The Road Not Taken: How These (Former) High School Seniors Used Their COVID Gap Years
The college-bound class of 2020 was faced with an impossible decision right before their freshman years. Take a risk and defer, or stick it out through online school? Meet the individuals who chose the former.
Campbell Uyeki was all set to attend her freshman year of college in the fall of 2020. But, like so many other high school seniors, she received the news that freshman year would be online– and very restricted. “I didn’t know what to do. Spending all that money just to go to all my classes on Zoom seemed like a waste,” she said. At a loss, Uyeki, and many other students like her, considered a new option: a gap year.
The pandemic brought with it a plethora of challenges that no longer made college an appealing option for many students across the country who had the option. A National Student Clearinghouse Center (NSCRC) study showed that in the spring of 2021, undergraduate enrollment declined by 4.9%, or 727,000 students, making it the sharpest decline since 2011. Mukund Jain, an alumni admissions officer for Duke University and Harvard University, attributes it to students taking gap years. “They want to be sure college is for them,” he said. But with college on hold — temporarily, or perhaps permanently — young adults are rethinking the traditional road taken.
When it comes to taking a gap year, students have to consider a multitude of factors. Uyeki is a 19-year-old from Austin, Texas, attending Rice University as a part of the class of 2025. “I think it comes down to, I wanted to explore, and try new things. I was never gonna get that kind of free time again. So I took advantage of it.” she said.
Uyeki tried a variety of adventures: she lived and operated a laboratory ship for three weeks, went backpacking, and did research on various kinds of animals. “I was able to pursue my interests freely. It really solidified, for me, what I want to do with my life,” she said.
“If I could do it all over again, knowing everything I do now, I definitely would. It was the opportunity to study what I loved without school looming over me.”
Students from all over thought similarly to Uyeki. Ishraj Singh is an 18-year-old from Gurgaon, India, attending Michigan State University for computer science. After high school, he took a gap year. “It gave me the opportunity to be with my family for a year and this pandemic and lockdown gave me the opportunity to spend more time with them,” he said.
Similar to Uyeki, Singh was able to hone in on what he wanted his career to be during his gap year. “I started doing some online courses about computer science about coding and everything. And that gradually developed my interest towards computer science and helped me clarify that I wanted to do this.” he said.
Singh also attended boarding school for ten years before the pandemic. “If I could do it all again knowing what I know now, I would. I learned the importance of being with my parents because I never spent time with them,” he said. “I developed some of my personal projects, did some online courses, and made my personal website. My gap year gave me the freedom to do what I wanted to, which made me comfortable paying for an education in it as well” he said.
As options open for students across the country, changes in student demographics are inevitable. More unconventional approaches to education are starting to emerge, and students are starting to change their priorities. “Since the start of the pandemic, more kids are reassessing their life and purpose and wanting to be sure that that’s the right path for them. it’s given people a chance to discover what they want to do,” said Jain.
“When it comes to students on newer paths, I don’t think there’s an increase in number, but an increase in diversity among students. For example, social entrepreneurship as a major could have been 100 kids before, and now, it’s still 100 kids in more diverse areas. it’s taken a different shape, and you can subsegment social entrepreneurship into different parts. So it’s the same number of people with more granularity among them.”
Although the enrollment rate might have dropped, Professor Vidya Haran, an academic director at the University of Illinois- Urbana Champaign’s Gies Business school, talks about quality over quantity. “The number of students has decreased, and yet the campus is buzzing with activity. There’s a lot more students coming to class, even when attendance is not mandatory. I think they appreciate the face-to-face interaction.” she said.
Students now have more options than ever before, and often create their own. Students are coming into college with highly specialized interests. “College used to be about discovery, and figuring out what you wanted to do when you got there. Now, people are going to college with a very specific goal in mind.” said Jain.
Students like Uyeki are starting to create their own paths to success. She redefined what it means to explore her passions, and break out of a traditional college mold. “I know it’s unconventional- but I wouldn’t trade my experience for the world,” she said.
