Reasons to Take a Gap Year

Many of you in the audience may be in your first or last year of college. But when you study something matters more to your success than what you study. It’s time to get your independence, go on your own adventures, and discover why you’re here.

There are a lot of myths and anxieties around taking a gap year, and you may have heard that it would instantly disadvantage you. Even if the majority of worries are justified in some manner, it’s crucial to weigh them against the advantages. help better your emotional, social, and intellectual situation. You should take a gap year because of this. I’m here to encourage you to travel, experience life, and develop as a unique individual, and a gap year is the best way to achieve all of that.

Let me start by telling you Jean Fan’s tale. Jean was unquestionably regarded as the “model pupil.” She earned consecutive As during her time in high school, and both of her parents had PhDs. Her parents were undoubtedly shocked when she said she would delay admittance to one of America’s most elite colleges by not just one but two years. She started to see that she had been “herded into this restricted path- that [she] was really simply an outstanding sheep,” as Jean puts it.

She offered to work full-time for “UNCOLLEGE,” a company that organizes gap-year programs to help students become self-directed learners. She reveals that her parents were highly concerned and opposed to allowing her to put off going to college. She remarked to them.

“I need a break from studying. The argument against gap years is that if you don’t enroll in college when the ink on your high school graduation is still wet, you’ll spend the rest of your life stuck in a low-paying, boring, and repetitious job that you’ll detest. But this is just untrue. For those who want a change of scenery, gap years are a fantastic choice. a chance to study in a manner quite different from the conventional pen and paper method. a chance for pupils to get fully immersed in a culture that is quite unlike their own. a chance to pick what you really want to study or pursue while earning money, freedom, and

And certainly, taking a year off may be advantageous for you. You must, however, MAKE that year of inactivity fruitful and rewarding. According to Jeffrey Selingo, author of There Is Life After College, students who take “transformative” gap years outperform those who just put off going to college in favor of a low-paying or unskilled employment.

My fellow students, I suggest taking a gap year to amuse, educate, and improve oneself. It’s getting more and more socially acceptable to take a year off before starting graduate school. Americans who graduated from high school in 2015 took more gap years than they did in 2014. In addition, Harvard College, one of the most esteemed universities in the world, promotes the idea of a gap year for young people. “We encourage accepted students to postpone enrolling for one year to travel, pursue a specific project or activity, work, or spend time in another meaningful manner,” reads a statement on the Harvard website.

A research conducted by Professor Andrew Martin at Sydney University also supports the use of gap years. 904 Australian students from a variety of academic backgrounds, including science, social science, and the arts participated in the study, and the results showed that when the gap year was used effectively, it helped students improve their grades, gain new skills, and maintain their academic momentum. According to Martin, “a gap year is about many students crystallizing their decision-making; developing… abilities of self-regulation, expanding their competences, and self-organization.”

I’ll now discuss one of the numerous objections to taking a gap year. First off, the numbers are undeniably on their side. Although some may argue that it is too costly, there are numerous organizations and programs that provide inexpensive volunteer and vacation opportunities. Even though you could spend the whole trip alone, it’s a certain method to develop your independence and perhaps even meet new people. One defense I’ve personally heard is that you could lose momentum. However, the data doesn’t support this. In a research on gap years conducted by the Centre for Analysis of Youth Transitions, it was shown that students who took a gap year were more likely to finish with a better GPA than observationally similar peers who entered college right away. Additionally, a gap year is an opportunity to re-energize and feel renewed before entering a university or higher education.

Discovery, self-discovery, and the quest for self-discovery all call for the freedom to identify one’s own interests.

What person could refuse a gap year? We have a whole year to do anything we want during a gap year. not what our instructors, parents, or friends tell us we ought to be doing. We’ve been taught all of our lives that our careers are on a clock and that if we aren’t at the pinnacle of success by age 25, our lives will wane into mediocrity and meaninglessness. However, this is a falsehood.

Therefore, whether you, a friend, or a sibling is enrolled in or planning to enroll in college, think about allowing yourself that time to discover what you love and what excites you. Go away for a year. Avoid action. Make every effort. Don’t let the notion that you are squandering your life deter you from doing what you want to.

Adventure is out there, as Charles F. Muntz famously said in Disney’s UP.