Taking a gap year can be great for personal growth, finding a path in life, and getting a good future started. But maybe someone shouldn’t take one. If somebody already knows what they want to do, has things planned out, and just wants to start school, then a gap year may not be right for them.
A gap year can be a good break from the stress of academic life. It can let people catch up on things they may have put off in the whirl of high school; maybe they can now catch up on books they wanted to read, movies to watch or hobbies they wanted to try. Someone can also figure out what they want to do in life if they haven’t yet. People can even get used to having a job and maintaining their work life. Getting a job during a gap year would be great for seeing what they enjoy doing while also making money that they can put towards their future.
During a gap year, people may want to focus on setting up for college by getting a job. Maybe they weren’t able to pay for college before, but this year can help with that. Then, if they’re looking to have fun and have the money, taking a vacation with the leftover free time, thinking about future life paths, or trying new jobs or volunteer positions, finding what they are interested in before they head to college.
“I believe determining whether a gap year is beneficial or not depends on the career the student plans on pursuing. I plan on pursuing a profession in engineering, so in my case, I believe it would be harmful due to the level of rigor my classes would have. So taking a year off from science or math would be harmful,” said Evelyn Goodman, senior.
And though it may not always seem like the best thing for someone to do, it can be helpful for personal growth and gaining experience in the real world. As long as it’s planned out and they know what they’re going to do rather than just wasting time, a gap year can be very beneficial.
“If you’re trying to get working experience, if you’re trying to test out a certain job field, that (a gap year) might be really helpful for you if you go to college the next year and you know what you want to major in or you know what types of classes you’re gonna be interested in. But, if you don’t use it productively, then I think that gives you a bigger chance that it could be harmful,” said Katelyn Wizowaty, English teacher at Athens Drive.
Not taking a gap year can also be beneficial, as someone can go straight from high school and get started in college, and depending on whether they know which career they are going into, that can be the best way to do it.
“I believe a gap year could be beneficial for the students because it gives them more time to think about their future and what they want to do with their lives,” said Goodman.
But then, if somebody doesn’t have a plan, one year could turn into two, and then maybe more, so if someone is taking a gap year, planning it out is likely the best way to go. After taking a gap year, around 90% of students will go back and enroll in college, but there is the 10% that never return to school/enroll. If there isn’t structure, it could lead to never getting back to school.
In the end, it depends on what’s in someone’s best interest and whether or not they think they will be able to keep themself accountable and be able to start a good future for themself.
“The longer that you’re out of school, the more likely you are to kind of forget things or forget… study skills; you know, like they say, ‘if you don’t use it, you lose it,’” said Wizowaty.
