“Marion worked swiftly during the first summer of the COVID-19 pandemic to help our son find options for a GAP year experience after he made a decision to defer his freshman year in college late in the game. Marion’s knowledge and relationships with program leaders and their processes both domestically as well as internationally was invaluable. Marion challenged our son to dig deep and discover what type of program or internship would be best suited for him during this time away from the typical learning environment. His choice of two separate and different types of semester programs were each a huge success and he returned home with new friendships, a new outlook on the world and displayed tremendous personal growth even noting that he felt he learned more through his experiences than he would have during that first year of college whether it had been online or in person.”
From Tara G. whose son spent his gap year with a semester in Hawaii and one in Costa Rica learning about conservation, environmental issues and Spanish.
“As a parent, I loved working with Marion Taylor for many reasons. She has a mountain of experience and was there for support during our gap year. You can imagine how “up & down” it was to travel during 2020, but Marion’s guidance made it a lot more peaceful. She was instrumental with our decision to divide the year into two halves; two programs. This saved me an immense amount of time and research. I had trust that she vetted the programs that she recommended. Even though I never met Marion in person, I am grateful for all that she did for my daughter and me”
From Lindsey M. whose son spent a semester in Cuenca, Ecuador doing an internship and homestay followed by a study abroad program in Salamanca, Spain.
“Marion worked well with our son to determine the best Gap Year program for him and took the time to meet with all of us. She was very good about our health care concerns. The EDGE program she recommended was also very helpful in preparation for our son’s experience.”
From John B. whose son spent a gap experience in Donegal County, Ireland
“With all the gap year opportunities available now, Marion was able to sort through and zero-in on the organizations & programs that would best interest our son. Her authentic relationship skills were key in guiding him to ultimately customize the perfect gap year for his transition from high school to college. Marion’s program expertise & personal travel experience helped our son so much more than I could have ever expected, and together they created a gap year that was priceless in our son’s life’s journey. Thank you Marion!!!”
From Kathy H. whose son spent a semester in Indonesia and a semester interning in the South Pacific region.
“Marion’s assistance with selecting a gap semester for my daughter was invaluable in navigating the various programs. Marion was conscientious about my child’s particular needs and desired outcome. I was confident that my child was going to have an exciting cultural immersion experience.”
From Suzanne whose daughter spent a gap semester in Peru and Ecuador.
“I hired Marion to help my struggling niece who lived out of state and was a senior in high school. She was conflicted on whether she should apply to art school or college or go traveling after high school. Marion worked with her via e-mail and Skype and helped my niece explore various Gap Year programs. I’m happy to report my niece ended up doing two different linguistics programs in Prague and Russia last year. She is starting college this Fall in Arizona and will be studying Linguistics and Art.”
From Georgette, the aunt of a young woman who studied in Prague and Russia over the course of her gap year.
“Despite knowing that our high school graduate needed additional time and a focused experience before heading to college, we were immobilized with these concerns and fears.
In return for what we thought was a very reasonable consultant fee, Marion met with our son to interview him, understand his passions, concerns and fears, and suggest a variety of vetted programs for him to further research. At subsequent meetings, they worked through his shortlist to select the (truly!) perfect program. She continued to be a resource with applications, deadlines, and now upon his return, she has been very helpful through the not-always-easy process of applying for college credit at the home university.
Marion comes with my highest recommendation for her knowledge, empathy, energy, and follow through. She made a daunting and complicated process vastly easier, taking our parental stress level down several notches. What a great resource!”
From Arthur, whose son traveled in Peru and Ecuador with a structured gap program in the Fall, and volunteered at an animal sanctuary in Costa Rica in the Spring.
“The options and information about the possible gap pathways is completely overwhelming for kids and their parents. Without Marion’s help and advice about specific opportunities and programs, we might still be googling options.
Our daughter had a wonderful year. The variety of places she went and experienced have helped her to mature in countless ways. One particularly memorable story while visiting our daughter in Tanzania. It was a brutal amount of travel for a pretty short stay. But, we’ll never forget glancing at each other over and over during our trip with ‘Who IS this lovely, capable, culturally sensitive, worldly, young woman?!’ She shepherded her parents through eastern Africa with great ease!”
From Becky, mother of a student who combined various gap experiences in Nepal, Wyoming, and Tanzania.
“Taylor the Gap took a lot of the worry out of our daughter’s gap year. We knew the programs she was considering had been vetted by Marion and would deliver what they promised. When our daughter decided mid-year to change her plans, Marion responded quickly to help her find alternative programs on short notice.”
From Susan, mother of gap year student who traveled in Borneo and volunteered in Thailand and South Africa.
“Marion has worked with us and our son to design a Gap Year within our budget and the experiences that were important to us all. Marion’s assessment questionnaire, personal meetings with our son, and years of experience have made the process of planning a gap year seamless.”
From Dale and Susan, parents of a student who studied Spanish in Argentina, sailed and sea kayaked in Baja, and explored the islands of Indonesia.
“Marion took on the challenge of helping our daughter structure her gap semester and handled everything with grace and expertise. She swiftly got to know our daughter and her ideas and goals well, while hearing and respecting our parental concerns and boundaries. We are deeply grateful for Marion’s help and guidance.”
From Currie, mother of a student who joined a Shakespeare theater program in England, trekked in Scotland, and studied environmental conservation and climate change in Indonesia.
“Marion was very helpful in providing a list of potential opportunities for my daughter when the gap year program in which she had hoped to participate cancelled its trip for the Spring. Marion talked to my daughter to determine her interests and she was very responsive in answering my questions as well. Marion is very knowledgeable about gap year programs and is a good, affordable alternative to other very high-priced gap-year consultants.”
From Colleen B. whose daughter spent time in several East African countries.
“Taylor the Gap was a very helpful resource to my son as he sorted out his gap year plans. Marion was great about holding him accountable for his part of the equation – it was ideal to have her checking in with him, and nudging him along to do his homework and make decisions along the way. I would not hesitate to recommend Taylor the Gap to any family in need of an experienced filter to arrive at the right choice for how to spend a gap year.”
From Kady H. whose son participated in two internships in New Zealand and Australia.
“For our part, we feel it was a very successful gap year full of independence, friends, travel and working through a few “unknowns.” While we felt that Ava would do fine finding her own experiences, we found it was nice to have someone like Marion for her to bounce off ideas and vet some of the programs she was looking at. We also hired her to help assist with any problems she might have while away but she didn’t have anything she could not handle herself. We liked the “insurance” of knowing she would help navigate, if need be. She is excited to start school in August. I would recommend her to anyone considering a gap year.”
From Kathy H. whose daughter spent time in a Spanish immersion program Guatemala, midwifery volunteer program in Cusco, Peru, and a humans right internship in Buenos Aires, Argentina.