A Discussion on the Benefits of Taking a Gap Year

Everyone who has gone through high school along with everyone who is going to college is often asked the same question. Do you know what you are going to study in college? That question is often times asked by a teacher, or a friend, or every last family member at every single family gathering. A small percentage of students think they may know the answer to that question. An even smaller percentage is certain they know the answer to that question. Yet, for the vast majority of students the answer does not appear to be so clear.

Therefore, when students are unable to come up with an answer to the question they are often told, “You have plenty of time" or the popular, "You'll figure it out." For the students who admit to not knowing what they wish to study in school those common responses are, quite frankly, irritating. More often than not students feel pressure and as if they are running out of time to regardless of how often students are being told that they have "plenty of time."

In the fall of 2015 20.2 million students attended college, many of them for the first time [fas15]. The students who are attending college for the first time go from "having plenty of time" to being expected to choose a major. Why is there a sudden change in dynamic? It could be a result of college being expensive, and students know all too well that the more time they spend in college the more money they spend on college. Therefore, students often feel pressured, essentially forcing them to decide on a major, even though they may change their minds later. In fact 50% of students change their major at least one time, even though some change their major two or even 3 times [Cec12].

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These expectations put an unfair pressure on students. Students never get to fully explore the options, and those options are numerous and vary exponentially. For example, the University of Michigan offers 250 different majors ranging from Aerospace Engineering all the way to Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies and everything in between [maj]. Choosing a college major has become less of knowing the options in order to make a decision, and has progressed more towards students being overwhelmed by the options making it impossible to decide.

At Penn State University, where they offer more than 160 majors [pen13], 80% of freshman, including those who are declared, say they are uncertain about the major they have chosen [Cec12]. As a result of numerous options students have a right to be uncertain.

Colleges and Universities allow uncertain students to be undeclared in order to help them explore their options. When a student is undeclared they take general education classes while they explore the options; however, their exploration tends to be limited. Although, it may appear to be a good idea students are expected to balance time between exploring their options and studying for classes. Instead of exploring the options, studying for large exams and working on papers begins to become the main focus of a student's freshman year.

Students will go an entire academic year still unable to make up their minds. As a result of going to college undeclared for a long period of time, students have to spend more time in college. Spending more time in college leads to the accumulation of even more student [Tro10]. Although, for some students, attending college undeclared may be a good option, going undeclared is not the best option.

A gap year is the proper solution for uncertain students who wish to eventually attend college. As The American Gap Association defines it, a gap year is "an experiential semester or year 'on,' typically taken between high school and college in order to deepen practical, professional, and personal awareness” (2014). A gap year allows students to explore all of the available options without the restriction and burden of worrying about school. A gap year gives a student free reign over their lives allowing them to do a multitude of things with the time off. During the course of a gap year students intern with companies to help with career exploration and discovery [con11].

An internship allows students to learn firsthand about a career that interests them. On the other hand some students may choose to travel during a gap year in order to "develop cross-cultural understanding and competence through cultural immersion"[gap14]. Traveling is an eye opening experience that brings a new perspective of the world right to students. Learning about other cultures in a classroom does have its benefits; but, being submersed in the culture in order to experience it firsthand is like nothing else. The different opportunities that arise from taking a gap year are boundless.

Even as the opportunities remain boundless the benefits remain even more endless. The possibilities of a gap year affords students both personal and academic benefit. Students who use the gap year to travel become educated in the ways of being a global citizen. In order to do so, students learn to increase their global awareness and challenge themselves to become acquainted with a diverse array of people[Rya14]. Becoming acquainted with and understanding a different culture is the beginnings of social acceptance for everyone.

Not only do students increase their global awareness, but students who decide to take a gap year will complete "putative rites of passages" that boost self-confidence and increase self-awareness [Rya14]. With an increased confidence students become more driven to complete any task handed to them. This time off the academic pathway gives students and unhindered, stress free time to think and explore at will.

Unfortunately taking a hiatus from the academic life is often viewed as a negative or a taboo. It is often thought that taking time off from education is synonymous with taking time off from learning when that is not the case. In reality, students who took a gap year said that the time off reignited a sense of curiosity for learning[Rya14]. Therefore, students are no longer students during their time off, but they become self-educators unrestricted by the organization and formality of a classroom. Taking time off from academia allows these self-educators to create their own meaning of the word success, providing them a greater sense of ownership of their life's direction.

Finally after the gap year has ended, self-educators are relieved from the pressures of the classroom, armed with global perspective, and have greater ownership of their life's direction. Self-educators are even more prepared to enter the class room than their peers. Statistics will support that students who take a gap year are more likely to return to the classroom than their returning freshman counterparts. In fact after taking a year off 90% of students are likely to return to academia [gap14], compared to only 70% of students who return to college after the first year [col15].

In essence, gap year students are more likely to return to college due to the fact that they were able to identify universities that better fit the student's personalities. Not only are students who take a gap year more likely to return to the academic pathway, but colleges and universities even report higher GPAs among students who have taken a gap year[Rya14].

Benefits of taking a gap year now become clear. For students who are uncertain about their academic future or wish to destress from school, taking a gap year is the only reasonable solution. An academic hiatus allows students to leave the stress of the academic world, and gives them unrestricted access to explore the real world. A gap year affords them time to consider their own identity as well as become more aware of the world the live in. A student could go to college undeclared, but it restricts a student's ability to truly explore, because they are often bogged down by the stress and pressures of college. Taking a gap year to explore the options and develop a deeper sense of self-identity is the proper solution for students who simply do not have it figured out yet.

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