A PG Year is an additional year of secondary school coursework that is taken after a student has graduated from high school, but before enrolling in college. High school seniors who hope to improve their grades, SAT scores, athletic accomplishments, or emotional maturity before going to college, often do a PG year.
The PG year has been around for at least 25 years, starting with applicants to the service academies who needed an extra year of high school coursework to be successful at West Point or Annapolis. Today, many service academy applicants still do PG years, but they are joined by other types of students. I have worked with young athletes who hope that another year of playing time, physical growth, and academic improvement will get the attention of Division I coaches. I have worked with high-achieving students with top grades who do a PG year because they are only 17 years old at high school graduation, or they need more time to develop emotionally before having the freedom that college brings. But most often, the PG applicant is a young man who has not focused on academics during his high school years and hopes to build study skills and improve his grades before moving on to college. An increasing number of girls are doing PG years, but the majority of PG students are boys.
Simply stated, the PG year gives a student the gift of time. One more year to grow and mature, to build academic and athletic skills, and to get ready for the demands of college. And with more and more students dropping out of college or taking more than four years to graduate, having an additional foundation year can be an excellent choice for a student.
For more information on procedures for working with Summit Academic Advisors, please see the Boarding School link.