Category: College Counseling

Is a Gap Year really for us?

6/8/2022

What if you were guaranteed immense clarity and direction just from taking a simple year off of school to travel abroad? What if it could propel you way farther than jumping straight into college? Would you do it without hesitation?

Danny Recio, Director and Founder of The Bridge Gap Program, took a gap year in South Africa after high school. It was during his time there where he had a “coming of age” experience and found his calling in working with people. All because of his time abroad, Danny went on to start gap year programs - a therapeutic option called The Bridge (a therapeutic community for young men) and a more traditional coed gap program (Si! Gap Program) in Costa Rica, guiding them along their own coming of age experiences.

In this episode of Success is Subjective, Danny joins Joanna Lilley to share his journey as he traveled as a young adult, exploring different cultures and how his gap year experience has stuck with him, even a decade later. Listen in for Danny’s insight on the impact the right gap year program can have on a young adult, possibly changing the entire trajectory of their life.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-118-making-the-most-of-your-young-adulthood/id1499891712?i=1000550592741

What You Will Learn

What it was like growing up and going to school in Costa Rica
Danny’s gap year in South Africa
How impactful and helpful taking a gap year can be
When Danny became interested in psychology
Danny’s experience in college in Costa Rica vs the U.S.
Danny’s insight on what can be really helpful for young adults as they navigate their identity and the world around them
How The Bridge Gap Program came about
Danny’s advice on goal setting
Connect with Danny Recio at his Bridge email or his NSA email

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How the Resume I Built at the Bridge Improved My College Acceptances and Earned Me More Scholarships Than I Ever Imagined!

3/25/2016

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Daniel applied to 5 colleges before deciding to take a gap year at the Bridge Costa Rica.

Here were his results:

Goucher: waitlisted
Augsburg: accepted, $10,000/year scholarship
Johnson St: accepted
Hartford U: accepted
Castletown St.: accepted

While at The Bridge he worked with us on college apps and added to his applications the experiences he’d lived with us and the resume he had built. Without any changes to his GPA or SAT scores, here’s how he did with his 5 new applications (including the two he applied to again)::

Goucher: accepted, $10,000/year scholarship
Augsburg: accepted, $20,000/year scholarship
Lynn: accepted, $2,000/year scholarship
Curry: accepted, $18,000/year scholarship
Whittier: accepted, $10,000/year scholarship

He explains the change in this way: “I kept on hearing I would get so much experience for resume building, and I said to myself, yeah whatever, what difference can that make? But I’ve gotten a crazy amount of experience that I don’t think I would have gotten anywhere else, and the difference clearly shows”.

So What Made the Difference?

College admissions say the following about the profile they are looking for:
“What is it that makes you unique, and how will you contribute to the life of our campus?” That’s what admission officers want to know, according to Earl Johnson, dean of admission at the University of Tulsa. To gauge what students can bring to their campus, they look for these types of qualities:

Leadership
A willingness to take risks
Initiative
A sense of social responsibility
A commitment to service
Special talents or abilities

Retrieved from: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-in/applying-101/character-counts-what-are-colleges-looking-for

Daniel's experiences at the Bridge surely meet these criteria. With his hours of community service, his internship with nonprofits in Costa Rica, his positive contributions to and leadership in our gap community, his initiative to willingly take a risk by attending a gap year to do something meaningful to prepare him for college, and his unique talents and abilities, his resume shows exactly the kind of applicant that any college admissions team would want in their community. Congratulations, Daniel!

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Bridge Blog

Is a Gap Year really for us?

How the Resume I Built at the Bridge Improved My College Acceptances and Earned Me More Scholarships Than I Ever Imagined!

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