Alternatives to College / Gap Year Options
Books
Search our catalog online at http://www.vsac.org/LibrarySearch. Patrons may borrow books either by coming to the Resource Center in downtown Winooski, or by making an interlibrary loan request through their local school or public library.
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Choices for the High School Graduate: A Survival Guide for the Information Age (2005) |
Call # 373.18 Fireside |
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The Gap-Year Advantage: Helping Your Child Benefit from Time Off Before or During College (2005) |
Call # 370.116 Haigler |
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The Gap Year Book: The Definitive Guide to Planning and Taking a Year Out (2003) |
Call # 370.116 Hindle |
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How to Be Irresistible to Colleges: The Essential Guide to Being Accepted (2009) |
Call # 378.1 Dawson |
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Planning Your Gap Year: Hundreds of Opportunities for Employment, Study, Volunteer Work and Independent Travel (2005) |
Call # 370.116 Vandome |
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Taking a Gap Year (2005) |
Call # 370.116 Griffith |
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Taking Time Off: Inspiring Stories of Students Who Enjoyed Successful Breaks from College and How You Can Plan Your Own (2003) |
Call # 370.116 Hall |
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But What If I Don’t Want to Go to College?: A Guide to Success Through Alternative Education (2006) |
Call # 374 Unger |
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Other Ways to Win: Creating Alternatives for High School Graduates (2006) |
Call # 370.11 Gray |
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The Teenagers’ Guide to School Outside the Box (2001) |
Call # 373.2 Greene |
Internships/work opportunities
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Back Door Guide to Short-Term Job Adventures: Internships, Summer Jobs, Seasonal Work, Volunteer Vacations, and Transitions Abroad (2005) |
Call # 650.14 Landes |
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International Workcamp Directory (2006) |
Call # 331.128 VFP |
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Teaching English Abroad: Teach Your Way Around the World (2006) |
Call # 428 Griffith |
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Vault Guide to Top Internships (2007) |
Call # 331.25 Rosen |
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Work Your Way Around the World (2007) |
Call # 428.007 Griffith |
Volunteer, service, and travel experiences
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Alternative Travel Directory: The Complete Guide to Traveling, Studying, and Living Overseas (2002) |
Call # 370.116 TAP |
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Alternatives to the Peace Corps: A Directory of Volunteer Opportunities (2008) |
Call # 361.3 Hachnyer |
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Volunteer Vacations: Short-Term Adventures that Will Benefit You and Others (2006) |
Call # 302.14 McMillon |
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Transitions Abroad (periodical) |
Call # PER 370.116 Hu |
Resources
Below is a partial listing of the many available college alternative or gap year programs. The costs vary widely for these programs.
VSAC maintains an updated list of various summer/semester opportunities in and outside of Vermont geared primarily, but not exclusively, to high school students — Summer opportunities
Bureau of Labor Statistics’ publication “High Earning Workers Who Don’t Have a Bachelor’s Degree" offers information on jobs that pay well, the educational requirements of these jobs, and a discussion of what makes a “good" job — http://stats.bls.gov/opub/ooq/1999/fall/art02.pdf
Real Gap Experience coordinates world-wide gap year experiences for students interested in adventure travel, educational travel, paid work abroad, teaching abroad, volunteering, and sports travel — www.realgap.com
“Where Are You Headed?" provides a database of gap year options, as well as information on summer opportunities and advice on college admissions and transfers. Use VSAC’s membership: username = reachout, password = winooski — www.whereyouheaded.com
Cultural/educational experiences
AFS Intercultural Programs, Inc. is a non-profit, international organization that provides intercultural learning opportunities abroad with the aim of promoting a more just and peaceful world — www.afs.org/afs_or/home
Sojourns Abroad is a 12-week fall/spring cultural immersion experience in Italy or France for those who want an international adventure — www.sojournsabroad.org
Youth for Understanding is an international exchange and educational organization committed to inspiring and engaging youth of all races and ethnicities, regardless of socioeconomic status, in an academic year, semester, or summer program — www.yfu-usa.org
Environmental experiences
Earthwatch Institute promotes sustainable conservation of our natural resources and cultural heritage by putting people in the field where they assist scientists in their field work — www.earthwatch.org
Living Routes offers Ecovillages, ecological communities where students live in harmony with local environments while investigating personal and community-based solutions to real world issues — www.livingroutes.org
Outward Bound offers over 650 adventure-based wilderness courses that focus on compassion, learning through experience, and responsibility to both team and the environment — www.outwardbound.org
Student Conservation Association provides opportunities for volunteers, conservation internships, and a year-round leadership program in our National Parks, Forests, and other public lands — www.thesca.org
Vermont Youth Conservation Corps is a private non-profit organization that hires young adults to complete conservation and park management projects on public lands in Vermont — www.vycc.org/index.html
Volunteer/service experiences
Americorps is the domestic Peace Corps; volunteers are eligible for an education award after one year’s service — www.americorps.gov
City Year is a national service organization which unites young adults, ages 17-24, from diverse racial, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds for a demanding year of full-time community service, leadership development, and civic engagement — www.cityyear.org
Cross Cultural Solutions is a not-for-profit international volunteer organization that operates volunteer programs in Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Morocco, Peru, Russia, South Africa, Tanzania and Thailand — www.crossculturalsolutions.org
Global Volunteers assists people of diverse cultures in gaining a non-tourist perspective through volunteer opportunities such as teaching English, working with community elders, repairing buildings, and more — www.globalvolunteers.org
Global Volunteer Network places people in community projects around the world — www.globalvolunteernetwork.org
Volunteers for Peace offers low-cost international volunteer opportunities for young adults — www.vfp.org
World Volunteer Web, coordinated by the United Nations Volunteer program, supports the volunteer community by providing a global one-stop shop for information, resources, and organizations linked to volunteerism — www.worldvolunteerweb.org
Multi-Focus Organizations
Center for Interim Programs helps people of all ages create gap-year experiences through internships, apprenticeships, volunteer positions, and cultural study programs worldwide — www.interimprograms.com
Dynamy offers year- and semester-long leadership and career exploration internship programs for college-age students. Each program combines an internship component with an Outward Bound course, community service, independent apartment living, and one-on-one advising — www.dynamy.org
Idealist.org provides information on non-profit careers, volunteer opportunities, and internships — www.idealist.org
LEAPNow is a source for low-cost internships, volunteer positions, work exchanges, and experiential programs in 126 countries and the U.S. — www.leapnow.org
Young Politicians of America offers links to hundreds of internships in a variety of organizations, including government, nonprofit, media, academic, and service organizations — www.ypa.org/careers_internships.php
Software Resources
VT Guidance Central is a web-based, personalized, self-guided program that provides comprehensive career, college, and education planning tools
You can use VT Guidance Central as a tool to:
- explore career possibilities
- plan the training you need for specific careers
- search for colleges/universities that fit your desired criteria (e.g., location, size, programs/majors, activities, costs)
- learn about financial aid options
- and much more!
Visit the VSAC Resource Center in Winooski to utilize other assessment, career, and education planning software tools.
Updated: June 2010
Compiled by: VSAC Resource Center, 10 East Allen Street, PO Box 2000, Winooski, VT 05404
Call: 800-642-3177 toll-free or Burlington area 802-655-9602 • Fax: 802-654-3765 • E-mail: info@vsac.org
The Vermont Student Assistance Corp. was established by the Vermont General Assembly in 1965 to help Vermonters obtain the information and financial resources they need to pursue their education goals beyond high school.
