Links and Resources


Comprehensive Web Sites

  • Naviance
    Naviance is a personalized application manager used by St. Andrew's to manage all aspects of the college application process. Students can use it to research colleges, build a college list and track applications.
  • College Board
    The College Board offers a powerful college search, standardized testing information (PSAT, SAT AP) and links to the CSS PROFILE and other financial aid resources.
  • My Student Edge
    St. Andrew's has subscribed to this service which allows you to access comprehensive online SAT prep services for free, as well as search for colleges, scholarships and explore possible careers. Please contact us to gain access to this Web site.

Researching Colleges

  • U-CAN
    The University and College Accountability Network (U-CAN) is a Web site designed to give students and families concise information about colleges in a common format that allows for easy comparisons.
  • Campustours.com
    A Web site that offers free virtual tours of many colleges and universities.
  • College Newspapers Online
    Reading a college's newspaper is one of the best ways to get a feel for the campus, issues that are affecting students, and local events.
  • Colleges That Change Lives
    A non-profit focused on promoting a student-centered college search process.

Applying to College

Standardized Testing

College Athletics and Recruiting

Financial Aid

Parent Insight Form

  • All parents are encouraged to complete the following Parent Insight form

Class of 2013 Junior Year Calendar

  • Please find the Class of 2013 Junior Year Calendar here

Gap Year

A Gap Year is a natural break in the educational process after high school for students to explore interests before embarking on their college years. Gap Years can include work experiences to earn money toward college or any number of domestic and international travel and volunteer initiatives.  An increasing number of colleges recognize the value of taking a year off between high school and college. Many St. Andrew's graduates have spent a gap year traveling, working, doing community service or outward-bound programs. Take a look at "College Student Voices" (http://www.standrews-de.org/academics/college-counseling/news-from-2009/index.aspx) for some terrific examples of what our SAS students have done on their Gap Year experiences.

Below are some resources to gap year programs, books, opportunities, etc. 

AFS Intercultural Programs:  AFS Community Service Program is for young adults of 18 years or older. Participants volunteer to work at local organizations that address community needs, such as helping street children or developing training programs with human rights workers. Projects vary by hosting country and participants’ interests. AFS offers Community Service programs in more than 20 countries across the globe.  http://www.afs.org/AFSI

Bridge Year Programs:  The Bridge Year offers different gap year Spanish study programs in Santiago, Chile, and Buenos, Argentina. Accommodations are typically through homestays where your language skills are strengthened further.  http://bridgeyear.com 

Brown Ledge Gap Year: Brown Ledge programs are designed to give students the chance to live on their own and to learn from experience in a supportive and guided way. The skills they will gain—from cooking meals, to holding a job, to planning and executing ambitious documentary projects—are designed to help students get the most out of college as well as preparing for life as an active, curious and involved citizen of the world. http://www.brownledgegapyear.com/

Center for Interim Programs, LLC: Founded in 1980, the Center for Interim Programs is the first and longest-running independent gap-year counseling organization in the United States. Interim has designed creative gap-year opportunities for more than 5,700 people of all ages and built relationships with organizations worldwide. Interim's database encompasses more than 5,600 program opportunities. http://www.interimprograms.com/

Center for International Studies: For more than a decade, CIS has been providing safe, challenging, life-changing, study abroad experiences. http://www.studyabroad-cis.com/?page=gap_programs 

City Year: City Year unites young people of all backgrounds for a year of full-time service, giving them the skills and opportunities to change the world. As tutors, mentors and role models, City Year participants help children stay in school and on track, and transform schools and communities across the United States, as well as through international affiliates in Johannesburg, South Africa and London, England. http://www.cityyear.org/

Council on International Educational Exchange: Since 1947, CIEE has sent more than 50,000 U.S. youth to locations around the globe. These programs allow U.S high school students and recent high school graduates to study abroad, to live with a native host family, work abroad, and/or volunteer, and to challenge themselves on a new level by becoming fully immersed in a language and a new culture. http://ciee.org/hsabroad/

Disney CareerStart Program: The Disney CareerStart Program is a 7-month structured living, learning and earning program for high school graduates who are unsure of their future path and looking for anew experience.  Participants work at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida or in Anaheim, CA and live in fully-furnished, gated apartments with 24-hour security, and build transferable skills such as problem-solving, teamwork, Guest service and effective communication. They are also able to take courses through Disney Resorts that may earn them college credit.  www.disneycareerstart.com 

Global Citizen Year is designed to expose young Americans to global issues while developing them into leaders and effective agents of change. We believe that a structured bridge year can build the foundation for a student’s college and post-graduate life. In order to do so, we support our Fellows in an apprenticeship and homestay in Ecuador, Senegal or Brazil over the course of a 9-month program, combining their experience with an intensive training in the United States and a language and culture-specific training in their respective countries. http://globalcitizenyear.org 

LeapNOW based in California offers semester to year-long gap year programs in Guatemala, India, Australia, New Zealand and Ghana for 17-24 year olds.  Three-month internships are also available. http://www.leapnow.org

MASA Israel Journey: Programs in Israel  ranging from five months to one year. http://www.masaisrael.org 

NOLS: National Outdoor Leadership School. Founded in 1965 by legendary mountaineer Paul Petzoldt, NOLS--a 501(c)(3) not for profit educational institution--takes people of all ages on remote wilderness expeditions, teaching technical outdoor skills, leadership, and environmental ethics in some of the world’s wildest and most awe-inspiring classrooms. What NOLS teaches cannot be learned in a classroom or on a city street. It takes practice to learn outdoor skills and time to develop leadership. The wilderness provides the ideal setting for this unique http://www.nols.edu/ 

Outward Bound is a non-profit educational organization and expedition school that serves people of all ages and backgrounds through active learning expeditions that inspire character development, self-discovery and service both in and out of the classroom. Outward Bound delivers programs using unfamiliar settings as a way for participants across the country to experience adventure and challenge in a way that helps students realize they can do more than they thought possible. Customized courses provide curricula developed for struggling teens, groups with specific health, social or educational needs and business and professional organizations. a chartered entity of Outward Bound, offers a whole school reform model to more than 150 elementary and secondary schools throughout the country. http://www.outwardbound.org/ 

Projects Abroad offers a wide range of volunteer and internship opportunities abroad. Whether your interests lie in conservation, journalism, healthcare, law or archaeology you will receive a unique perspective into the culture of the country in which you are working. http://www.projects-abroad.org

SeaMester offers unique educational journeys at sea. For over 30 years, SeaMester and its affiliated programs have offered water-based academic and adventure training programs for students around the world. SeaMester is the only sailing based educational program that circumnavigates the globe. One semester, students from S/Y Ocean Star may be climbing the Pitons of St. Lucia while those from S/Y Argo study species diversity on the Islands of the Galapagos. The next semester they could be diving the coral reefs of Dominica while others visit an aboriginal community in Australia's Tiwi islands.  http://seamester.com

Sojourns Abroad: Programs in Siena and Paris including language study, home stay accommodation, art & art history, social service, midweek excursions, weekend travel, outdoor adventures, and cultural enrichment. The programs ground participants quickly as residents in their chosen city. Sojourns Abroad is a stimulating respite from the restricting demands of both traditional academic paths and conventional study abroad programs. Sojourns Abroad is for those who want some time away from being over-scheduled and from the expectations of others. http://sojournsabroad.org/

Taking Off: Taking Off is a highly personalized service working with anyone who takes time before or during college or later in life.  Taking Off works closely with each person to develop a plan to insure that “stopping out” does not become “dropping out." Taking Off helps clients explore and identify interests, evaluate priorities and secure experiences tailored to their specific needs. http://takingoff.net/

"Time Out or Burn Out for the Next Generation," an article written by William R. Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions, Harvard College, Marlyn E. McGrath, director of admissions, Harvard College, and Charles Ducey, adjunct lecturer in psychology, Harvard Graduate School of Education.

http://admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/time_off/index.html

Walking Tree Travel: The mission of Walking Tree Travel is to inspire high school students to become global citizens by taking an active interest in the world around them. Walking Tree specializes in cultural and linguistic immersion programs to Costa Rica, Senegal, China, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Mexico. http://www.walkingtree.org 

Where There Be Dragons: Dragons programs are authentic, rugged learning adventures that expose the beautiful and complex realities of the countries in which students travel. Featuring extended itineraries, Dragons programs encourage deep immersion into strikingly different physical and cultural landscapes, combining the best in experiential education, travel, service learning, and physically and intellectually challenging experiences. http://www.wheretherebedragons.com/

Woolman Semester: The Woolman Semester is a Quaker-founded semester program for students in their junior, senior or gap year of high school interested in studying social justice and environmental sustainability. The mission of the Woolman Semester is to empower students to effect change in the world on their terms. http://www.woolman.org

World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF): WWOOF started in the UK in 1971 and is now a worldwide network helping people share more sustainable ways of living. In return for volunteer help, WWOOF hosts offer food, accommodation and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles. http://www.wwoof.org/index.asp

Yale University: Resources, including books, articles, and programs, compiled by Yale for students considering a gap year. http://www.yale.edu/yalecollege/international/welcome/gap_year.htm