52: Taking a Gap Year: Things to Consider

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

Hello, everyone. I know it's been a while since I last recorded. Things have been hectic, but I try to remain committed to publishing an episode at least on a bi weekly basis, even if it's a short episode, because I do think it's important to provide content to my listeners. I know you're listening. I know you're being attentive, and I really appreciate it. I'm happy to continue to share information. One thing that I'm going to talk about today that has been coming up is this idea, discussion topic of taking a gap year. I have heard about this from a variety of different perspectives.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

There's the concern of taking a gap year, for those of us that work for McNair programs, because in our program, we are funded by the US Department of Education. We have a grant and we have certain objectives that we have to meet. One of the objectives is to get a certain percentage of our students to go to graduate school immediately after undergrad. So gap years are not encouraged in the McNair program, because it hurts our numbers. When we report data on our students, if it hurts our numbers, then it hurts our ability to get funded again the following year, and it hurts our ability to then apply for another grant. If you didn't know this, the McNair program is actually a grant funded program. The grant lasts five years. Then after that, every five years, you have to apply for a new grant. So if your numbers are not compliant, and don't meet the objectives that you said you're going to meet in your grant, then you may not be able to continue with the program.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

So it's unfortunate, because as a McNair professional, I have to think about these things, about okay, so we're trying to meet our objectives, but I'm also trying to provide holistic supportive, femtoring to my students. And right now it's one of the most challenging moments we've ever experienced. We've been going through the pandemic for over a year. Our students are burnt out. They may be depressed, some of them. They may be feeling anxious. They are dealing with incredibly challenging circumstances, having to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. They're just going through so much that it's no wonder they're thinking about taking a gap year. Or even in some cases, taking a year off from undergrad, taking a break, taking a leave of absence.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

That's why I think it's important to talk about this, because it is a topic that keeps coming up over and over and over again with our students. They're feeling depleted, and they're losing motivation. They're wondering, is this even worth it? Should I just take time off? For me, it's really hard to encourage or discourage a gap year because I think it really depends on the particularities of your circumstances, you know what I mean? One thing that I tell students a lot is, I can tell you from the perspective of who I was when I was your age, and when I was at that point. I was a young adult. I was not dealing with a pandemic, and I had very particular circumstances. What were my circumstances? As an undergrad, I didn't think a gap year was an option for me, because, one. A lot of the people that I knew that took a gap year could do so because they were able to move back home. Because they moved back home, they were able to live rent free. And because they were able to live rent free, they could work part time, and then the rest of the time, work towards filling in things on their gap, or filling in a gap on their CV to make them more competitive to apply to graduate school in the following year.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

In my situation, I knew my mom's a single mom. There is no room for me to move back home. Literally I would be moving into a living room if I wanted to move back with her, which if you have to do that, you have to do that. But for me, that didn't seem like a sustainable option. I didn't want to stress myself, stress my mom out more financially than she already was. So I thought to myself, no. There's no way I'm moving back home. I'm just not. It's not an option for me. Knowing that I couldn't move back home, that I still had to pay my rent. I still had to pay my other bills. I thought to myself, okay. I'm gonna need to find something to sustain me, to pay my bills and grad school, even though grad students don't make a lot of money, that was still way more money than I had ever made.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

Grad school seemed much more of a feasible option, especially because my undergraduate degree was in English literature. At the time, I couldn't imagine getting a decent paying job with that degree. So I decided, okay, well, either I'm going to work full time at a coffee shop, or I'm going to pursue graduate school and hopefully get a fully funded fellowship that's going to cover my bills. Those were my circumstances. Very, very different from my students now. A lot of my students now are back home. They're back home because they have to, because there's no other option, because they need to help out. They need to take care of their younger siblings, take care of their parents, help out financially. It's very different. I can't tell someone, oh, you shouldn't take a gap year, because they may not have the set of circumstances that I had.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

But if you are taking a gap year, one thing to consider is, think about both sides. The costs and benefits of taking a gap year, versus the costs and benefits of not taking a gap year. Don't just think about the short term, but think about long term. For instance, some people absolutely need to take a gap year because they feel like they didn't get enough experience in undergrad to make them a competitive applicant for masters or PhD programs. So they want to take the gap year and be very strategic with it. They want to take certain community college classes to fill in a gap, or they want to take certain language courses to learn the language that they need for a certain humanities PhD program. They have a plan of things that they need to do. Maybe they want to work as a research assistant full time or work doing field work, or a teacher's aide, or something related to the field that they want to go into so that they have work experience and that will strengthen their application. In that case, of course, it makes sense to take a gap year, because you know that there's not a good chance you'll get into a competitive Masters or PhD program now.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

Sometimes you need to take a gap year because you absolutely need to stay home because of family emergencies. Maybe you have someone who is terminally ill, and you need to be home to take care of them. At the end of the day, maybe it's my Latina perspective, but at the end of the day, at least for me, I've always put family and loved ones first. If you gotta stay home to take care of someone, that makes complete sense, and nobody should discourage you from doing that. So in some cases, you absolutely have to, or you feel like there's a really, really strong need for you to take a gap year. In other cases, it's less clear. You're wondering, will it actually help me, or will it hurt me?

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

Some folks, they think they need a gap year because of dealing with their insecurities, with imposter syndrome, with all the microaggressions from folks making them feel like they're not good enough. But in actuality, they are very strong applicants and they don't realize how strong of an applicant they are. They just need that extra push from a femtor to believe in them and to get them to apply and then they go ahead and get in and go off to graduate school and they're okay.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

It's just really figuring it out. Do I absolutely need to take a gap year? Will actually help me, or could it potentially hurt me? If you feel like, I'm not really sure what I would do with that gap year. I'm not really sure how it would help me. I can't really find research assistantships in my field. There aren't really any community college courses I need to take. There's no certifications that I necessarily am interested in getting. If you feel like everything that I need to apply to graduate school, to apply to a master's, to apply to a PhD, I've already kind of gained that experience now, then it doesn't hurt to apply.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

That's the thing is you can apply to graduate school, and if your circumstances change, and if you change your mind, you can always defer your acceptance. That's why in our program, we are required to have our students apply to graduate school. It is a requirement for our seniors to apply to graduate school that fall quarter of their senior year. Whether or not they go is their decision to make, but we require them. That way, they have more options. That way, by the time they're graduating, by spring quarter of their senior year, they know, okay. I got in here and here and here. Then I can also apply to this research assistantship, and then I can also take a gap year. Then with all of the options out on the table, they can do a pro con list and decide. Maybe the best thing is to go straight into a PhD program, or maybe the best thing is for them to take a gap year and to defer an acceptance to a program, and then just go ahead and get started the following year.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

Keep that in mind. You could still apply to graduate school now, see what your options are. Then if you still want to take a gap year, decide that later. Those are some things to keep in mind when taking a gap year. Now let's say you know for sure, I'm burnt out. I don't think I can sustain this. I don't think it makes sense for me to start graduate school immediately after undergrad. I need to take some time off. Then you want to think strategically about what are the things that you're going to do. Well, first of all, at the end of the day, do you even really need to go to graduate school to pursue the career you want to pursue? That's one thing I want to make clear, because going to graduate school is a big commitment. In some cases, it requires you taking on debt. Some folks, their dream is to start a nonprofit, or to become an entrepreneur. For a lot of those things, you don't actually necessarily need a graduate or advanced degree for that.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

But let's say you know, I really love research, and I really want a career in research and you absolutely need to go to graduate school, but you just don't feel like you have it in you to do it right away. Then yeah, go ahead and take the gap year, but think, okay. What am I going to do to make sure that I'm a competitive applicant in two years when I do finally apply? Still take a look at the applications now and see, okay. I need three letters of recommendation, so I need to make sure that I stay in touch with my recommenders and I know who those three people are. So that when I reach out to them three years from now, they're not going to be completely confused as to who I am. They're going to remember oh, yeah, this is a student from three years ago. They told me they were going to apply, they're checking in now. Yes, I'll write them a letter.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

Think about recommenders, think about the GRE. Is it required for me? Can I take the GRE now? How long will the GRE scores last? I don't know how long they last now, but last time I checked, it was about five years that they lasted. If you take it now, okay, by the time I apply, my GRE scores will still be good. Think about, do they ask for a writing sample? If so, do I have a writing sample now or is it something I'll have to work on later, as I'm working? Are there gaps? What are some things I can do part time while I work, while I do the things that I need to do to take care of myself and to be ready for graduate school when I do apply? Like I said earlier, classes or certification programs, software you can learn, languages you can learn. Just anything that will be a skill that is going to make you stand out when you apply to graduate school, that's great. Or if you can, like I said, secure a part time, or full time research assistant job, that's great too.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

But I want you to basically make this decision in an informed way. You want to plan it out. You want to be strategic. You don't want to just make a decision when you're feeling overwhelmed and burnt out. I think you need to put a little bit more time and energy into this decision and plan it out. That way, you can feel confident in the decision that you make. That way, you know if you are burnt out and let's say you're finally able to to figure out a way to take care of yourself while still doing the work that you're doing, while still being a student, while still applying to graduate school. Maybe you'll change your mind. Maybe you'll say, actually I was just really overwhelmed that day. I don't actually want to take a gap year.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

Sometimes I have my moments too, where I get overwhelmed and I feel overextended and I've got too many projects going on. And I think to myself, do I really want to quit my job? No, actually I don't. I do very much still enjoy my job. I just feel burnt out. And what does that mean when I feel burnt out? I need to take care of myself. I need to schedule fewer meetings. I need to delegate some things. I need to say no to a few things. I need to schedule in time to rest, schedule in self care. Then once I do those things, and I feel a little bit more rested, I'm reminded actually yeah. I had a moment where I felt like giving up, but I actually don't want to. When I am feeling better, this is still what I want to do.

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu

So think about those things. Come up with a plan. If so, think about one, pros and cons of taking a gap year. Then decide yes or no, I am going to take a gap year after you've thought about the pros and cons. If it's a yes, then come up with a plan for what you're going to do during your gap year. Especially if you know for sure that for your career, you do need to pursue an advanced degree. Then work on that plan, so that way, when the time comes and you are applying, you know exactly what you need to do. You know exactly who to reach out to for letters. You know that your GRE scores are going to be valid. You know exactly what writing sample to edit. Have a plan. That way you can feel comfortable and confident in whatever decision you make. I think that's all I have to say about gap years. I hope you found that useful, and we'll be in touch next time. Thank you for listening.