It is a gap year option intended for students who either have not applied or were not admitted to college.
[3] They started around the 1960s and were sponsored by the U.S. military academies, who would accept students after the one-year program.
Later programs were not all military-based, but followed the same theme of improving students' transcripts for college.
Some athletes opt for a postgraduate year for the opportunity to physically grow and improve their skills to enter NCAA Division I sports programs.
Some prep leagues do not allow postgraduates on the team, or they have a quota.