LeapYear

LeapYear LeapYear is a structured one-year life accelerator for graduating high school seniors.

Instead of having your your sights set on your child getting the job, maybe you should be focused on a better question.....
02/16/2026

Instead of having your your sights set on your child getting the job, maybe you should be focused on a better question... If they are setting out on apath that fits them best?
..No how do we go about finding the answer for this question?

Career prototypes.

It involves real world, hands-on experience, followed by reflection, asking questions, and continuing in this cycle thoughtfully to help students gain clarity on their direction.

We think career prototyping is the best way for students to figure out what career path may be right for them!

What do you think? Do you wish you had the chance to do this when you were younger?

-

leap year | gap year program | post-grad life | before college | find yourself | college major | highschool seniors | highschool graduate

-

One year to design your life 🛠️Who are you? What do you love? What are you great at? What does the world need?.. Who ar...
02/09/2026

One year to design your life 🛠️

Who are you? What do you love? What are you great at? What does the world need?.. Who are you becoming?

These are the type of important questions we explore at LeapYear, to clarify who you want to become and how to get there.

Link in bio to learn more.

-

gap year | student travel | highschool grads | highschool graduate | highschool senior | study abroad |

01/26/2026

Not because the external circumstances shift, but because you're no longer building on sand.

When you know who you are, what you value, what you're called to, and what you won't compromise on, everything you build actually holds.

The right decisions become obvious. The wrong paths lose their appeal. The noise quiets down.

This is why the question "What do you want to do?" comes second.

The first question is always: "Who are you becoming?"

Get the inside right, and the outside follows.

When you don't, you spend your life rearranging furniture in a house built on a broken foundation.

Start from the inside. Build from there.

-

01/21/2026

Once you know who you are, the rest becomes clearer.
The right opportunities reveal themselves. The wrong paths lose their pull. The noise quiets down. Clarity doesn't come from having more options. It comes from having a foundation solid enough to know which options are actually for you.

Build that first. Everything else follows.

-

We're handing the most powerful technology ever created to a generation formed by TikTok, doomscrolling, and constant di...
01/21/2026

We're handing the most powerful technology ever created to a generation formed by TikTok, doomscrolling, and constant distraction.
AI makes it easy to build anything. The bottleneck isn't capability anymore—it's wisdom.

The question isn't "Can we build it?"
It's "Should we build it?"

And that's not a skills question. That's a formation question.
You don't build formation the way you build skills.
You build it through what our culture has abandoned:
Deep reading. Sustained focus. Real community. Wrestling with hard questions.
The practices that actually shape who you are.
AI accelerates what we can do.
Formation determines what we should do.

What's your take?

-

Meet Riley Simpson, Founder & CEOThe standard path failed Riley.At 18, he was burnt out, unsure, and not showing up as h...
01/20/2026

Meet Riley Simpson, Founder & CEO
The standard path failed Riley.

At 18, he was burnt out, unsure, and not showing up as himself.
College with no plan felt like forcing a decision he wasn't ready to make.
So he didn't. He took a year to try things and figure out who he was.
That year transformed everything. By the time he got to campus, he was clear, confident, and doors opened that never would have otherwise.

Riley built LeapYear because he realized: every student deserves this.
Not as a backup plan. Not as an alternative for kids who are "struggling."
As the right way to transition into adulthood.
Figure out who they are. Then decide what to do.

-

One of the biggest questions parents have about gap years: "Will my kid fall behind?"The data tells a different story. S...
01/13/2026

One of the biggest questions parents have about gap years: "Will my kid fall behind?"

The data tells a different story. Students who take an intentional year off outperform their peers academically. For all four years.

Taking time to build clarity, maturity, and purpose sets you up for success..

-

01/02/2026

Most people pick a major at 18 and hope it works out. Career design puts you in charge as the designer of your own path. You start by building a foundation before committing years and money to a path that might not even fit.

That's what LeapYear does. A year to explore who you are and what you want in your life. Exploration isn't a detour. It's the path.

Link in bio to learn more about joining our 2026 cohort!

-

We believe that our experiences shape us. Travel and gap year programs are often used as a means for catharsis, when in ...
12/26/2025

We believe that our experiences shape us. Travel and gap year programs are often used as a means for catharsis, when in reality, culture shock, infinite stimuli and numerous new experiences can be wasted or prevent any sort of eureka moment. Formational practices to process and nurture the self are foundational to travel and work experience being positive and additive experiences for anyone.

-

12/22/2025

"Travel to find yourself" has become a cliché—and for good reason.
The irony is that wandering without structure or purpose (while working odd jobs to fund your travels) isn't actually going to make your path any clearer.

Spend your gap year figuring out who you are and what you want. Build some skills. Get some direction. Then when you study abroad, you're not just wandering aimlessly, you're traveling with purpose, surrounded by people in your field, often on scholarship money.

Link in bio to see how LeapYear helps you build that foundation first.

-

2 days. 2 spots. Life-changing scholarships available.This is it! The final opportunity to join LeapYear's Founding Coho...
08/11/2025

2 days. 2 spots. Life-changing scholarships available.

This is it! The final opportunity to join LeapYear's Founding Cohort with up to $22,500 in scholarship support.

While others guess their way through college (changing majors 3 times, adding $50,000+ in costs), our Founding Fellows will spend the next year:

✓ Running 3-5 career prototypes with real organizations
✓ Building evidence—not assumptions—about their path
✓ Developing 12 leadership competencies that compound
✓ Creating a portfolio that makes college applications and job interviews effortless

The difference between drifting and designing:

Your peers: "I think I might like consulting?"

LeapYear grads: "I tested consulting, product management, and social enterprise. Here's my portfolio, my network of 20+ mentors, and evidence of exactly where I thrive."

Available scholarships:
→ 1 FULL RIDE scholarships ($22,500)
→ 1 partial scholarships ($10,000)

Stanford, UT, Purdue and A&M admits are deferring college and choosing LeapYear first.

Why? Because they understand:

One year with us = a lifetime of knowing how to turn uncertainty into strategy.

Applications close Wednesday, August 13th!

Who needs to see this? Know a student you would nominate for the full ride?

Address

Austin, TX

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when LeapYear posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The University

Send a message to LeapYear:

Shortcuts

Share

Category