Gap Year Solutions

Katherine was extremely helpful and encouraging while helping me plan my gap year. She provided lots of insight and encouragement, and really helped create a unique and personalized experience for me. Her expertise was clear with how much detail and information she had on ways to plan my gap year. Not only did she just provide information, but she also provided her own thoughts after visiting in person a variety of programs herself. She went above and beyond and even now continues to check in on me and hear about what I’m up to now.

Katherine helped our family navigate exciting and important gap year decisions. What I appreciated most is that she put the student in the driver's seat, letting the have agency over decisions. Katherine supported our student's growth and boosted her confidence along the way. Our child's gap year experience altered who she has become in seemingly innumerable positive ways.

In today's world of insane college admissions, a gap year provides opportunities for personal growth outside the bubbles our kids have lived in through high school. Students gain perspective and maturity that serves them well throughout college and beyond.

As a parent of an 18-year-old student who completed her gap year in 2022-2023, I highly recommend Gap Year Solutions - which provided ongoing, expert consulting to my daughter during her gap year. This consulting helped her identify multiple suitable gap year programs and local job possibilities, and make great choices. As a result, she emerged well-prepared for independent, dorm-based living and to choose a college major in which she is now thriving. The periodic consulting calls (most with the student, some with parents) helped keep my daughter on track and helped boost her confidence in herself and her college path.

Taking a gap year was the most difficult, and best decision of my life. Working with Katherine Stievater was a big part of why it was the best decision. I knew I wanted some sort of travel trip, and Katherine laid out multiple options that fit my interests. The ARCC Pacific Northwest trip itself fulfilled every one of my desires. I traveled to the most beautiful parts of the country while simultaneously building relationships with other students. I had the opportunity to work in a group every day and take on a leadership role. Learning from my gap year turned me into the person I am today and is something all students should consider. As a college student, I have talked about my gap year in every interview I've been in because it was that meaningful of an experience. Working with Katherine was an absolute pleasure and critical to my gap year's success.

Coming out of high school I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Taking a gap year seemed like a good idea but I had no idea where to start. Thankfully I found Gap Year Solutions because otherwise I wouldn’t have known what to do. Katherine Stievater helped me so much through my gap year. She helped me make a list of things I’d want to do during the year, helping me have a plan. She also looked for and recommended gap year programs for me. Katherine took what I found interesting and recommended programs that would fit me. Without her I wouldn’t have found the two programs I went on. I had the best experiences of my life during my gap year. Without Katherine it would have been a very different year.