Should College Students Take a Gap Year?

In most of the countries, it is common for students to take a gap year before they head off to their respective colleges. A gap year is a sabbatical year. It serves as a hiatus from studies, during which students engage in pursuits that help shape the student’s perception of how things work in real life. During this time, students can go backpacking through the countryside, volunteer at healthcare facilities, or get involved in an internship.

The concept of a gap year became popular during the 1960’s when the baby boomers began hitchhiking to other countries in Europe and Asia. During this period, countries welcomed the idea of a gap year because it allowed them to exchange cultural values and promote peace and harmony among nations. This idea later kicks start the gap year industry (Martin). Students who take part in gap year programs have the opportunity to interact with a diverse group of people who come from different walks of life. Such students learn the ability to work alongside those who held different cultural, religious, and moral values. These traits help the students to be more successful later in their careers, especially if they work in international metropolises.

By the time students graduate from high school, they suffer from academic burnout. A gap year can allow the students to refresh their minds and souls and prepare for college. Students who spend their gap year interning at foreign companies can learn unique ideas, gain experience of handling different situations professionally and acquire confidence in themselves and their ability to achieve success. Most young people have almost no experience living away from home and taking care of themselves. Students who attend gap year programs learn very quickly to do basic household chores; like cooking, laundry, shopping, paying bills, taking care of health, and traveling by themselves. Students who spend their gap year volunteering, or in an orphanage, animal care center, or non-profit organizations which provide relief to disaster-hit poor people, stand out in their resume (Peters, Rambo-Hernandez and Makel).

Gap year programs are not for everyone. Most students find it difficult to continue with their studies after the gap year. For those who do take a gap year, the fact that your friends are partying at college, while you are working hard makes the whole thing seem disappointing. This problem can be avoided if the student is self-disciplined and organized, though. Despite the fact that the internet has brought humans close to each other, we are still not accustomed to accepting other cultures. This problem has fueled racism and isolation among the people. A gap year program allows students to travel across the world to learn cultures and traditions. The students would be able to learn first-hand about things that they may not have learned on the internet. Among the things that one will be learning, the most valued is the experience (Lyons, Hanley and Wearing).

The fact that a gap year may be valuable if students consider what they will learn. Students will get a chance to make friends and learn to understand and work with different people. Additionally, students will also be in a position to earn money before they resuming education. The students will learn the art of managing their finances, struggle to save money, and learn new skills to increase. All one needs is to be well-organized and plan before taking the gap year.

Works Cited

Lyons, Kevin, et al. “Gap year volunteer tourism: Myths of Global Citizenship?” Analysis of Tourism Research (2012): 361-378.

Martin, Andrew J. “Should students have a gap year? Motivation and performance factors relevant to time out after completing school.” Journal of Educational Psychology (2010): 561-576.

Peters, Scott J., et al. “Should Millions of Students Take a Gap Year? Large Numbers of Students Start the School Year above Grade Level.” Gifted Child Quarterly (2017).