The Gap Experience
Typically, approximately 60 students choose to delay the start of their ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï education for a year, and an additional 30 students admitted to our Winter Start program delay their start by a semester. Before joining the CC community to begin their formal college experience, these students take time away from school to make a difference in the lives of others, to spend time working, or to explore a topic or a place they're curious about.
ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï is supportive of gap requests because we believe that designing and pursuing a year-long or semester-long adventure of your own making supercharges students' personal and intellectual growth. We see that students who take year-long and semester-long gaps before beginning their time at CC graduate at higher rates with higher GPAs, are more likely to stick with their declared majors, are more likely to be leaders on our campus, and are less likely to have disciplinary infractions while enrolled at CC.
Continue reading below to learn how to request a gap, and for information about specific program options and credit transfer. For more on orientation and housing for our Winter Start program (starting at CC in January after a gap semester), visit our Winter Start page.
If you don't find the information you need, please write to us at admission@coloradocollege.edu!
requesting a gap
For most students, the simplest way to approach a gap is to apply to college during your senior year of high school, accept an offer of admission, and then request to defer your enrollment for a year or a semester. Some students will indicate interest in a gap while completing their admission application, and may be admitted directly into a gap year or gap semester. However, any admitted student may request a gap once they've accepted our offer of admission. Plan to make your request in the spring of your senior year, after receiving our offer of admission but no later than May 1.
You can start the request process by notifying us via email at admission@coloradocollege.edu that you're interested in a gap year or gap semester, and we'll send you a link to a form to complete online to officially indicate interest in a gap. On that form you'll tell us about your gap plan. Think of your gap request as a thoughtful proposal that you genuinely intend to fulfill, but which may require some modifications at a later date.
Your gap year plan does not have to be in its final stage at the time you submit your request, but you should offer some specifics about what you'll be doing, and why.
- Why do you want to delay your enrollment?
- Where will you be?
- Who will you be with?
- What are you hoping to learn?
- What is the timeline of your plan?
We will routinely approve any request provided you satisfy the following requirements:
- Express your interest in taking a gap after you've received your admission notification.
- Submit your request on or before May 1 of the year you're admitted to ºÚÁϳԹÏ.
- Complete and submit your enrollment agreement form within the .
- Submit the enrollment deposit if required.
- Agree to enroll at ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï after you complete your gap year.
- As a condition of approval, you are not permitted to enroll as a degree-seeking student at a different college or university during your gap year. If you want to take classes at a local college or university during your gap, you may enroll in that institution as a non-degree-seeking student.
- In the month of February of your gap year, you agree to complete an electronic survey acknowledging that you still intend to enroll at ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï in the fall. Within that acknowledgement, we'll ask for an update of your gap year experience. After we receive your completed survey, you will receive confirmation of your guaranteed seat in the incoming first-year class.
Sometimes we meet students who have already graduated from high school and started a gap year before applying to ºÚÁϳԹÏ. This can make sense for some students, but students who choose this path should be ready to navigate additional challenges in the application process. Without easy access to your high school counselor or registrar, it can be difficult to arrange for transcripts and recommendations to be sent to the colleges you're applying to. If you decide to take this approach, speak with your high school counselor prior to graduation to make a plan for processing your college applications during your gap year.
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Gap Resources
Gap semesters and gap years look different for every student. Some students create an adventure of their own design, traveling independently or with friends or family, spending time volunteering on a farm or with a volunteer organization (sometimes in exchange for meals and housing), interning in a career field that interests them, or splitting up their year by working or volunteering for half of the year, and embarking on an adventure for the other half.
Some students plan their gap year with the help of an organization that has experience in creating safe and memorable gap experiences for students, offering a supportive environment and built-in community for a student's gap time.
At ºÚÁϳԹÏ, we don't have a preference for whether you spend your gap time in a formal program or pursuing an adventure of your own design, but we do want to offer some resources to help you think through your gap plans. The website is a helpful resource for students contemplating a gap experience. Offering a wealth of guidance and practical tools, it facilitates informed decision-making and effective planning. In addition to the information you'll find from the Gap Year Association, below you'll find organizations that some of our students have worked with in the past. Perhaps one of them will be a good fit for you.
For-Credit Programs
Through our partnership with , ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï offers a Fall Semester Away and a First Year Away program with seamless transfer of academic credits to ºÚÁϳԹÏ. Students who have already been admitted to CC can start their college experience by studying with Verto for a year or a semester in one of Verto's five global locations, and join CC with college credits that are already approved for transfer. Verto has programs in the following cities:
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Prague, Czech Republic
- London, England
- Florence, Italy
- Seville, Spain
- Jordan: Identity & Human Resilience (Fall)
- Panama: Climate & Environment (Fall)
- South Africa: Global Health & Well-Being (Fall)
- Argentina: Global Health & Well-Being (Spring)
- Portugal: Climate & Environment (Spring)
- Samoa: Identity & Human Resilience (Spring)
- Beijing, China
- Shanghai, China
- Siena, Italy
- Osaka, Japan
- Amman, Jordan
- Taipei, Taiwan
has been providing study abroad international exchange programs since 1947, and they are one of the approved partner programs CC uses for our regular undergraduate study abroad program. In their gap program, you may choose from seven locations around the world, with 12-week programs designed specifically for students between high school and college. Each location yields 12-13 U.S. semester credits transcripted by the CIEE School of Record, Dean College, which is equal to 3.00 to 3.25 CC block units.
- Barcelona, Spain
- Berlin, Germany
- Kyoto, Japan
- London, England
- Monteverde, Costa Rica
- Rome, Italy
- Sydney, Australia
is a leader in environmental field study semester programs, offering programs in Australia, Bhutan, Cambodia, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Italy, Kenya, Panama, Peru, Tanzania, and Turks & Caicos Islands. A full semester of credit can be earned on SFS programs. Gap students are welcome to apply, but must be at least 18 years old and have completed one college-level course in ecology, biology, environmental science/studies, or a related field as determined by SFS. Gap students may fulfill this prerequisite by
- achieving a 4 or a 5 on the AP environmental science or AP bio exam OR
- taking a course at a local college over the summer and submitting a transcript showing at least a C in the course before entering the SFS program.
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Credit-Optional Programs
We believe that learning extends beyond the classroom, and that a well-designed, educational gap-year can help students find and pursue their passions. Our partnership with engages students in , an immersive learning program where students learn how to create a meaningful impact on human rights issues during a semester in South Africa. Students expand their global perspective and sense of purpose through a research-backed curriculum, cultural immersion experiences, and apprenticeships with organizations advancing human rights issues.
The Take Action Lab program offers an option to enroll and receive academic credit for one course, "Systems and Societies" (4 semester credits, which equals one CC unit). ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï will accept this course for one unit of credit; please make sure to officially opt in for the credit-bearing option, and have your final transcript sent to CC upon completion of the program (transcripts are issued by Minerva Schools at KGI).
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Non-Credit Programs
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Additional Considerations
There are many options listed above that have worked well for previous CC gap students, but if the programs listed above aren't what you're looking for, there are many other high quality options to consider, and the is a good place to continue your search.
If you choose to take part in a credit-bearing gap year or gap semester program before you join us, it is important to identify whether the program you have chosen to participate in meets ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï guidelines for transfer credit. Remember that 4 U.S. semester credits = 1 block or unit of credit at CC.
Please familiarize yourself with the ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï Registrar Office's overall guide to transferring credits in to ºÚÁϳԹÏ. To be eligible for credit transfer into ºÚÁϳԹÏ, your gap year program must specifically do two things:
- Be offered by an accredited, degree-granting institution of higher post-secondary education, or an educational organization (often these educational organizations use an accredited "school of record" to issue their transcripts). They must be able to issue you an accredited transcript upon completion of your program; ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï cannot accept certificates, nor issue ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï credit for hours spent learning through non-accredited organization.
- Offer coursework that is liberal arts in nature, if you wish for the class to be eligible for transfer to ºÚÁϳԹÏ. This means, broadly speaking, it should fall under a discipline/academic field offered here at ºÚÁϳԹÏ.
In addition to these two requirements above for yielding transferable credit, ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï would also encourage you to look for a program that aligns with the educational study abroad philosophies that ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï uses when selecting our partner programs:
- The program abroad offers a curriculum that reflects or utilizes the resources of the area to a considerable degree, and provides a cross-cultural experience, with significant opportunities to interact the host culture.
- The program provides significant opportunities to advance knowledge of a foreign language if the program is based in a non-English speaking country.
- The program will provide robust health and safety support, including major emergency/hospitalization coverage, emergency insurance & coordinated evacuation coverage if needed.
If you have questions about the specific program you are considering, or to learn more about if the courses will be transferable to ºÚÁϳԹÏ, we invite you to contact our Center for Global Education, who will coordinate with the Registrar at ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï to review the courses you hope to take and transfer back to ºÚÁϳԹÏ. You may email information about the program (please include a link to the URL, as well as specific course information if you have it) to start a conversation:
Heather Powell Browne, Assistant Director
Center for Global Education & Field Study
(719) 389-6918
hpb@coloradocollege.edu
Need-based awards
Students awarded need-based financial aid at CC and then approved for a gap year must re-apply for financial aid during their gap year, including completing and submitting the FAFSA, the CSS Profile, and uploading relevant tax documents). CC financial aid awards cannot be used during a student's gap semester or year. Learn more about need-based financial aid at CC.
Merit-based awards
Merit aid awarded by CC cannot be used during a gap year or semester. In most cases, students awarded a ºÚÁÏ³Ô¹Ï merit-based scholarship will have this merit-based award reinstated upon their enrollment at CC. We encourage you to inquire about your specific merit award by writing to the Financial Aid Office at financialaid@coloradocollege.edu.
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