Hi Nicholas,

I think what you are thinking of doing is great. A gap year is a brilliant opportunity to do something you are really passionate about - in your case, master Mandarin and spend time in China.

I don't know about the specific schools you are interested in, but generally in this situation, we highly recommend applying before you take the year(s) out, not least because it enables you to make the most of the time without worrying about applications and where you will be going afterwards. It would also almost certainly be slightly harder to do the applications from overseas as well - even a simple phone call can become a challenge when you are in a different timezone.

In the US, colleges are becoming more and more encouraging of gap years, as long as you do something meaningful and productive - which you would certainly be doing.

My recommendation would be to research the individual schools that you are interested in and find out about their specific policies. You can then decide what the best course of action is based on that information. Financial aid may also be relevant as it can change, so do investigate if that would be a factor.

The links below may have some relevant information - Harvard and Princeton are high profile supporters of gap years and the American Gap Association has some information about other universities and their policies and acceptance rates. Please note, it is not an exhaustive list.

http://www.princeton.edu/bridgeyear/

https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/preparing-college/should-i-take-time

http://www.americangap.org/fav-colleges.php

I hope this information is useful. Feel free to get in touch if you have further questions.

Shona @ Africa & Asia Venture (AV)

http://www.aventure.co.uk