Nowadays the tendency of taking a year off after high school is becoming more and more popular. High school seniors take an additional year for lots of different reasons, for example, they want to collect more money for further education or want to find some part-time job for a while before starting educational process again. Some of them are simply dreaming about traveling around the world. Anyway, if you are thinking about taking a gap year for yourself, this article will show you main pros and cons of such decision.
Advantages of a Gap Year
- First and the main advantage is that you have enough time to think about your future directions. Maybe you are still trying to find your perfect future job and university specialization connected to it. During a gap year you can think about which way to choose in the future and what subjects to study.
- Second one is gaining some work experience. We know that it is always great to mention some job experience while creating your resume and you will have more privileges compared to someone who does not have them.
- A gap year is a great chance to “recharge” yourself after years of schoolwork. You can finally do the things you want and feel no pressure of life.
- If you don’t have enough money for further education, you can start saving up for tuition and other college expenses.
Disadvantages of a Gap Year
- Sometimes a gap year can turn into an unproductive experience, especially if a person who takes it can’t create a successful and clear plan of things to do.
- Skills need to be worked out constantly, and a gap year may be the reason for your losing the focus on academic studies.
- Watching your friends going to colleges before you do can be a hard feeling to cope with, especially if you were planning to study together with someone for a long time, but for some reasons you can’t do that. When you enter the university, you will have to study with all of the people you’ve never seen before, which can be stressful.
- A gap year can take you away from classroom experience and make you feel rusty when you come back.
How to Make a Successful Plan for a Gap Year?
It surely depends on a reason you chose to take this year off. If it is the lack of money, you should think about finding a new job and creating a plan which will help you combining work with leisure time. Anyway, you should consult with your teachers, parents or students who already took a gap year before in order to receive more accurate advices.