Gap Year Programs From Rustic Pathways

A gap year is a break between high school and college or during college, usually lasting 6–12 months. Students often travel, work, volunteer, or gain real-world experience before continuing their education.

High school counselors know that the college admissions office cares about more than academics. Students that gain admission to top schools need to have the life experiences, personal awareness, intellectual growth, and critical thinking to start college with academic momentum.

Increasingly, secondary school graduates will defer enrollment for formal gap year programs, particularly those sanctioned by the gap year association.

The gap year concept has gained traction between formal education levels (high school and college degree or between college and graduate school). Gap years help high school students gain life experience and gain perspective.

During the gap year, students tackle community service, mandatory military service, religious mission or structured programs. After a gap year, colleges expect mature students, ready to lead and learn.

What are the benefits of gap year?

Gap years offer many benefits, including gaining a global perspective, clarifying personal and career goals, and acquiring valuable career experience through international travel programs or volunteering. This comes without the substantial debt of college.

What Are Some Considerations For Potential Gap Year Students

Many gappers lack the money to self-finance a gap year. According to the United States National Center for Education Statistics, almost 86 percent of students receive financial aid to attend college. Students may need to save money or live with a host family to fund living expenses while abroad.

Further, gap year is a relatively niche activity. Most Americans ages 18-24 do not attend college. Of those that do, many students need to work. 34% of U.S. full-time students and 72% of part time students work at least 10 hours per week.

How do Rustic Pathways Gap Year programs work?

Rustic Pathways Gap Year experiences include adventure and community service. Then, our programs encourage students to continue their education on campus. Rustic Pathways is at the forefront of the gap year movement. For the 2025-26 gap year, enrollees will join a community service-based gap semester.

So, what is a gap year? It’s anything you want it to be. If you’d like to learn more about how Rustic’s gap year is right for you, please let us know. We’re here to help!

• 98% of gap year students indicated that their gap year experience helped them grow as a person.
• 97% of gap year students indicated their experience helped them gain maturity and 96% answered that their experience on a gap year gave them more self-confidence.
• 75% of gap year alumni in the survey believed their gap year improved their preparation for college, impacted their career field, or helped them get a job.

*All Data from the American Gap Association 2015 National Gap Year Alumni Survey.

Ready to learn more about how taking a gap year works?

You Can Supplement Traditional Classroom Learning with Experiential Education

You’ve been through the intense pressure to get into college. That’s important, but so is taking time to explore and learn outside of the classroom before making life-defining decisions.

A gap year provides a welcome relief from the years of hard work it takes to get to graduation day. It also gives you life skills and experiences that will make you a stronger student in college and help you prepare to launch a satisfying career.

You Will Arrive on Campus More Prepared for College

More universities are actively encouraging students to take structured gap years and many even subsidize gap year programs. That’s because independent studies of gap year alumni have shown that they return from their experiences more mature, confident, and with a better understanding of what they want to study and which career paths they plan to pursue.

Develop New Skills That Will Position You for Success

Educational institutions and employers value empathy, curiosity, resilience, maturity, and global understanding in their students and employees. These qualities correlate far more closely with future success and happiness than high grades alone. Gap year programs provide unmatched opportunities for building these strengths through real-world experiences.

Discover Your Passions While Experiencing the World

Interested in medicine? Explore developing countries and learn how preventable diseases still cause so much harm. Considering a career in law? Observe the rights of citizens in various countries across the world. Not sure of your career path? Immerse yourself in the global community and open yourself to options you may never have considered—or even known about—before.

1. You’ll perform better after arriving on campus.
2. A gap year will help you discover your interests and passions, and identify a future career path.
3. Gap years will also provide you with unparalleled experiences for personal growth.
4. A gap year can help you hone essential interpersonal skills, including confidence, independence, compassion, self-awareness, communication, and more.
5. Top colleges and universities support gap years and even encourage incoming freshmen to defer for a year before beginning their college studies.

Am I eligible to take a Gap Year? What is eligibility for Gap Year programs?

We invite all potential college students to apply for a Rustic Pathways gap year. If you’re in doubt as to whether a gap year is for you, please call. We do require our gap year students to meet the following criteria.

1. Be 17-22 years old.
2. Have graduated from high school or can provide official documentation from their high school stating that they have fulfilled all graduation requirements.
3. Not require regular therapy or psychiatric consultations during programs.
4. Not be legally adjudicated or on probation.
5. Read, understand, and follow written and verbal instruction given by our staff and activity providers in English.
6. Openly and constructively communicate with program staff and fellow students.
7. Self-manage personal health and wellbeing, including medication or medical treatment, nutrition, allergies, hydration, and emotions.
8. Exercise tolerance and respect toward people of various cultures, religions, ethnicities, genders, and nationalities.
9. Cope with various environmental challenges such as heat, cold, altitude, precipitation, dust, insects, and other elements specific to each program.
10. Independently assess conditions, identify hazards, and act appropriately to avoid danger.