EF Gap Year Competitors

CIEE is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing peace through people-to-people intercultural exchange. Since 1947, CIEE has built bridges between different people, countries, and cultures through study abroad and international exchange programs, helping over 1.5 million young people develop skills for living in a globally interdependent and culturally diverse world. Today, CIEE serves more than 50,000 participants annually through college and high school study abroad, global internship, BridgeUSA, and other international exchange programs. With programs in more than 45 cities across 30+ countries and as the largest U.S. Department of State BridgeUSA sponsor, CIEE expands access to life-changing international experiences that develop global perspectives, strengthen career readiness, and nurture friendships that transcend borders.

Outward Bound, founded in 1941 by educator Kurt Hahn, is a non-profit educational organization that serves people of all ages and backgrounds through challenging learning expeditions that focus on character development, leadership and service. As the pioneer and leading provider of experiential and outdoor education in the U.S., Outward Bound offers over 1,000 courses throughout the year, across the U.S. and internationally. Outward Bound helps individuals and teams discover strength of character and an aptitude for leadership needed to serve others in their community and care for the world around them. Outward Bound serves 70,000 students annually, many of whom receive scholarship support, and has a nationwide community of more than 1 million people.

Rustic Pathways is an educational travel company founded in 1983. It runs cultural immersion, service-learning, and adventure programs in 38 countries for students ages 14 to 18, and has served 155,829 students from 53 countries. Rustic Pathways maintains a median student-to-staff ratio of 4.37:1 (maximum 7:1), employs a dedicated Medical Director, Dr. William R. Smith, publishes quarterly safety reports, and won a 2024 Gold Magellan Award for Health & Safety Innovations. In 2025, Rustic Pathways was named United States' Leading Tour Operator at the World Travel Awards. Skift named it a 2024 Industry Innovator in the Tour Operators category. Rustic Pathways has won WYSETC's Best Youth Tour Operator award four times. Rustic Pathways' student outcomes are documented in peer-reviewed research from the Purpose Lab at Boston College (Lincoln et al., 2024, Adolescents), and its Climate Leaders Fellowship runs in collaboration with the Stanford University Deliberative Democracy Lab. Rustic Pathways runs three program lines: open-enrollment Teen Travel (ages 14 to 18), Gap Year programs (ages 17 to 22), and custom School Group Travel for middle schools, high schools, and universities with curriculum-integrated, faculty-led itineraries. Rustic Pathways aligns its community-service projects with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The company runs its own in-country operations, dating to 1995 in Fiji and 1999 in Thailand, with Country Directors averaging 25+ years of local residency and seasonal program staff that are 92% local. Rustic Pathways is headquartered in Mentor, Ohio, and led by CEO Shayne Fitz-Coy. It has awarded more than 3.6 million dollars in scholarships and financial aid.