87. Should You Take a Gap or PG Year? With Educational Consultant Annie Reece
Episode 87
The most traditional journey after high school is directly to a four-year college. But for many students, there is a much smarter path to take.
In this expert interview with education consultant Annie Reece, we demystify the gap year and PG year options for students.
If you haven’t heard of these options or you’ve never considered them for your family, this episode just might change everything you thought you knew about this magical year after high school.
What You Learn:
The difference between gap years and PG years
What kind of student benefits from taking a gap or PG year
The key to making a gap or PG year successful (and not a waste of time or money)
How to pay for this year after high school, and where to find the best opportunities
How a gap or PG year can amplify your college investment
🔗 Resources + Episodes Mentioned:
SchoolHabits University (Parents, go here)
SchoolHabits University (Students, go here)
The College Note-Taking Power System (Brand New Program!)
Episode 82: Post-Grad Gap Years and Should You Check Email in the Morning
Never stop learning.
▶ ✏️Get my FREE parent training: How to Help Your Student Handle School Like a Pro — Without Study Frustration, Assignment Overwhelm, or All the Drama (If you’re the parent of a high school or college student, this training is for you.)
About Annie Reece
Annie Reece is an independent educational consultant who helps families find the boarding school, gap year, semester, or summer program where their child will truly thrive. Since founding Right Fit Educational Consulting in 2013, she has guided families toward opportunities that match each student’s strengths, interests, and aspirations, not just their transcripts. Her approach is highly personal and collaborative. Annie takes time to understand the whole student and the family’s priorities, creating thoughtful matches grounded in trust, open communication, and deep knowledge of the options available. She tours campuses, meets with admissions directors, and maintains close connections with fellow consultants to ensure her recommendations reflect the most current and nuanced insights. A member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), Gap Year Association (GYA), and Small Boarding School Association (SBSA), Annie works best with families who value a tailored process and a partner as committed to their child’s success and well-being as they are.
Find Annie on Instagram @rightfiteducation
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The following transcript was autogenerated and may contain some interesting and silly errors. But in the name of efficiency and productivity, I am choosing not to spend my time fixing them 😉
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:33:06
Well. Hello and welcome to the Learn and Work Smarter podcast. This is episode 87 and it is one of our monthly expert interview episodes. And this is where I try to, once a month, bring you an expert on some of the topics that we talk about, and today is a good conversation. Today's conversation is going to be important for parents who have students in the high school and college range, and it is also super important for students who are in high school and even in the college range as well, because we are talking about gap year and PG yers, PG post-grad and contrary to what you might think.
00:00:33:12 - 00:00:59:00
This conversation is not just for high school students headed to college, or maybe not if they're going to take a gap year or a PG year. But it can also be something that students who are currently in college can choose to take as well. Today I am talking with Annie Reese, and he is an independent educational consultant who helps families find the boarding school, the gap year, the semester, or the summer program where their child will truly thrive.
00:00:59:02 - 00:01:22:24
Since finding the right fit educational consulting in 2013, she has guided families toward opportunities that match each student's strengths, their interests, their aspirations, and not just their transcripts. Her approach is highly personal and collaborative because it only takes time to understand the whole student and the family's priorities, creating thoughtful matches grounded in trust, open communication, and deep knowledge of the options available.
00:01:23:03 - 00:01:46:13
When we talk with Annie, you're going to know that that's the exact approach that she takes. You can just tell from her angle and her compassion in the way that she shares her advice. A member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association, the Gap Year Association and the Small Boarding School Association, and Annie works best with families who value a tailored process and a partner as committed to their child's success and well-being as they are.
00:01:46:15 - 00:02:02:15
In today's episode, Annie shares with us some valuable insights for parents and students who are curious about shifting up the traditional trajectory of going directly from high school to college. It's going to be an awesome conversation, so let's get into it.
00:02:02:15 - 00:02:28:01
Hello, you are listening to the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, the podcast for students and professionals who want to learn and work smarter. I'm your host, executive function coach, and founder of School habits.com Katie as of Ito. As a reminder, everything I mentioned in today's episode will be linked in the show notes, including a link to the transcript, which you can also find at Learn and Work smarter.com/podcast.
00:02:28:01 - 00:02:34:08
Well hello. Annie Reece, thank you for coming on the show. I am so excited for today's conversation.
00:02:34:08 - 00:02:36:20
Thanks, Katie. I'm so excited to be here.
00:02:36:20 - 00:02:41:22
Yes. So there's a number of reasons that I'm excited to have you on the show today.
00:02:41:24 - 00:03:20:02
Of course, you are an expert in the topic that we are covering gap years and PG years, but I think that you're the perfect person to have on this show to help me emphasize the message that I really like to spread on the learn and work smarter podcast, which is figure out what works for you. And that there is no one right way to do the things and to reach your goals. And I think today's conversation offers is going to offer some new insight and a new angle on what that could look like for students who are in this intersection of okay, well, high school is wrapping up or is wrapped up and
00:03:20:02 - 00:03:27:05
college may or may not be on the horizon. What are my choices? So that's what I'm excited to have you on the show for.
00:03:27:05 - 00:03:29:18
Yeah, exactly. Awesome.
So I would like to just start with some basics. Some people might understand the concept of a gap year or a PG year, but let's just out of the gate cover our terms and definitions.
00:03:40:24 - 00:03:44:08
What is a gap year? What is a PG year? Is there a difference?
00:03:44:08 - 00:04:10:12
There is a difference. So a PG year is almost like a second senior year. So it's for students who have already graduated high school and they're looking to take another senior year. And there could be different reasons. It could be for academics. They just feel like they need to, take some extra classes.
00:04:10:12 - 00:04:35:16
They want to boost their GPA. They they might need a little time to mature. They're looking to build some skills, you know, independent skills. Or it could be for things like athletics or the arts, and they want to sort of build their portfolio or hone their skills. So a PG year often takes place at a, boarding school or a prep school.
00:04:35:16 - 00:04:50:04
So a student has already graduated from high school and then they reapply as a post-graduate to a different, usually a private institution. So, a boarding school or a prep school.
00:04:50:04 - 00:04:56:19
A gap year is something a little different. So a gap year is for students who,
00:04:56:19 - 00:05:09:00
they could have graduated from high school, they could be in college, or they could have graduated college, and they just are taking some intentional time to focus on personal growth.
00:05:09:02 - 00:05:18:21
And that could be for a variety of reasons. Sometimes students are just burnt out after high school and they need a little time to reset. And,
00:05:18:21 - 00:05:29:21
rest before they go into college. Sometimes students want to hone some specific skills before going to college. Sometimes students
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have some mental health issues they want to address or they're just not feeling ready to jump into college.
00:05:35:07 - 00:05:46:18
They don't have the independence skills or the life skills or the motivation right away. So a gap year is a little bit it's there are two separate paths that students can follow.
00:05:46:18 - 00:05:55:09
Okay. So thank you for that clarification. I have covered a little bit of gap years on the show before. Someone had asked about taking a gap year,
00:05:55:09 - 00:05:56:24
to do some traveling.
00:05:57:03 - 00:06:18:17
And my feed- I mean, you're the expert in gap years- but my feedback from my side of the microphone was like, heck yes. If you're intentional about it, yes. And so I'm glad that you threw that in there and kind of verified the advice that I gave. in in my answer. Are there any downsides to taking a gap or a PG year?
00:06:18:17 - 00:06:32:10
I mean, of course, if they're working with, you know, an educational consultant or someone like you, they're going to be well guided into making this decision. But I would imagine that some people are making this decision without thinking it all the way through. So what are some potential downsides?
00:06:32:10 - 00:06:41:17
Well, I think you just hit the nail on the head by saying, thinking it all the way through, I think it's definitely something that you need to plan for.
00:06:41:17 - 00:06:57:01
You can't just say, oh, I'm taking a gap year and not have a plan, then it could just flop. You know, if you don't have it, then it's not super intentional, right? So you have to go into it with specific goals and a plan.
00:06:57:01 - 00:07:06:19
I think, you know, again, they're two separate paths. So if you're taking a PG year, I mean, I would say there's definitely a financial investment there.
00:07:06:19 - 00:07:11:13
And we can talk about the financials later. There are ways around that. But
00:07:11:13 - 00:07:33:09
you know, but college is a financial investment as well. So, you know, making sure that you're ready to go into into college and you're ready for that financial investment, is important. And sometimes it takes that extra year to get more bang for your buck when you are, you know, going to college and making that financial investment.
00:07:33:24 - 00:07:58:17
I do want to talk about the financial. I have a question that I think we'll call a circle back to that one. I just said, circle back. I told myself I'm never going to be the kind of person who says circle back. We will return to that one. I am not using bro language on here. But the timing of thinking about the gap years or PG years, I know, I don't intentionally mean to use those words interchangeably.
00:07:58:17 - 00:08:15:22
I think we've clarified that they are different things. So, yeah. If I say year, I kind of mean like slash or gap year. Yes, yes. The timing of these. When should somebody be thinking about, hey, is this is this something that is an option for me? Is that junior year? Is that senior year? Where does that lie?
00:08:15:22 - 00:08:34:17
You mean in terms of when they are going to start planning for it and thinking about it? Yeah, I mean, I think it depends on the family and the student. Right. So everybody can come to this decision at a different time. Students, you know, going into senior year really the focus is on college, right. So you're focusing on your college applications.
00:08:34:19 - 00:09:02:01
Students can take a dual path and apply to college and a PG year, or apply to college and start thinking about a gap year at the same time. So, you know, if you're, say, an athlete and you are, sophomore or junior and you're already thinking like a PG year is something that I might want to do just because I want another year to play and I want, another year for coaches to see me.
00:09:02:03 - 00:09:23:01
Great. That's awesome. Sure. Start that early. If you are a senior in high school and you start applying to colleges and start realizing that I might not be ready for this or I don't really know what I want to study, I don't really know where I want to go, and you need a little more time. That's totally okay too.
00:09:23:01 - 00:09:55:09
So, if you're applying for a PG year, you're going to follow the application deadlines for the schools that you are looking at and going to apply to. If you are thinking of taking a gap year, you can, you know, and you want to apply to colleges because you want to see maybe what your options are, say you're accepted to a college, you could, look into deferring so different schools, you know, colleges have different guidelines for their deferral process.
00:09:55:09 - 00:10:02:08
So that would be something that you would want to explore before making that decision.
00:10:02:08 - 00:10:26:02
So you could defer your college acceptance and then plan your gap year. Or you know, if it's if you're accepted to a school that won't accept a deferral, that could be, you know, something else. But the other thing I would say is if if you get to your the end of your senior year and you're just freaking out a little bit, that's okay too.
00:10:26:04 - 00:10:59:13
You know, it's never too late to make this decision. Some kids even go to college, and they do the first semester and realize I'm not ready for this. And then they decide to take some gap time. Even if it's a semester or, but again, having a plan in place is really important. If your gap time isn't really going to be intentional or focused on personal growth, if you just, you know, decide to leave school and come home and sit in front of the TV and play video games, right, that's not going to be the best use of your time.
00:10:59:13 - 00:11:08:11
So, really trying to think about what it is that you want to get out of that time is really what is most important.
00:11:08:11 - 00:11:26:10
I love hearing that there's some flexibility in the timeline and what this might look look like for people because it's, you know, college application season right now, the Common App opened on August 1st. I know that, you know, my roster is absolutely full of college essays and college applications right now.
00:11:26:10 - 00:11:43:24
And I'm having the conversation with some students. I'll be honest, mostly athletes who are saying, you know, I had conversations with this coach and they want to play D1. And I've had, you know, my, my pre-read is they're saying, you know, didn't go so well. And this coach, this isn't maybe I'm thinking of taking a gap year or a PG year.
00:11:44:00 - 00:12:05:19
Yeah. More in the context of athletics and getting more playing time and exposure and then, you know, developing their, their athleticism. And I think that there's a lot of stress around applying to college, you know that. Yeah. Know the SATs and the acts and the essay and all that. And then throw in this monkey wrench of, oh, did you know you could also do a PG year or a gap year?
00:12:05:19 - 00:12:36:24
And I think that our kids are overwhelmed sometimes with the options that there are out there. So knowing that there's no one right way to do this, I yeah, I'm hoping to those listening provides some relief that as you said, you can go ahead and continue to apply to college at the same time that you start exploring some other institutions to maybe spend your PG year or, yeah, your PG year, or think about, okay, well, what skills if you are going to go for personal development, how are you going to do that?
00:12:37:01 - 00:12:57:19
In what context are we working? Are we getting an internship right. And we're not just staying home and hoping that growth happens on the couch. Right. Or even too, what you just said, maybe a gap semester. I think that sometimes it that's not talked about a lot. You hear you go to high school and then you go to a four year college and it that is not ideal for everybody.
00:12:57:19 - 00:13:17:03
Sometimes you go to high school and you don't go to college. And that is okay. Sometimes you go to high school, then you take a PG year and your intention is to go to college. And that doesn't happen because you're PG year led to some other incredible opportunity, right? Right. There are two year college. I just think that the more options our students know are available to them, the more they can make
00:13:17:05 - 00:13:41:23
informed decisions. Speaking of decisions, if a family, hopefully these conversations aren't having happening in a student's head in isolation. Hopefully it's part of a family discussion. If a family is torn between sending their kid to college, as was the plan from the get go, right when a kid comes to them and says, hey, you know, I'm actually thinking of, maybe taking a year off from a parent's perspective.
00:13:41:23 - 00:14:03:02
I, you know, I'm a parent too, I would imagine I would feel like, oh no, you are just going to come home and stay in the basement, right? Right. So what is. Yes. What are the questions that a parent can ask their kid or start thinking about or like, where does the conversation go from there? If a student themselves says, mom, dad, I'm thinking of doing this, what's next?
00:14:03:02 - 00:14:22:13
So I think sometimes, parents sort of get really nervous when they hear this. They think, exactly. My kid is just going to come home and sit on the couch and they're never going to get a job. And it's, you know, going to totally derail their future and their plans and all the plans that I have for them.
00:14:22:13 - 00:14:25:19
And, what I picture for them. So,
00:14:25:19 - 00:14:31:14
first of all, I will say this is a very common myth about taking a gap year.
00:14:31:14 - 00:14:44:06
I would say that it's actually kind of the opposite, that, when students take a gap year, there is all that self-discovery that happens. There's a break in,
00:14:44:06 - 00:14:51:10
you know, just the pressure and the just the the burnout.
00:14:51:10 - 00:15:16:12
Right? So a lot of times, kids are burnt out. And there's just a little pause for these kids, and that's some time to, for these kids to have that self-discovery and that growth. The chance to gain some self-confidence, the chance to, to, you know, focus on some passions or a hobby. The chance to,
00:15:16:12 - 00:15:18:03
you know, maybe they're struggling.
00:15:18:03 - 00:15:41:08
They're having some mental health struggles. So it's a chance to sort of right the ship. So I would say if you are a parent and your student comes to you, your child comes to you, talking about a gap year, approach it with an open mind as best you can and listen to them and try to understand the root of what their motivation is.
00:15:41:10 - 00:16:06:22
What is really going on here? Why do they want to take a gap year? And also understand that, like I said earlier, you're going to get more bang for your buck if you take a little time and your child can go to college with more focus and more understanding and more maturity about who they are and what they want to get out of their college experience.
00:16:06:24 - 00:16:32:23
So I would say the next question that you could ask is, what is it going to look like? What are the parameters? You know, what are the financial parameters? Sometimes it's like, well, I'm not going to pay anything. You know, I'm saving money for college. We don't have money to, pay for you to go on some lavish program and travel around the world, which is totally okay.
00:16:33:00 - 00:16:50:19
There are programs out there where you can do a, work study or a, work exchange right? So you could travel and work on a farm in Scotland, you know, and that's all paid for. Or you could live at home and get an internship.
00:16:50:19 - 00:17:03:08
And, you know, you could there are online programs too, again, maybe you don't want your kid sitting in front of a computer, but say they have some really exciting passion and something that they want to study.
00:17:03:14 - 00:17:25:22
There are programs where you can do, research through these programs, and it's, they're mentors that you can connect with online, and they're directing you to how to best do your research. Right. And so maybe that's part of your gap year. And then you're working at the coffee shop down the street. So there are so many options.
00:17:25:22 - 00:17:44:00
And so I think, again, having a plan in place, understanding what the motivations are and, understanding what the parameters are, are going to lead to the most success, for that child's gap year or year.
00:17:44:00 - 00:17:52:13
Okay. So follow up question to that. You know, I know when I do the college search process with students, there are so many resources online.
00:17:52:13 - 00:18:16:17
I mean, people resources as well, but online resources to narrow down your college selection criteria and a whole bunch of things, right? Location, geography, size, all that stuff. Where does somebody start? Let's say the parents are open minded and they're like, okay, this is this can work for us if we find a way to make it intentional and we know what the parameters are and we're all in agreement here, and but we got to find a way to make it cost effective.
00:18:16:19 - 00:18:22:15
Is there like a website like where they going for these programs to go work at a farm in Scotland
00:18:22:15 - 00:18:34:00
because like, say, sign me up for that. Right. Exactly. Yeah. There are a few great resources. The first one I would lead, families to is gap year association.
00:18:34:00 - 00:18:40:14
So there are tons of resources on there. And there is a way to sort of,
00:18:40:14 - 00:18:45:06
I think there are tools, for ways to sort of think about your gap year.
00:18:45:08 - 00:18:58:14
Another one is called Go Overseas. So that's another place to look that will, lead you to programs that generally are overseas. I don't think they're all necessarily international.
00:18:58:14 - 00:19:05:09
And then a third resource is teen life. And they have a whole host of resources.
00:19:05:14 - 00:19:08:23
Summer programs, semester programs,
00:19:08:23 - 00:19:15:19
and then gap year programs. So, those are some those are three places I would start to look.
00:19:15:19 - 00:19:33:19
Okay. And is there information on those resources about the, you know, coming at this from a financially responsible angle, or is there more to talk about with that, or did you kind of cover that with saying, oh, there's like sort of work exchanges as a or are there other financial considerations that families should know about?
00:19:34:02 - 00:19:40:18
So I believe on gap year association there has to be some sort of resource about,
00:19:40:18 - 00:19:50:07
you know, financial options. So another thing to consider is you can use 529 dollars toward gap year programs.
00:19:50:07 - 00:19:57:23
A whole another thing that I didn't touch on is that a lot of these gap year programs, you can even get, credit college credits.
00:19:58:03 - 00:20:06:11
So you can go, you know, if you're hesitant about the financial investment, you know, for your child's gap year,
00:20:06:11 - 00:20:25:01
you could think of it as paying for a little bit of their college because, you know, whether you're using 529 or not, you can these there are programs where students can get actual credit for and take courses, and then transfer those credits over for when they, land in college.
00:20:25:01 - 00:20:25:21
So,
00:20:25:21 - 00:20:32:16
yeah. But back to the initial question. There should be financial guidance on gap year association.
00:20:32:16 - 00:20:41:21
Okay. And like student loans and things like that would if someone were to go the traditional route of of student loans that works for gap year experiences for a gap year.
00:20:41:21 - 00:21:09:09
So for a post-grad year and in some cases for gap year programs, there is financial aid available. So not necessarily loans. So financial aid is awarded. It's need based. So schools will look at you know, your taxes from your previous years and and your and the current year and decide how you qualify.
00:21:09:09 - 00:21:19:23
What do you qualify for. So financial aid is available and, it's just based on qualifying for both gap year programs and PG year.
00:21:19:23 - 00:21:32:03
So for a PG year, private boarding school or private, prep school, schools will offer financial aid, and they use a different system.
00:21:32:03 - 00:21:35:05
It's not fasfa which students use to apply
00:21:35:05 - 00:21:58:03
for college. It's, a a different system. Usually it's called clarity. But if you go on the website of the schools and look under tuition, there will be information about applying for financial aid on those websites. So it's all need based. It's not a loan. And schools are not,
00:21:58:03 - 00:21:59:23
you're not it's not a loan.
00:21:59:23 - 00:22:03:04
So it's not something that you will pay back. It's a gift
00:22:03:04 - 00:22:25:22
okay. But I would imagine there's a place for scholarships, like applying for scholarships and not the type that are like based on your grades necessarily. But like, this is the time of year where I'm having my college applicants apply for scholarships as well, you know, through their you know, Armenian American Association for the historical whatever, through all the various scholarships that are available for college.
00:22:25:24 - 00:22:48:23
Sometimes when we're looking at the application for those scholarships, the requirements are you must be, like completing a four year high school diploma and headed off to like, some form of future education. Some of them say an accredited four year institution, but some of them just say like continuing your studies. So I would imagine that some of those scholarships would apply for some of those
00:22:48:23 - 00:22:50:00
funds might apply.
00:22:50:03 - 00:22:51:03
Yeah. I mean,
00:22:51:03 - 00:22:59:19
I would say, you know, there is there are dollars available that the programs have available for,
00:22:59:19 - 00:23:20:10
for aid for students in terms of dollars from outside, institutions that are offering scholarships. I don't I think it would depend on where you're applying for the scholarships and if they're willing to apply that those dollars toward, gap year or PG year.
00:23:20:10 - 00:23:23:23
Yeah, I think that's one of those scenarios where the students have to do that research.
00:23:23:23 - 00:23:29:16
Yes, exactly. And it depends. It's totally, you know, maybe independent cases.
00:23:29:16 - 00:23:44:13
Maybe a guide... If someone's in high school right now thinking about, you know, a gap year or a PG year before, you know, school gets out for the summer. I know we're just starting it now, but before they actually graduate, make sure you're touching base with guidance counselors in case they have scholarship lists.
00:23:44:13 - 00:23:50:04
I know that a lot of my students come into the office with a list of, scholarships that their,
00:23:50:04 - 00:24:03:02
guidance counselors have provided them. Sometimes they're pretty limited, and they go down a rabbit hole and the scholarship has expired and the URL is right. And but of course, if you have no other resources to use, that would be a good place
00:24:03:04 - 00:24:09:07
To start. Speaking of kids who are, you know, headed into their senior year right now,
00:24:09:07 - 00:24:27:09
and they are just now thinking of this option. What is the very next steps like right now? What is something super actionable that a rising senior in high school can take to move this forward, or at least to move the decision forward?
00:24:27:09 - 00:24:31:21
And the decision can be like, no, I'm actually going to go to college, but what are the next? What's the very next step?
00:24:31:21 - 00:24:44:01
I would say go to gap year association, go to the website. And there are, stories about kids on there who have taken gap years and, you know, read through them a little bit because,
00:24:44:01 - 00:24:46:02
you might relate to some of these kids.
00:24:46:02 - 00:24:50:05
The other thing you can do too, is just start looking at some of the programs.
00:24:50:05 - 00:24:54:00
What's out there? What's available. And,
00:24:54:00 - 00:25:04:16
you know, can you can you see yourself doing this and and that might just get the wheels turning, you know, like, wait a minute, I there is something that I really want to study or.
00:25:04:16 - 00:25:30:07
Wait a minute, I, I don't think I'm totally ready for college. I don't know what I want to get out of college. Maybe if I took a little time or, you know, there is this part of the world that I've always wanted to see, or I really want to spend some time with manatees to see if I want to study, you know, ocean, ocean zoology or whatever.
00:25:30:07 - 00:25:35:20
It's called marine zoology. You know, so I think,
00:25:35:20 - 00:25:54:08
just, you know, spend some time with yourself. I think a lot of times as consultants, we tell students to journal a little bit and, you know, write down some of your ideas, keep track of what's going through your head, what's going through your heart. Tap into yourself a little bit and think about, you know, what do I really want?
00:25:54:08 - 00:26:19:19
Because again, college is a huge financial commitment and you know that those might be the students dollars, those might be the parents dollars, those might be the grandparents dollars, those might be the government's dollars. But, you know, you want to get as much as you can out of those dollars and going into, college with a little more focus and a little more passion, a little more motivation is better for everybody.
00:26:19:21 - 00:26:22:05
Oh, I totally agree. And I think that,
00:26:22:05 - 00:26:43:10
if there is a parent listening to this right now and, you know, maybe they had this idea that their child wasn't ready for college in the traditional sense, then I encourage you to share this episode with your kid, because I do know just from my, you know, conversations that I'm having with real people, real students in the thick of it.
00:26:43:16 - 00:27:06:12
Some students expressed that there is a stigma around not going to college right away and not going to a four year college right away, and, you know, obviously stigmas exist because of societal expectations and, you know, external expectations. But as we open this episode with this, you know, I want to return to that, that there is no one right way to reach your goals.
00:27:06:12 - 00:27:29:19
And if someone's goal is to be successful and happy and fulfilled and doing something that fills them up most of the time, right? Maybe a gap year or a year is the exact thing for that. And if your friends are going off to their four year college and you have this sense of like, oh, no, I'm going to be left behind, no, you could actually, you know, leapfrog right over them.
00:27:29:20 - 00:27:32:20
It's not exactly right. Yes.
00:27:32:20 - 00:27:55:09
The gap year is like can be such a launching pad for things you didn't even know where possible and wouldn't necessarily be possible if you just went your standard. I'm going to college because that's what the entire herd is doing, and I hope this conversation gives some maybe lessons. That stigma a little gives people a starting point to have these conversations either with your parents or with your with your children.
00:27:55:09 - 00:28:07:00
And then if someone were like, okay, this all sounds good, I like this, but I am a, I don't I really don't know where to start and I need some help. That's where someone like you comes in. So can you talk about,
00:28:07:00 - 00:28:10:24
you know, a little bit about what you do and then where, people can find you if they're looking for.
00:28:10:24 - 00:28:11:18
Yeah.
00:28:11:18 - 00:28:37:21For sure. So I really like to take, very personalized approach. So I do a deep dive with the student, with the parents understanding what is it? Who first of all, who is this person and what makes them tick, you know, what are their passions? What are their strengths? What are their fears and challenges? And what do they want to do with this time?
00:28:37:21 - 00:29:13:02
And what's important? And then also along the same lines, what are the parameters? You know what what does everybody, everybody has to agree about? You know what is okay and what's not okay going into this. So, you know, I can act as the guide, as the liaison, as the consultant, as the coach who is, you know, helping families make this plan, helping students stay accountable, and helping them see this in really important times through and making sure that it's successful.
00:29:13:02 - 00:29:40:15
So, I can be reached at Annie@Rightfiteducation.com. My website is www.rightfiteducation.com. So yeah, students or parents can feel free to reach out. And I do a 30 minute free, into intro call. So, you know, just if, students want to just meet and chat, that's fine too.
00:29:40:15 - 00:30:07:19
Perfect. And I will leave all the links that you mentioned to in the show notes, of the podcast episode, if you're listening this in one of the apps or if you're watching this on YouTube, it'll also be in the description box. Thank you so much, Annie, for this conversation today. You have enlightened me, and I feel more equipped to have these conversations with students, and I hope that folks listening to you have walked away with, you know, a feeling of lightness, knowing that there is flexibility and what life looks like after high school.
00:30:08:01 - 00:30:16:01
Yeah. Thank you so much, Katie. I really appreciated this time. It was so fun. Of course. Take care and see you too. Bye.
00:30:16:01 - 00:30:40:20
Awesome conversation. Wouldn't you agree? I am so grateful for Annie agreeing to come on to the show and share her expertise, because I know that so many of you listening are in the position of thinking about this topic of, you know, being independent and curious enough to say, hey, like, is this is this for me? Is this traditional goal to directly from high school to college for me, or is there something else out there?
00:30:40:21 - 00:31:13:13
I am always on my third time seeing this on this episode, but you got to figure out what you want and then evaluate if what you're doing is working or not, and perhaps a year or a gap year. It's exactly what you or your child needs to reach your goals. All of the links that we mentioned today, including a link to Right Fit Educational Consulting and where you can find Annie on Instagram and a transcript of this episode is at LearnandWorksmarter.com/podcast/87 because this is an episode 87.
00:31:13:19 - 00:31:19:21
Keep asking the hard questions. Keep doing the hard work. And remember, never stop learning.
