💬What made Karan drop his NYU dream?
A homeschooled IB-student talks to us about mental health, digital learning tools, and how taking a break from school actually helped him.
Written by Swasti Acharya
For students who haven’t yet witnessed the perils and praises of work-life, the desire to take a break manifests itself in what is called a Gap Year. Whether right after high school, college, or sometimes in-between, this phenomenon is that time taken to “figure out” what you’d want to do.
Even though a ‘gap’ signifies a rupture of some kind, we spoke to a young student in the capital who shares how taking a year off before college contributed to building a stronger application packet.
Karan’s profile:
- 18 years old
- Male
- New Delhi
- Living with family
Home-schooled despite good grades and extracurriculars at top IB schools
“I was in boarding school, and it was a very difficult situation for me, like being away from my parents. It was not something I was very comfortable with... I mean my grades were up, my relationships and friendships with the teachers and friends were good but mentally, like I still needed my parents. I didn't think that I was ready to be that far from them for that long,” says Karan, a 17-year-old home-schooled International Baccalaureate (IB) student.