Considering a Gap Year? Admitted students may apply to defer enrollment for a full academic year—a gap year—to work, travel, or pursue other productive interim opportunities.

How to Apply
  1. Pay your enrollment deposit by the deadline provided in the offer of admission.

  2. Send an email to our Gap Year Coordinator, Lateishia Spencer, to discuss your plans.
  3. Submit your gap year application by June 1.
  4. Upon receipt of approval, send an additional non-refundable deposit of $1,000 within 7 days.
Gap year essentials
  • Cost of attendance for student deferring enrollment will be set at the rate used during the academic year in which they matriculate
  • Scholarships awarded to students deferring enrollment are retained for one year. Applicants will need to reapply for need-based aid.
  • Students are not permitted to pursue any academic coursework for credit during the deferral period.
  • During the month of February, our office will be in contact to confirm your enrollment and activate the enrollment checklist on your Applicant Status Page.
  • All enrollment deposits are non-refundable and Sewanee does not approve gap year extensions.
Programs and organizations
Back on the mountain: what happens when I return?

Sewanee is committed to supporting each of our gap year students from the moment they receive their letter of admittance, to the moment they receive their diploma. For us, this means connecting each student with faculty and staff who will offer guidance and support during their year abroad, and also help facilitate a smooth transition when the student returns to the Mountain. Immediately upon their arrival on campus, gap year students will be offered the opportunity to participate in Sewanee’s “Finding Your Place” residential program, during which some of Sewanee’s most experienced and renowned faculty members provide entering students with a profound and intimate knowledge of Sewanee by closely engaging with its biology and geology, its community and history, through field trips, service, readings, writing, and small-group discussions.

Contact

Lateishia Spencer
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ADMISSION

Lateishia.Spencer@sewanee.edu