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.
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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.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
How (if at all) does a PG year affect a student’s NCAA
eligibilty?
June 6th, 2009 at 8:25 am
Susan,
A PG year does not affect NCAA eligibility at all. In fact, many PGs are student-athletes.
If you are interested in playing a sport in college, you may want to check out: http://www.gettinginedu.com
It’s a web site that offers advice and guidance to high school student-athletes.
Good luck.
June 10th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Karl,
I am an international student who applied to American colleges
last fall. I attended a great private boarding school in
my country and hope to think that I have a pretty well-
developed profile: a composite 2350 SAT Reasoning and
8 perfect AP Test scores with a GPA of 3.87. I also had over
500 hours of community service as well as leadership,
internship, and work experience. I won the top prizes in
international and national competitions in philosophy, debate,
entrepreneurship,and essay writing – and in retrospect, may
be too confident.
I made the foolish choice of applying only to Harvard,
Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Wharton, and Columbia and was
disappointed to find that I was either rejected or waitlisted
to all. So by default, I have been forced to take a PG year
(which I hadn’t even know had existed).
But now I am a bit lost as to what I should do this year
to enhance my chances of being accepted to a good college.
I will of course consider some less competitive colleges
but I think it would be a great help if you could give some
insight into what types of experiences American colleges value.
Thank you.
June 11th, 2009 at 9:59 am
Judy,
Your accomplishments are commendable, indeed. Unfortunately, what you learned the hard way is that schools like Princeton, Harvard, and Yale receive literally thousands of applications each year from students who are equally accomplished and qualified. Admissions decisions among “Academic As” like you can be harsh and seemingly random. I am not sure what to say. Try to use the PG year to make yourself a more interesting person. Study something, or participate in an activity, that you think you might really enjoy. When it comes to applications, shoot for the stars again, but remember to include a few top-notch, but slightly less selective, schools. Good luck. Please send me updates.
September 30th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Karl, You replied above that a PG year does not affect NCAA eligibility at all. This is a question This is a question I’ve been diligently trying to resolve for sometime now but have received conflicting info from NCAA. I just called them again today and was advised that a PG year (if all the cores have been met and student graduates on time) does not affect DI eligibility but that a PG year is not allowed for DIII. That is far off of what I was thinking. If anything I thought it was the reverse of that. It is concerning to me that we cannot seem to get accurate information and cannot confirm anything in writing with NCAA. I noted the link you gave to the gettinginedu site and will be joining that shortly. I am also wondering if you can shed any light on this as far as the PG year and NCAA eligibility and even more so how to know we are getting accurate info from NCAA and how to get it in writing. I was told today that they do not generally answer written inquiries. Any light you can shed would be tremendously appreciated.
Thanks so much.
September 30th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Cheryl,
I will ask Chris Strausser to take a crack at this one. He is the founder of gettinginedu and I am certain that he knows more about this than I do. I will call Mr. Strausser for help today.
September 30th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
This is a complex issue. There are so many variables here, and I think an “official” ruling would be made on a case-by-case basis. I believe a lot of it depends on how the NCAA classifies the institution one does his or her post-grad year and what that student-athlete does athletically. Division I has a 5 year clock (to be eligible to play four years) that starts ticking once you start your post-graduate work. Division III does not have a 5 year clock, but a 10 semester clock that starts ticking once you graduate from high school. Therefore, a PG year could very well limit one’s DIII eligibility. The NAIA might treat a PG year differently. It is confusing, but the best thing to do is to call the NCAA and give them a very specific situation with all of the facts (e.g., courses to be taken, whether or not minimal NCAA eligibility requirements were satisfied prior to the PG year, name of institution PG year is to be taken, intended athletic participation, etc.).
I hope this helps at least somewhat.
October 1st, 2009 at 7:20 am
Thanks Karl and Chris. I very much appreciate your input. I will take your advice and give them specifics. The problem is that we are trying to decide the specifics based on what the rules are.
I guess we will have to make some hypothetical scenarios to ask about and go from there.
Thanks again.
Cheryl
March 20th, 2010 at 2:47 am
Hi I am currently attending a prep school and am considering a post-graduate year. My question for you is whether or not a post-graduate year is worth it for a student who has already spent four years at a prep school, as opposed to a public school student who would be experiencing something completely different from what he/she has been doing for the past four years.
March 20th, 2010 at 9:30 am
Anthony,
PG years are not just for public school students. You should do a PG year if you want to increase your GPA and your SAT or ACT scores, or just want another year to mature before college. There are a bunch of private schools in the North East that offer PG opportunities. Good luck with the decision.
April 5th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
My son auditioned at Northwestern, Indiana U, and Boston Conser
vatory in percussion. He was not accepted at any of them. We are now look
ing at Interlochen as a possibility for a PG year. Can you
recommend any other schools that he should look at
for percussion performance?
April 5th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Gail,
I am not sure which schools, if any, are looking for a percussionist. I am most familiar with the private high schools in the Princeton area. The Hun School of Princeton, Lawrenceville Prep, and The Peddie School are worth exploring. Web sites like the one that follows may be useful as well:
http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/
I hope this helps.
April 10th, 2010 at 9:41 am
When applying to colleges as a post-grad, does the fact that admissions committees
have previously reviewed your application negatively impact your chances of
gaining admission? “Once a reject, always a reject”?
Would it be a better idea to apply to a different selection of schools after taking
a post-graduate year? Or does re-applying convey dedication and determination?
April 12th, 2010 at 7:50 am
Gillian,
Admission committees start over each year. Having been rejected the previous year will not impact your PG-year application.
Assuming that you use the PG year to improve your grades and increase your test scores, you should be in a better position the second time around. That being said, there is certainly nothing wrong with applying to a new school or two.
Good luck.
May 17th, 2010 at 6:33 am
My son is a junior at a very good public school. He is planning on transfering to a private high school to repeat his junior year. He has a gpa of 3.9, taking ap classes. We were told he just has to take a 4th year of english and history, which he will be doing along with math, science and language. All in his “4th”, which would have been his senior year.
I want to make sure he does not mess up his eligiblity (NCAA)to play (football)in college by doing a 5th year senior program. Am I missing anything.
Thanks,
Tommy Jones
May 17th, 2010 at 7:08 am
Tommy Jones,
You are not missing anything as far as I can tell. It is very common for students to repeat a year when transferring from public to private school. In fact, I personally know two students who did so this year. Sounds like your son is going to be a very highly recruited athlete. Congratulations.
June 25th, 2010 at 2:08 pm
Karl,
My son just completed junior year of high school. 3.2 GPA, 1830 on SAT’s good student. Very shy, got himself in a little minor touble (skipping gym, study hall), mostly due to shyness. Did get 1 day suspension for tobacco. Dump stuff. He just asked me today about PG year, even getting into boarding school so he can increase college chances. This is his choice, which is good to here.
how hard would it be to be able to get him into a senior year/pg year school at this point in time? New England area? Thanks.
June 25th, 2010 at 9:45 pm
Karl,
My son went to public school Freshman & Sophmore year and earned
a 2.0 GPA. In junior year he was failing algebra 2, so I had him
transfered to an all boys boarding school in CT, as a junior.
He earned a 1.7 gpa during that period. He now has a 2.0. He was
put on academic probation, supervised study hall, and face the
teacher in small classes; 10 -12 boys. From January thru May he
struggled, not doing some work, not getting extra help, hanging
with the wrong boys. He has 1 year probation for acting rude on
a class trip to Costa Rica. In May, he began to change and ended
strong, working hard, participating in class and obeying he rules.
His BS wants him to repeat junior year, take some summer school
and create a junior year of good grades. My son wants to GO BACK
to the public school as a senior (school with girls) and then
applyy for a PG year, back in a boarding school.
He will be 18, has a car, local parties and lots of friends who
will be applying to their colleges. At the boarding school he did
great in squash (7w-1loss), lacrosse “face-off”, and soccer
is his game. He said it is his choice as to where he goes to
school. Please advise with the facts and your recommendations.
wants to come back to public school
June 27th, 2010 at 10:03 pm
Barry,
I think a lot depends on whether you’ll need financial aid. If you are not looking for aid, I’m pretty sure your son can still get admitted to a private school for a PG year starting in the fall. (Most schools have awarded their aid budgets for the year, unfortunately. So if your son applies and needs aid, things are much less likely to work out.)
Good luck. Please do not hesitate to post follow-up questions.
June 27th, 2010 at 10:12 pm
Diane,
If he wants to come back, I would let him. Forcing him to stay at the boarding school is likely to be a disaster. Having him home will also allow you to keep closer watch over him.
By the time your son does a PG year, assuming he still wants to do so next year, he will be much more mature than he is now. He will also likely associate primarily with other PGs who will be focused on getting into high selective colleges. These other students may ultimately be a good influence on your son. (The PGs tend to hang out with each others, leaving the seniors to do their own thing.)
I hope this helps. Good luck and please do not hesitate to post follow-up questions or comments.
June 30th, 2010 at 7:33 pm
Hi Barry,
If he stays home, at 18, with weekend parties that the seniors
will be having (with college acceptance) a car, no homework, etc.
I feel he will have too much freedom and that he has not earned
this. He has already defied me last year when he was told he
could not go out…and left.
Overall, my son is a good kid, does not disrespect me. But his
ability to be responsible or care about his academics is not a
priority. At a boarding school, he must be independent. Get up
on time, attend chapel; with a morning discussion on life…etc.
Dress for class, participate in class since there are only about
10 boys per class, he cannot hide in a class of 25 or make a rude
comment (as he has) and get the class to giggle at him; (for
attention), he must get himself ready for his sport, arrive on
time, etc. Study hall is mandatory with doors open from 7:30 -
9:30 if your grades are good, if not you attend supervised study-
hall. Teachers live on campus, he had a tutor during second
period, and a guitar lesson on opposite days….
He has said, “it’s his life and when he is ready to kick it in,
he will”……I think this is not acceptable.
In the public school, he will be associated with seniors who,
again are ready to “party”. They have applied to school and
will be getting their acceptance letters.
My son may not want to do a PG year, because of his friends.
Then at a NEW boarding school, again, he will only be with the
PG’s for a semester, getting to know them, the sport teams,
the teachers, etc…with probably the lowest gpa, since most
pG’s go on to up their pretty good gpa scores….
To return to BS is a known, senior year and possible gap year is
an unknown. If he does not do well at Boarding school, that will
be his problem. And for him to deal with. I think an 18 year
old needs to have consequences not privileges. Unless deserved.
June 30th, 2010 at 7:49 pm
About how many PGs does a school like Hun accept each year? Just curious.
July 2nd, 2010 at 10:10 am
Karl,
Thank you for you reply. We have started the process and instead of a senior year public then PG, we are looking at repeat 11, then 12 at boarding school. My son is the one driving this. We have made some inquiries and son schools are willing to interview him and have a few spots, especially since we do not need aid, which we pointed out early in the process, I think that helps. Hopefully we can find a good fit. I appreciate your input.
July 7th, 2010 at 8:33 am
Good luck, Barry. Please let me know how it goes.
July 7th, 2010 at 8:34 am
Danielle,
Hun admits between 5 and 10 PGs per year.