The Foreign Service Journal, June 2006

J U N E 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 69 S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT veterinarian programs do not allow a gap year because they are very care- ful with their quota of offers. ” Taking a gap year may be better for some students than others. O’Connor says her oldest daughter didn’t do a gap year, and was not even interested in discussing one. O’Connor explains: “She was ready to ‘fly the coop’ and anxious to get out on her own. She graduated from high school in Lisbon and is now in year two at the University of York, England (and loves it). We did not think that it would be a good idea for her to do a gap year since she has difficulty getting motivated to do things and would have spent the year sleeping late, hanging out with friends, watching TV and reading. Instead she is doing all of those things in England and going to classes!” Rae Nelson feels that most stu- dents will benefit from a gap year. However, she acknowledges that, “It’s not for everybody.” In particular, Nelson says, students shouldn’t take a gap year instead of dealing with other underlying problems or if they haven’t done the proper research ahead of time. Considerations for FS Families Lina Brown, a Foreign Service dependent who graduated from high school in June 2005, was set on going to college. She was debating among several universities in the Washington area. However, she says, “I made a sudden decision to move to Beijing with my family and do a gap year.” Brown adds that her gap year in China has turned out to be difficult. Why? “Apparently with my diplomat- ic status, I am not allowed to enroll in a university’s classes or programs,” explains Brown. Confronted with the option of either giving up her diplo- matic status to learn Chinese in a uni- versity or keeping it and finding other ways to learn the language, Brown ended up keeping her diplomatic sta- tus. This is not necessarily the case in other nations. For example, South It is important to research different programs and look closely at one’s internal motivation for taking a gap year.