Creating a Test-Prep Plan That Works for Your Gap-Year Clients

It should come as no surprise that the COVID-19 pandemic pushed otherwise college-bound high school seniors to take a gap year after graduation. Many students who graduated in the springs of 2019 and 2020 chose to either defer or take a year off rather than enroll and pay for a diminished college experience.

Depleted from remote learning and seemingly no end in sight for a return to “normalcy,” a lot of graduates decided on a much-needed break before committing to higher education.

Typically (read: pre-pandemic), gap-year students take time off to travel, work, or volunteer. However, for gap-year students during the pandemic, travel bans, quarantines, and families in crisis made some of those aspirations nearly impossible. 

Now, in 2021 - almost 2022 - the pandemic is still underway, but at least now colleges and universities are open for in-person classes and many study-abroad opportunities are available again. Thus, gap-year students are ready to begin preparing for their academic futures.

Helping Your Gap-Year Clients Get Back Into a School Mindset

For starters, taking a gap year does not equate to students being behind the eight ball. Most students use that time for personal growth and enrichment, which can only add to future academic improvement and success.

Gap-year students have an advantage here in that they are now adults who are most likely seeking a test-prep professional of their own volition. Meaning that they are more motivated and driven for their own success rather than having to appease their high schools and parents. They’ve had more time to appraise the worth of a higher education and are more focused on what they want their education and career path to look like. 

That being said, getting back into a normal flow of practice and study can be difficult. Without a structured school routine and environment, gap-year students may need help organizing and scheduling dedicated practice and study time each week. They will require an organized, test-prep plan that aligns with their personal and academic goals and objectives. 

Tutors and test-prep professionals: consider why your gap-year clients chose to take a gap year, what they’ve accomplished or are accomplishing during that time, and then formulate an individualized plan based on what strategy will best serve their ambitions.

Tutors and students should work together to build back up any exam-related skills that may have deteriorated during their time off from school. You want to make sure that these abilities are reestablished and strengthened during and in between your test-prep sessions.

To help, here are a few tips and tricks that we highly recommend for all students prepping for their exams, but especially for gap-year students getting back into a school mindset. What’s more, these suggestions can easily be implemented into a daily routine to really extend your students’ test-prep.

• Expanding vocabulary is crucial for test-prep and helpful for every section of the exams. Learning new vocabulary is best accomplished through reading - and there are a variety of ways in which students can learn how to commit new words and phrases to memory. 

• Reading an array of genres - from literary narratives and social sciences to history and science (ACT®) will get students reacquainted with these subject areas. A vast selection of reading materials will help students easily incorporate reading as test prep into their daily routines.

• Setting a purpose while reading will help give direction and motivation while building on reading comprehension and vocabulary.

• Practice is key for math (and ACT® science):

  • While science is unique in that some reading and vocab strategies will certainly help regain any lost terminology, there are also some non-science skills that students should become refamiliarized with, which will help them succeed on the ACT®.

  • For math, getting reacquainted with essential math formulas and exam-related content will help jog their memories and ease them back into practice.

Before digging in, be sure to work with your gap-year clients to create achievable test-prep goals that match their academic ambitions.

Taking the ACT® or SAT® After High School

Gap-year students have already graduated from high school; therefore, many of them have already taken either the ACT® or the SAT® as their exit exam. However, gap-year students have a prime opportunity to improve upon their old scores. Even those who have already taken their exams will benefit from taking another swing, as even one point more can make a huge difference when applying to colleges and universities.

Whether or not your gap-year students have previously taken the ACT® or SAT®, the process of taking or retaking hardly differs from high school. 

• For the ACT®, gap-year students must register on the ACT® website and follow the exact same steps for registration as any other student would.

• For the SAT®, students must register through the College Board website and follow the steps outlined for registration.

As a side note: yes, gap-year students will most likely be taking their exams with high school students at the same locations - usually a high school, community college campus, or a testing center. Just like all students, the earlier gap-year students register for their exam, the more likely they will be able to choose the location they want to take their exam at. 

And, based on personal experience, taking the ACT® or the SAT® as an adult is not a big deal. Your gap-year students may think they’ll stick out like sore thumbs, but I assure you, they won’t. They will probably garner little to no notice from other students who are, in essence, focused on attaining the same results from their own test day. 

With a dedication to focused practice and study, students can use their gap-year to their advantage and be able to submit solid standardized test scores to their choice colleges. Capitalizing on what essentially amounts to a bonus year to study and prepare for college is an awesome opportunity and could very well bolster their chances of getting admitted to a top-choice college or even one of their reach schools.

Whether or not gap-year students choose to apply to test-optional schools, boasting a high test score on a college application will assuredly make their application catch the eye of college admissions - especially during a record year for college applications.

Applying to Colleges During or After a Gap Year

Best case scenario: your gap-year clients embarked on their year off with a well-organized plan in mind to travel (not as likely with the pandemic, but still possible), work, and/or volunteer before committing to a 4+-year program.

Worst case scenario: your gap-year clients spent their year flying by the seat of their pants, chasing every whim, unsure of whether college would ever be the right fit for them.

In either case, these gap-year clients have come to you, settled on seeking a higher education and ready to put in the work to pursue their dreams.

High School Records & Transcripts

Ideally, gap-year students have already obtained their high school records and transcripts along with teacher and coach recommendations before their graduation. If this is not the case, don’t fret - their high schools will still have their records and transcripts on file.

Letters of Recommendation

For teacher or coach recommendations- these are best when obtained while in high school, so that recommendations are more descriptive with the student-teacher/student-coach relationship fresh in mind. That being said, if those letters of recommendations were not sought out while still attending high school, gap-year students should still try to reach out and make contact through their high schools or former teams to request them. 

Additionally, gap-year students should really consider getting a letter of recommendation from someone whom they’ve known during their gap year. This could be a teacher from an enrichment course, a supervisor from work, or a personal mentor - someone who can attest to how they’ve made the most of their time during their year away.

College Applications

When filling out their applications or completing supplemental essays, gap-year students should not shy away from explaining why they chose to take a year off before college. A strong personal statement sharing their inspiration for doing so is important, especially if they are able to express the value of that time and what they were able to achieve - personally and/or academically. They can easily parlay this explanation into why they are now ready to pursue their higher education, what their goals and ambitions are, and how they plan on pursuing those dreams.

Taking a gap year offers many students the potential for experiential learning that they otherwise would have never experienced. Students should highlight any additional enrichment courses or experiences that they’ve had during their gap-year. Any opportunities that students have had to further develop abilities such as critical thinking, problem-solving, math, or reading comprehension should be touted and will be viewed by college admissions as a dedication to personal and academic growth.

Many colleges are open to the idea of students taking a gap year and will appreciate the unique experiences that they have had during that time. Gap-year applicants bring a different perspective and level of maturity that differ from typical prospective students. In fact, many schools even encourage prospective students to take a gap year as more often than not, gap-year experiences make students more mature, focused, confident, and driven. 

For more information, the Gap Year Association is an excellent resource for students (and test-prep professionals) for helping gap-year students traverse the college application process and also get a better idea of what some colleges and universities think of gap-year applicants. 

Clear Choice Prep is dedicated to helping you and your test-prep business best support your clients - no matter which path they have chosen in pursuit of higher education. Our 100% custom-branded test-prep software, curriculum, and workbooks can help take your test-prep business to the next level, so that you can focus on what’s most important - helping your clients achieve their academic dreams.