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Middlebury has always valued a spirit of adventure.

At Middlebury, we’ve long supported students who want to take time off between high school and college.

Every year, a handful of students admitted for September choose to defer their enrollment for a year and instead travel, work, or take the opportunity to pursue other interests. All of those options can help contribute to an even more enriching college experience.

Even if you choose to take a gap year, it’s best to go through the college admissions process while you are still in high school. Once you know where you have been admitted and where you would like to enroll, you can consider the many gap year options available to you.

Letting Us Know

At Middlebury, we ask admitted students to inform us of their plans to defer no later than June 1. Like most colleges, we ask only that you not enroll in a degree-granting program at another institution and not apply to other colleges during your time off.

You will usually need to submit financial aid forms again for the following year, but unless your family’s financial circumstances change significantly in the meantime, it is likely that your financial aid package will be similar to what was originally offered. Please note that candidates offered admission from the waitlist are not eligible to defer their enrollment.

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