What Center for Interim Programs does

Center for Interim Programs is a private, founder-family-owned gap year counseling service founded in 1980 by Cornelius Bull, a former headmaster who spent 20 years developing the concept before launching the firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts; the headquarters later relocated to Princeton, New Jersey, where the company currently operates. It is the first and longest-running independent gap year counseling organization in the United States, providing personalized program matching, deferral-letter support, and ongoing advocacy for clients during their gap year. The firm's core asset is a proprietary, curated database of more than 7,000 vetted gap year programs spanning academic study abroad, internships, conservation, cultural immersion, outdoor/wilderness, community service, skill development, spiritual exploration, and work-exchange placements across roughly 25 countries.

The business model is a professional services fee structure: a free 90-minute initial consultation acts as the funnel, after which enrolled clients pay an annual consulting fee for personalized counseling with a lifetime service commitment. The Cornelius Bull Scholarship provides need-based financial assistance, and the firm explicitly does not accept commissions from program referrals, which it uses as a trust-building differentiator. Distribution is direct-to-consumer through phone, email, video, and in-person consultations, supplemented by top-of-funnel marketing via the company blog, podcast appearances, keynote speaking at USA Gap Year Fairs (30 in-person plus 4 virtual events per season for 16 consecutive years), and earned media coverage in 70+ outlets including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Boston Globe. Customer segments include high school students (primary), college students and recent graduates, and mid/post-career adults seeking sabbaticals or career changes.

Operationally, the company runs lean with a team of approximately 9 counselors plus 1 technology and business support staffer; it has no funding rounds, no parent company, no M&A history, and no software/API products. Leadership is concentrated in Holly Bull (President, 38 years in the field, daughter of the founder) and Kate Warren (Director of Research, with the firm since 2001). The company maintains active memberships in the Gap Year Association, Year Out Group, and International Volunteer Association, reinforcing its positioning as a neutral, standards-aligned intermediary rather than a program operator.

Name

Center for Interim Programs

Legal name

Center for Interim Programs

Website

https://interimprograms.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Center for Interim Programs provides personalized gap year counseling to high school students, college students, and adults using a proprietary database of 7,000+ vetted programs. Founded in 1980 and based in Princeton, NJ, it serves clients nationwide and abroad.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Consulting Services

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Structured Gap Year Programs (Multi-Sector & Rotational) (EDAIAGAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Gap Year + Study Abroad Hybrid Programs (EDAIAAAG)

Keywords

• Gap year counseling
• Educational consulting
• Experiential education
• Study abroad programs
• College admissions counseling

Headquarters

HQ city

Princeton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Gap Year Counseling Services: Professional consulting services for individuals planning gap year experiences. Includes initial free 90-minute consultation, personalized program matching, ongoing support throughout gap year, and lifetime service commitment for enrolled clients. Revenue from consulting fees, with scholarship assistance available.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Center for Interim Programs provides personalized gap year counseling and curated experiential program planning for individuals considering time off between life stages. The company matches clients with vetted programs from a proprietary database of over 7,000 options worldwide, including volunteer placements, internships, language schools, wilderness courses, and academic semesters. Services include a free 90-minute initial consultation, ongoing lifetime support, college deferral letter assistance, and access to the Cornelius Bull Scholarship for financial assistance.

Product overview

Center for Interim Programs offers a comprehensive gap year counseling service built around personalized guidance and a proprietary database of over 7,000 vetted program options. The core offering is expert counseling services that match individuals with appropriate gap year experiences, supplemented by a free 90-minute initial consultation and the Cornelius Bull Scholarship for need-based financial assistance. Their sample programs span 11 distinct categories including Academic & Study Abroad, Animals, Art/Film/Theatre & Music, Community Service, Conservation & Environment, Cultural Immersion, Internships, Outdoor & Wilderness, Skill Development, Spiritual Exploration, and Work Exchange—covering group travel programs, volunteer placements, internships, apprenticeships, language schools, wilderness courses, academic semesters, trade schools, research trips, and work exchange opportunities worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Gap Year Counseling Services Expert personalized counseling service that helps individuals plan and organize meaningful gap year experiences through one-on-one guidance, program matching from a vetted database, and ongoing support throughout the gap time journey. Includes lifetime service commitment with advocacy, intervention, and backup placements if needed.
• Free 90-Minute Consultation

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 9,000 families assisted since 1980
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Go OverseascoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2007Go Overseas acquired USA Gap Year Fairs which were formed by Dynamy program in Massachusetts in 2007. Interim counselors Holly Bull and Kate Warren serve as keynote speakers at these nationwide events (30 in-person + 4 virtual per season). Attendance at fairs is free and open to all.
• CIME - Center for International Multidisciplinary EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Jose Martinez Cruz's company in Costa Rica for nearly 15 years. Over 160 Interim students experienced bespoke experiential learning in Costa Rica including medical shadowing, volunteer work at sloth sanctuary, sea turtle rehabilitation, indigenous community engagement, and Spanish language immersion. CIME operated on 'people over profits' model with 5% of tuition donated to children's rights organizations, women's groups, and community soup kitchens serving 250 kids daily. Partnership ended with Jose's passing in October 2023.
• Gap Year AssociationminorOthersNonprofit association providing industry data and standards. Gap Year Association data cited showing 130,000 students took gap years in 2020-21 (up from 40,000-60,000 pre-pandemic).
• Year Out GroupminorOthersProfessional organization for gap year program providers committed to standards of excellence and principles/practices guidelines.
• International Volunteer AssociationminorOthersAccreditation body with stringent criteria requirements for vetting gap year programs.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Global Citizen Year: Fellowship-style gap year program provider focused on immersive international experiences for high school graduates, directly competing for the same pre-college gap year cohort that Interim counsels.
• Where There Be Dragons: Long-running experiential education provider offering gap year semesters focused on cultural immersion and place-based learning in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, directly comparable to Interim's curated offerings.
• Carpe Diem Education: Gap year program provider focused on small-group international experiential learning with a similar target demographic and curation approach to Interim's counseling model.
• Rustic Pathways: Provider of community service and immersive travel gap year programs for high school and college-aged students, competing directly for the experiential gap year market that Interim curates.
• Winterline Global Education: Operates multi-country gap year programs combining travel, internships, and skill-building for high school graduates, competing for similar students with similar experiential program structures.
• Thinking Beyond Borders: Operates semester-long gap year programs with experiential learning components for high school graduates, competing for the same student segment and overlapping in experiential and international education positioning.

Emerging players

• Verto Education: Tech-forward provider offering gap semester programs with college credit, positioning itself as a college pathway alternative—directly competing for the same pre-college segment but with a more scalable, structured delivery model.
• GoOverseas: Online marketplace and review platform for gap year, study abroad, and volunteer programs—competing for the same customer discovery journey that Interim's counseling service addresses, with greater digital scalability.

Broad incumbents

• CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange): Large established study abroad and gap program provider serving high school and college students, offering overlapping international experiential programming though as part of a much broader portfolio.
• International Studies Abroad (ISA): Established study abroad provider with gap year-style programming serving undergraduate and gap year students; broader portfolio but overlapping destination countries and academic/cultural immersion offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/InterimPrograms
• Instagraminstagram.com/InterimPrograms
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/center-for-interim-programs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Center for Interim Programs