Great Gap Year Programs

List produced by the Experts

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Studio Arts Center International (saci-florence.org): Students are selected on the basis of their portfolios to study art in Florence, Italy.
Tante Marie Gap Year (tantemarie.co.uk): Gappers can participate in three short cooking courses taught by professionals in the United Kingdom.
Where There Be Dragons (wheretherebedragons.com): Dragons offers rugged, well-planned travel to developing countries.
Yomps (yomps.co.uk): Yomps provides adventure travel and the possibility to learn to become a water ski or white water rafting guide.
African Impact (africanimpact.com): Projects range from lion rehabilitation to medical assisting to adventure travel.
Altitude Futures Gap Course Verbier (altitude-futures.co.uk): Opportunities to become a fully qualified ski or snowboard instructor.
China Recruitment (china-recruitment.co.uk): Arranges teaching placements for gap year students in China. Students learn Mandarin and get a TEFL certificate.
Cordon Bleu C of Culinary Arts (cordonbleu.edu) and Le Cordon Bleu C of Culinary Arts (lcblondon.com): Offers short and long courses, intensive courses, and various level of study. Students are not required to complete the entire Cordon Bleu certification, but can try a "taster." Cordon Bleu courses are offered in many parts of the world.
Fly Gap (flygap.com): Go to Switzerland and learn to paraglide. There are both short courses and longer courses where students can become pilots and instructors.
Frontier (frontier.ac.uk): Offers opportunities to dive, teach, and trek with a development organization. Students can learn a foreign language and gain TEFL certification. Projects are available in most developing countries of the world.
Gap Guru (Gapguru.com): For those over 18, the company matches individuals with projects in India.
Gap Sports (gapsports.com): Students can play, coach, and qualify in sports overseas. Participants can work on community projects in sports in developing countries, receive training as a ski/snowboard instructor with paid work experience, or even become a cricket coach.
Gap Year (GapYear.com): For the "do-it-yourselfer," Gap Year offers opportunities to teach in places without a degree or work in fields such as journalism and health.
Gap Year Advantage Global Learning Across Borders (global-lab.org): These programs, offered in such locations as Morocco and Southeast Asia, offer cultural immersion via language study, home stays, community service, and independent study.
Green Force (greenforce.org): Students can participate for conservation or for recreation.
International Hotel School (hotelschool.co.za): Gappers find short courses in the hospitality industry. Programs last up to a year. The Plettenberg Equestrian Academy, a division of the International Hotel School, offers a program in equine studies.
I-to-I (i-to-i.com): Five hundred projects of various lengths in several dozen countries. Programs include ethical volunteer travel, English language training, teaching, and conservation projects.
Kwa Madwala Private Game Reserve (kwamadwala.net/gap-year-experiences): South of Kuger Park in South Africa, Kwa Madwala offers a variety of experiences for gappers.
Leiths School of Food And Wine (leiths.com): Students live on their own or board with a family in the heart of London.
Madventurer (madventurer.com): Many unique opportunities for those who want to take time off.
Oxford Advanced Study Program (oasp.ac.uk): Attracts students who want an internship or to take courses as part of an interim year experience. Open to college and high school students.
Projects Abroad (projects-abroad.co.uk): Offers teaching and other opportunities. The program sends more than 3,000 people annually on a variety of projects in developing countries.
Quest Overseas (questoverseas.com): Will arrange an array of activities, including adventure travel and working with animals and children.
Raleigh International (raleighinternational.org): Based in London, these structured overseas programs work with host country government ministries and international development organizations. Gappers work in groups alongside other volunteers from a variety of backgrounds and nationalities.
Real Gap (realgap.co.uk): Offers a range of programs from community service to paid positions.
Shumba Experience (shumbaexperience.co.uk): Opportunities are available to participate in a variety of conservation projects and community work in Africa.
Sojourns Abroad (sojournsabroad.org): A variety of personally mentored programs are available to instill self-confidence in students and help them learn about contemporary Europe.
Southern France Youth Institute (southernfranceyouthinstitute.com): These are structured gap year or post-graduate programs.

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About This List

A gap year is a year off between high school and college. (Awesome, right?) But instead of lazing around for a year, Sandy Furth, M.S., educational consultant at World Student Support in Colorado, suggests the following programs for students taking a gap year.

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