By spring semester of my senior year of high school, I'd had it with the classroom.
Educators call it "Senioritis," but my 18-year-old blogger self called it "losing my greatest strength: my drive to learn." In every academic sense, I was prepared to start ASU, and I should have been excited to pursue my dream degree at the university I'd grown up imagining myself at. But I wasn't.
That's when my friend came to me with an idea: don't go. Instead, travel Europe with her by train, volunteer at a marine conservation camp, explore museums analyzing art we'd only ever seen in textbooks. That was way too crazy for me.
I had my whole life set up, and I was worried I was risking throwing my plan out the window. But then I realized something: It was possible, and my new life as a Sun Devil would be waiting for me when I got home.
Making it work
Taking time for personal growth before college is a privilege, and I was fortunate to have savings and a supportive family behind me. The summer after high school, I worked nonstop. I carefully added up every paycheck, Venmo from my summer side hustle and graduation gift.
I knew I still wouldn't have enough for a full year of travel, and I couldn't picture waiting that long to start school, so I decided to take a gap semester (the gap year's little brother). We traveled, along with another friend who got roped into our plan, for three months. When I came back to Arizona, I stayed with my family and worked for another two months before starting school in the spring.
I left for the trip with enough money to dine out in each of the ten countries we visited, take unplanned adventures like rerouting our trip for Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany, and have an emergency fund, which I luckily never used.
We lived in shared hostel dorms and one-room Airbnbs, checked every price tag, walked, bussed, and ferried, and found cheap, creative ways to explore. It wasn't luxurious, but we learned about local life and history more authentically. Coming into college, I felt more prepared than ever to live in shared spaces, manage money and navigate a city.
For me, this experience was more customizable than a semester-long study abroad and cost less than half the price of one (based on ASU in-state tuition). I explored my own unique interests, as well as those of my two friends, gained a global awareness through talking with travelers we met along the way, and even learned to SCUBA dive.
What the "semester" lacked in credit hours, it made up for by reminding me education extends far beyond your transcript.
READ MORE: How Sun Devils can go global: A guide to understanding study abroad programs
The ASU effect
The policies, course availability and support of the University made it an essential part of my gap semester planning. Looking back on my experience now, I believe ASU was the perfect school to wait to go to.
ASU allows admitted students to defer up to five terms for U.S. students, or one term for international students. The process for undergraduates is outlined online, but to better understand my options, I got in contact with an admissions services representative through the ASU help desk. In addition, I spoke with a housing representative about what getting a housing placement would look like when I returned.
I took additional, simple steps to defer my Barrett, The Honors College admission and took my math placement exam online in a library in Prague, Czechia.
Thanks to ASU's large course catalog, beginning classes in the spring semester didn't cause any disruption to my academic schedule. As a matter of fact, some of my class sizes were smaller compared to my fall-start peers, and I met other students who had also deferred their admissions or started their college education at a different school.
Drawbacks and technicalities
Starting school in the spring meant housing was not guaranteed and I would not have the ability to participate in ASU's roommate match. Fortunately, I applied for spring housing as early as possible and was placed in a room in the building of my choice with a roommate who I still live with and is now one of my closest friends.
All the financial aid I was offered by the University was deferred and applied to my account starting in the spring semester. However, the ASU website cautions students receiving private scholarships to contact their scholarship providers as their circumstances may be different.
Midway through my first semester at ASU, I did have an issue where it seemed that all my aid had been lost. As it turns out, I had not filled out a particular aid deferral form I needed.
Because I was not aware of this form ahead of time, the ASU financial aid and student accounts office was able to help me resolve the issue. In hindsight, I would have gotten in touch with the office before submitting my deferral application to guarantee everything was lined up.
I missed some of ASU's signature orientation events, like Inferno Fest and Barrett's Camp B-Town. But I still received all the academic support of a freshman starting in the fall, and was able to attend spring Residence Hall Association events and club fairs. Because of all the year-around events, I never felt like I lacked a "freshman experience."
Thanks to ASU, I'm a proud graduate of a gap semester. I started college with a better understanding of myself and a range of new knowledge and skills. Everyone has a unique academic experience, and I encourage each incoming student to make theirs an adventure.
Edited by Andrew Dirst, Abigail Beck and Katrina Michalak.
Reach the reporter at spbracci@asu.edu and follow @SophiaBraccio on X.
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Sophia is a junior studying journalism and mass communication. This is her fourth semester with The State Press. She has also worked at Nomads with Notebooks and Blaze Radio and interned for The Arizona Republic.
