Increasingly, seniors in high school consider taking a post-graduate year, or “PG” year, prior to enrolling in college. This means that after graduating from high school, they enroll in another secondary school — typically a “prep” or “private” high school — in order to study one more year before becoming college freshman. Why in the world would anyone ever consider a fifth year of high school before escaping to college? Good question. There are several reasons. Join me in this prepcast as I discuss some of the possible benefits of a post graduate year.
- 2:56m - 
- 3:08m - The Post Graduate Year (trascript)
I want to talk to you about something called a post graduate year of high school. It is otherwise known as a “PG year.” When I was a kid I had no idea what a PG year was. However, as an adult I accepted a teaching position at a private school that regularly accepted post-graduate students. That was when I first learned about PGs and PG years. So here’s the deal. A lot of kids try their best in high school and apply to amazing schools. Unfortunately, many fail to gain admission at the schools they really want to attend.
Rather than enroll at a “safety school” or a school they are not thrilled about, some kids decide to do a post graduate year. In other words, rather than enroll at a college they are not happy with, they go and take an extra year of high school at a private high school. This extra year of study, again, is called a post graduate year. During a PG year the fifth-year student is a student like everyone else. However, the PG usually has a reduced course load to make time for other important activities. (By the way, a typical high school senior will take six to seven classes, while a typical PG takes four or five.)
PGs use (or at least they are supposed to use) the extra time during the academic year to, among other things, improve their standardized test scores — usually the ACT or the SAT. Additionally, if they are athletes or participants in other extracurricular activities, they try to hone those extracurricular skills with the hope of getting recruited more seriously by their first-choice colleges.
I have seen a lot of kids over the years apply to colleges with high hopes and expectations. Unfortunately, many get disappointed when they realize how competitive the process really is. Again, rather than settle, they do a PG year. In my experience, limited thought it may be, most kids look back and say that taking the extra year was probably the best thing they could have done for themselves. I look back on my high school and college careers and, to be honest, I think I could have used an extra year before college to mature. Don’t get me wrong; I did get into a great college, but I think I was pretty immature when I arrived as a freshman. If I had taken a PG year, I probably would have gotten more out of my four years in college.
A lot of kids are really immature at the age of 18 and they think, “My entire class is moving on to college; my whole senior class will become freshmen next year and, if I do a PG year, I will fall behind everyone else.” My response is this: Don’t worry about that and don’t think like that. Most of the people that you were friends with in high school you are not going to see again regularly anyway. High school offers a clean break. As your classmates go off in their own directions, don’t be afraid to do the same. The bottom line is this: whether you finish college at the age of twenty-two or twenty-three is immaterial. Put another way, your age at retirement is not likely to depend on whether you graduated from college and began working at the age of 22 or 23. You have decades to work after college.
If taking a PG year means possibly getting into the school you really want to go to, I think it is worth it. There you have it; you now know what a PG year is. Welcome to the club. Think about it; it might be something you can take advantage of and it might, ultimately, change the course of the rest of your life for the better.
Karl Schellscheidt
ePrep, Inc.
http://blog.eprep.com
May 28th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
I appreciate your insights on the PG year. My son is a high
school senior (at a very good public high school), and has just
given up. He was accepted into college, mostly because of his
athletic ability–a good school that is a good fit. But I don’t
think he is ready–academically or from a maturity standpoint.
He thinks he can do anything, and has gotten into academic
and disciplinary trouble at school (lots of detentions for
skipping classes when he knows he will be caught). He’s a
nice kid–everybody likes him, and are all trying to keep him
motivated and get him into college mode. If he behaves like
this at college, he won’t get past the first semester. I am
baffled as to what to to. His teachers are very worried, and
say he “just doesn’t seem to get it.” Do you have any
suggestions? We live in the Albany, NY, area.
May 29th, 2008 at 7:57 am
Kath,
Thanks for the note. It sounds to me like your son could use a dose of reality before starting college. Rather than a PG year, he may need to get a job and work for a year before starting college. (Maybe a year of “flipping burgers” will help him better appreciate the benefits of a college education.)
The other thing to consider is the parent-child contract. Eric Barnes did a post on the topic a while back. ( http://blog.eprep.com/2007/07/26/the-parent-child-college-contract ) Pursuant to the terms of the typical contract, parents are only obligated to pay for college courses in which the student earns a certain grade: B or higher, for example.
The bottomline is this: Some kids take longer to mature then others. That’s life. Once your son figures things out, he’ll be fine. I’m sure of it. In the meantime, stay positive and stay firm. Good luck. Hope to hear from you again soon.
October 20th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
My junior in high school just got back from a great college tour with his dad. He loved several of the really challenging schools that he visited, but had a ‘wake-up’ call in terms of what he needs to achieve academically to be a competitive applicant. He goes to a rigoraous prep school, but has just started to understand the beginnings of how to study. He has not taken AP classes, but has a hard load regardless. He is young for his class and is a good athlete, although again, just beginning to show promise. Addtionally, both his father and I are wondering if he might need time to just grow up before heading into a college atmosphere. We are just starting to investigate either a PG year or a Gap year. Any thoughts?
October 21st, 2008 at 8:02 am
Kathi,
I am a big believer in the PG/Gap year, especially when parents think their child would benefit both personally and academically from the experience. As I stated in the video, looking back, I definitely think I could have used a year to mature before starting college.
I get the impression that you and your husband are thoughtful people and that you really care for your son’s well being. As long as you involve him in the decision and give him the sense that he is driving the final decision, I am sure everything will work out just fine. Good luck.
November 13th, 2008 at 11:02 am
How do I go about finding schools with a PG program?
November 13th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Very good question, Pam. This is what I would do:
I would first make a list of private high schools that interest me most. I would then explore the “admissions” portion of the website of each school on my list. (Each of the schools will have a website, trust me.) If you cannot find the information you want on a particular website, contact the school by phone or email.
I hope this helps.
December 17th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
well i am a HS Senior and i plan on doing a Post-Graduate year at Interlochen Arts Academy b.c.
i know that if i have an extra year of music and theatre studies under my belt i can take myself to a higher level in Music/Theatre and that will make my auditions, monologue, speach, voice better and it will also give me more time to think til this day i thought a PG was for dumb people who needed an extra year to do something right for a change but now i know by reading this article that it will better me for college and al the things i do!
thanks Karl S. youve really opened my eyes to a PG!
-Joseph
December 17th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
No problem, Joseph. Thanks for the note and good luck next year.