Become a tutor and mentor during your gap year
Thinking about taking a year off to do something meaningful? Want to learn how a service year or gap year can prepare you for college? As a City Year AmeriCorps member, you’ll spend a year working in schools across one of our 29 locations to provide students with the extra support they need.
You’ll be able to gain unique experience needed to be successful on a college campus. Many colleges and universities will even allow you to defer acceptance to pursue a gap year program. Why not spend a year making a difference in your community and earn money for college in the process?
The value of a gap year
“My experience with City Year helped me better understand the systematic inequalities in our society and I am able to bring that knowledge into classroom discussions and research. City Year also helped me develop professional skills such as fundraising, teamwork and networking, that are all beneficial to me as a [college] student.” – Mohamed Adan, City Year Seattle ’13, Stanford University ’17“
“I encourage my students to consider a gap year. For some, dragging through high school might indicate a need for a fresh start—after they discover who they are and why they’re here, they might be more ready to learn what they REALLY want to learn. For others, they have an urge to do a mission, learn a language, scratch an itch…College will always be there, but life changing experiences before adult responsibilities creep in can be life altering!” – John B. Boshoven, Coordinator of College Counseling, Washtenaw International High School, Ypsilanti, Mi
“University of Chicago has always been very supportive of students deferring enrollment and taking a year off for good and responsible reasons. Students who take a gap year enrich the dialogue taking place in the classrooms, dining halls and residence halls because of their unique experiences…We look forward to welcoming them to campus!” – James Nondorf, Dean, University of Chicago
City Year AmeriCorps members are set up for success
High-school-age AmeriCorps members said their City Year experience helped them to improve their skills in:
- Problem solving
- Decision making
- Leadership
- Verbal communication skills
- Collaboration
- Working with youth
- Successful interpersonal relationship development with people from all walks of life
University partnerships & Educational funding
City Year alumni are offered exclusive scholarships at 120+ higher education institutions, including 18 undergraduate schools. More than 90 percent of these schools offer 25–100 percent tuition scholarships for City Year alumni. Additionally, AmeriCorps members are offered an education award upon completion of their service for use in a variety of fields, both inside and outside of higher education.
Undergraduate programs include:
- Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies (Washington, D.C.)
- Northeastern University College of Professional Studies (Boston, MA)
- Saint Mary’s University (San Antonio, TX)
- Cambridge College (Cambridge, MA)
View all undergraduate and graduate partnerships available to City Year AmeriCorps members:
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