USA Gap Year Fairs $5,000 Scholarship
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Find your dream gap year program at an upcoming virtual event. Connect with scholarship-eligible programs and counselors to learn everything you need to know about taking a gap year!
View ScheduleEligible applicants must be U.S. residents, ages 17-20, intending to enroll in a participating gap year or summer program during summer 2022 or fall 2022. Applicants who are under 18 must include an email address of a parent or legal guardian who can review and consent to the Terms & Conditions in order for the applicant to apply.
Can't believe that we are giving a way $5,000 and gap year counseling to one lucky student? Watch us surprise last year's winner, Elisabet Garcia!
Starting your application is easy -- just click the link below to get started. Then explore programs, write your gap year manifesto, and submit a creative visualization of that manifesto.
Whether you're dreaming of an international, domestic, or virtual gap year, there are plenty of program options that are eligible for the 2022 USA Gap Year Fairs Scholarships. Explore all participating gap year organizations' program offerings on the participating programs page, or better yet -- meet them at a virtual event. These are the only gap year programs you can apply the scholarship funds towards.
Yes! The lucky winner will receive 1:1 mentorship from a participating gap year counselor of their choice. Each accredited counselor has 10+ years of experience working with students, helping students of all ages plan meaningful gap years. The best way to get to know our presenting counselors is to register for an upcoming virtual event!
Holly Bull has placed over 3,000 individuals, including her daughters, in vetted programs in the 30+ years she has been counseling students and adults through the gap-year process. She took her own two gap years before and during college. Founded in 1980, her company, the Center for Interim Programs, is the first and longest-running independent gap year counseling service in the US.
Julia Rogers is a traveler, writer, speaker, and professional accredited gap year counselor. She has circled the globe a few times over, always in search of the most inspiring adventures to recommend to gap year students. She believes in the power of intentional travel to transform how we define higher education. Her favorite destinations are Morocco, New Zealand, Laos, and Nepal. When not planning her next adventure, she enjoys playing in the mountains of Stowe, Vermont, where she calls home.
Jason Sarouhan has offered 20+ years of his professional career supporting students pursuing experiential education opportunities all over the world. Together, he and his wife Jane, co-founder of J2Guides, are the only GYA Professionally accredited gap year counselors that have: taken, led, designed, coordinated and directed gap year programs.
Jane traveled around the world when she was a junior in college, taking her anthropology studies from books to reality in England, India, Thailand, Malaysia, New Zealand and Colombia. While the countries and cultures were astounding, it was her faculty, and their leadership, that had an even greater impact. While she finished her degree in anthropology, Jane quickly started looking for opportunities to similarly guide students.
Hailing from Boulder, Colorado, Marion Taylor is owner of Taylor The Gap LLC and the only GYA accredited gap year advisor between Chicago and California. Prior to founding Taylor The Gap LLC in 2011, Marion worked in Social Work for over 35 years focused on families, women, and children both domestically and abroad. Distinct from other counselors, she offers a unique parenting perspective with all four of her children having participated in a structured and or independent gap experience.
Starting your application is really easy, but here are a few tips so that you know what to expect. Once Step 1 is complete, you can edit your application up until the deadline on April 15th.
Step 1: Basic Information
Step 2: Program & Counselor Selection
Step 3: Personal Essay & Creative Image