Follow the Journey
Gap Year Planning
Written By, James Simmons The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in drastic changes on an individual, community, and global level. Each of us has experienced at least some degree of change to our social and familial relationships, as well as having to make adjustments to our educational and/or career options. Many have personally experienced the effects of COVID-19 firsthand; others have loved ones who have suffered due to the pandemic. We…
Read More Written By, Doug Zaideman Learning To Trip Lead Becoming an Overseas Educator (OE) with Carpe Diem wasn’t something that I always knew I wanted to do, in fact, I hadn’t even heard of formal gap year education programs until after I had already made my way through school and had the opportunity to travel internationally for the first time. During a trip to Southeast Asia, I would meet student groups…
Read More Written By, Doug Zaideman Taking a Latitudes Year with Carpe Diem allows you to build upon experiences you had during your group semester, carrying those skills and lessons learned over to an independent gap semester spent volunteering for an international organization, a Focused Volunteer Placement (FVP). In addition to where Carpe travels during group semesters, our Latitudes Year programs partners with organizations in over 20 countries worldwide.
Finding A…
Read More Thinking about the impact your gap year abroad has on the planet? We are too. From international flights, to travel gear, to the types of activities you do, the products you consume, the businesses you support, and the places you visit while taking a gap year… the choices you make have an impact on communities, environments and economies. There is a lot to consider!
Is it possible to take a…
Read More Your gap year plans were moving along full steam ahead.
And now? Everything in the world is on hold.
The good news is that while many other things in our lives have been canceled, your gap year dreams are merely on pause.
What can you do in the meantime to get ready for your gap year? Here are seven ideas!
1. Connect with alumni. Wonder what it’s like to learn…
Read More Is this you? You’re thinking about taking a
gap year after high school or in college, so you start googling
gap year ideas to find the best gap year programs, and
what to do during your gap year to see what your options are.
Maybe you also take a look at the gap year travel programs on
GoAbroad.com or
GoOverseas.com, read program reviews, and talk with friends who’ve gone…
Read More By Carpe Diem Education Alumni Breezy Zins On my first night back in America after a three-month-long journey through
East Africa, I opened up my closet doors, looked at all the clothes I had – so many they all wouldn’t fit on hangers and had to be folded on shelves – and I cried.
I’d seen such incredible poverty it seemed so unfair, so confusing, to have so many…
Read More As our groups return this week, we know families are excited to welcome students home and proud of all of their hard work over the past months. Taking a gap year is a transformative journey and you may think the experience is over: the truth is, some of the hardest work has just begun.
As students grapple with
reverse culture shock, it is important that they feel supported so…
Read More Photos and article by Carpe Diem Alumni Evangeline Scazzero If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’ve already been poisoned.
Poisoned by what your parents call “the travel bug,” what your friends call “you’re so lucky,” and what your college advisor will eventually call, “put down the study abroad pamphlets.”
Full disclosure, I have also been poisoned.
Yet here I am, still alive and well. I’ve survived it all.…
Read More Deciding to take a gap year is a big decision! Now that you’ve started researching your many
gap year options, you’re probably coming up with more questions than answers.
If I had to guess, you’re probably wondering about things like how to get your parents on board, whether or not you want to
earn college credit while abroad, how to
pay for your gap year, and how to fit…
Read More Thinking about taking a gap year after high school?
Or maybe you’ve started college and are wondering if participating in a college gap year program abroad is still something you want to do?
Perhaps you’re
weighing your options between a gap travel program, gap year volunteering, gap semester programs or another experience, like study abroad?
You’re not alone! We meet students all the time who are interested in gap year…
Read More Deciding to take a gap year after high school or during college is a big decision! That’s why we asked some of our gap semester program and Latitudes year alumni to share their experiences with you.
Introducing…Alex, Emily, and Patrick!
CDE: Hi, everyone! Let’s start with an easy question. In which gap program did you participate? Alex: Latitudes Year:
South Pacific group semester, and FVP in San…
Read More Your semester is finally here! You’re leaving for your gap program in a few weeks and it’s time to start packing….but you don’t know where to start. You’re not alone – don’t worry!
I find packing to be a pretty fun process but I know a lot of people would disagree with me. I can’t promise that packing for your
gap year semester or
year is going to be fun…
Read More I was a high achiever in high school, I had a 4.0, IB diploma and I got into my first choice school in the Ivy League on the other side of the country.
I didn’t think twice and I headed straight there without a doubt in my mind.
Once I got there, however, I realized I had no idea what I wanted to major in, I wasn’t sure how to…
Read More 
