 288, South Pasadena, CA 91030 (across the hall from the ÓĹĂŰĘÓƵ main office). Please RSVP to reception@educationaladvancement.org. We hope to see you there!

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