Next year, instead of following the typical path to college, I will be taking a gap year and living in Israel for nine months. The program I’m going on is called Year Course, a part of the Young Judaea organization. The gap year spans nine months, starting in September and ending in May. Gap years have become increasingly popular, especially after Harvard and other Ivy League schools vocalized their support for these programs. In addition to this, Malia Obama is taking a gap year before starting college at Harvard University, furthering the popularity of this “time off”.

Gap years have been knocked for being a year off, a time for kids to just relax instead of going to college. Recent studies and reports have shown this to be increasingly wrong, as students who have taken gap years typically have higher GPAs, are more independent, and more prepared for college. On Year Course, these are just a few of the skills I will be gaining while in Israel. The program is split into two semesters, the first of which I’ll live in Bat Yam, a smaller city fifteen minutes south of Tel Aviv. While in Bat Yam, I’ll be volunteering in one of a variety of different places, from doing a three-month basic training course in the Israeli Defense Forces to working as a fully trained EMT on ambulances. Other volunteer opportunities include working in orphanages, kindergartens, farms, and Sea School, a program where children from dangerous areas are able to go the beach and learn to surf, waterski, and much more with our assistance. In Bat Yam, I’ll be staying in an apartment with five to seven other Year Coursers, living alongside other Israelis. We’ll be nearly fully responsible, cooking for ourselves, cleaning the apartments, and all else that comes with living on your own. Additionally, each apartment has a food budget per month, and is in charge of grocery shopping for themselves.

During the second semester, I’ll move to Jerusalem and begin classes in place of volunteering. Throughout the entire program, I’ll have opportunities to travel to a wide variety of countries, including Morocco, Poland, Jordan, and Italy. Year Course also offers many extra tracks that can be added on to your classes, ranging from business to sports management and medicine. In total, I believe that Year Course will prepare for my time in college in an assortment of ways, and I am eagerly looking forward to the upcoming year.