Travel / Gap Year
The GAP Year
Some students will decide they don't want to go to college right out of high school and want to take a year off. This is usually referred to as a "Gap Year". USA Gap Year Fairs offers some options and hosts a fair in early spring.
Travel
Action Without Borders (Idealist) - The goal of this resource center is to help you make informed decisions about volunteering in another country.
American Field Service - AFS is an international, voluntary, non-governmental, non-profit organization that provides intercultural learning opportunities to help people develop the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to create a more just and peaceful world.
Center for Interim Programs - Try Googling the term "gap year' and you will get over 31,330,000 hits. There are many options for a productive year off after high school. This is a consulting service that helps young people find meaningful gap year placements.
Dynamy has a pretty unique approach to education with hands-on internships, apartment living, mentorship, adventure challenges, life skills workshops and the possibility of college credit all thoughtfully mixed together. If you're looking to step into the real world and explore your passions this may be the right place for you.
Rotary Exchange Program - The most powerful force in the promotion of international understanding and peace is exposure to different cultures. The world becomes a smaller, friendlier place when we learn that all people, regardless of nationality, desire the same basic things: a safe, comfortable environment that allows for a rich and satisfying life for our children and ourselves. Youth Exchange provides thousands of young people with the opportunity to meet people from other lands and to experience their cultures. This plants the seeds for a lifetime of international understanding.
Rustic Pathways - Gap year programs inspire growth, encourage openness, and help you develop global perspectives before taking the next step, wherever your path may lead.
Semester at Sea Gap Year - The Semester at Sea study-abroad experience is available to gap year students. Get a taste for the entire world as you explore 8-12 international ports and communities, attend classes on global topics with students from around the country, take part in service projects and cross-cultural opportunities in port, and head back to college with a defined sense of the world.
Service
AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) strengthens communities and develops leaders through direct, team-based national and community service. AmeriCorps NCCC is a full-time, team-based residential program for men and women ages 18-24.
Peace Corps - Information on how to volunteer to help others around the world.
Self-Employment and Entrepreneurship
DECA - An international association of high school and college students studying marketing, management and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality and marketing sales and service.
ZeroMillion Young Entrepreneurship - A website with lots of ideas and challenges for those thinking about striking out on their own