What are the benefits of taking a gap year?

A year between high school and college, commonly spent traveling, working, or volunteering, is commonly referred to as a gap year. Formerly a popular option for primarily European students, gap years are now increasing in popularity amongst students in India. But why?

For many students and parents, a gap year can sound intimidating at first. Some students worry that college admissions will frown upon their experiences or that they will fall out of sync with a peer group that’s grown comfortable over years of shared academic experiences. Parents might worry that a student will lose interest in college or fall behind academically. Indeed, gap years can be the source of anxiety and even conflict.

In reality, though, a gap year can be a valuable experience in many ways. In fact, some colleges such as Harvard as even encouraging students to defer for a year, providing resources about the benefits of taking a gap year before starting college. In this post, we’ll outline the eight pros of taking a gap year. 

So, what are the benefits?  

There are myriad reasons to postpone starting college directly after high school.

1. Financial reasons often compel students to take a gap year. If you anticipate a change in your family’s financial situation that would significantly increase your financial aid award, or take your extra year to work and save money, it can go a long way in making your education more affordable. Some students even take a gap year because they’ve been offered a unique employment opportunity that they won’t be able to accept later in their educational career.
2. Health. Another reason to take an extra year between high school and college is your or a family member’s health. If you have chronic health concerns, taking a gap year can allow you to learn how to best manage your illness or recover without the stress of moving and classes. If a family member is ill, taking the year off to spend time with or serve as an aid to them is also a common decision.
3. Personal Circumstances. There are also many personal reasons that one might choose to take a gap year separate from immediate, necessary concerns like finances or illness. Many students do choose to travel in the year before they start school, as once they’ve started studying, their summers are likely to be filled with work or internships. This travel isn’t always purely recreational, either; students can apply for grants to conduct research at home or abroad.
4. Pursuing Interests. Gap years can also be a great time to devote yourself to volunteering, finally finish your list of books to read, or thoroughly reflect upon your personal and career goals. Usually, students have very little free time in high school to pursue pursuits other than academics or their extracurriculars, and those who take a gap year have a chance to explore their interests to a degree that wouldn’t be possible while in high school and probably wouldn’t be possible in college, either. For those who are unsure about their major or career path, gap years afford an excellent opportunity to carefully consider and create an academic and professional plan.
5. Burnout/Buffer Year. Some students choose to take a gap year even if they don’t fall into any of the above categories; the period between high school and college marks a major transition and a huge increase in responsibility, and there are students that just prefer to enjoy another year of freedom. Most, if not all colleges will allow you to postpone your first semester by one or sometimes two years if you choose without having to worry about reapplying. Many high school students, especially those who are ultra-competitive, feel burnt-out after high school. Four years of rigorous studies, sports teams, academic competitions, and college applications take a toll, and some can seriously benefit from taking a year to decompress. If you feel you’d benefit from another year or two to mature, learn, and explore without the pressure of a competitive university environment, you might benefit from taking a gap year.

Need more guidance? Go read our gap year blog!

Should you take a gap year after high school?

There are certain stereotypes that accompany the phrase “gap year”; in the minds of most, these words conjure up images of backpacking across Europe, Australian sabbaticals, and similarly exotic endeavours. Movies and TV shows have perpetuated the idea of gap years as one last carefree romp before the stress and intensity of college sets in. But these stereotypes are not necessarily an accurate reflection of what most gap years consist of. In this blog post, we’ll paint an honest picture of gap years and all the advantages and disadvantages they bring. With our guide, you can make an educated decision on whether to postpone heading off to college for a year or two.

What is a Gap Year?

Most students start college the fall after they graduate high school. However, some choose to take a gap year, meaning they wait a year and start college the following fall. There are myriad reasons one might take a gap year: finances, travel, family concerns, personal health, and many more. Taking a gap year doesn’t rob you of any rights or privileges you may have enjoyed had you started college directly after high school; essentially, the only thing that changes is your year of graduation.

The Benefits of Taking a Gap Year

There are myriad reasons to postpone starting college directly after high school.

1. Financial reasons often compel students to take a gap year. If you anticipate a change in your family’s financial situation that would significantly increase your financial aid award, or take your extra year to work and save money, it can go a long way in making your education more affordable. Some students even take a gap year because they’ve been offered a unique employment opportunity that they won’t be able to accept later in their educational career.
2. Health. Another reason to take an extra year between high school and college is your or a family member’s health. If you have chronic health concerns, taking a gap year can allow you to learn how to best manage your illness or recover without the stress of moving and classes. If a family member is ill, taking the year off to spend time with or serve as an aid to them is also a common decision.
3. Personal Circumstances. There are also many personal reasons that one might choose to take a gap year separate from immediate, necessary concerns like finances or illness. Many students do choose to travel in the year before they start school, as once they’ve started studying, their summers are likely to be filled with work or internships. This travel isn’t always purely recreational, either; students can apply for grants to conduct research at home or abroad.
4. Pursuing Interests. Gap years can also be a great time to devote yourself to volunteering, finally finish your list of books to read, or thoroughly reflect upon your personal and career goals. Usually, students have very little free time in high school to pursue pursuits other than academics or their extracurriculars, and those who take a gap year have a chance to explore their interests to a degree that wouldn’t be possible while in high school and probably wouldn’t be possible in college, either. For those who are unsure about their major or career path, gap years afford an excellent opportunity to carefully consider and create an academic and professional plan.
5. Burnout/Buffer Year. Some students choose to take a gap year even if they don’t fall into any of the above categories; the period between high school and college marks a major transition and a huge increase in responsibility, and there are students that just prefer to enjoy another year of freedom. Most, if not all colleges will allow you to postpone your first semester by one or sometimes two years if you choose without having to worry about reapplying. Many high school students, especially those who are ultra-competitive, feel burnt-out after high school. Four years of rigorous studies, sports teams, academic competitions, and college applications take a toll, and some can seriously benefit from taking a year to decompress. If you feel you’d benefit from another year or two to mature, learn, and explore without the pressure of a competitive university environment, you might benefit from taking a gap year.

The Disadvantages of Taking a Gap Year

Despite the many advantages that a gap year can bring, there are also several significant disadvantages. Many students who take a gap year struggle with the feeling that they’re being “left behind” as many of their friends go off to start school. This feeling can persist until graduation, when all their former classmates graduate but these students still have another year in school. Unless you feel very confident and secure in your decision to take a year off from school, you may experience some degree of alienation from your high school classmates.

Furthermore, waiting an extra year before starting school means that unless you were already among the youngest in your class, you will be a year or two older than most of the students in your grade and your classes, at least your first year. This can further exacerbate feelings of alienation, as your peers are largely of a different age group. However, many students who take a gap year feel that any sense of detachment from their classmates they may experience would be outweighed by the benefits of taking a year off. In addition, being 19 in a group full of 18 year olds isn’t necessarily a big deal; differences are more pronounced for students who have taken several years off.

While many students take gap years for financial reasons, there are also financial arguments against taking a gap year. The cost of college tuition is increasing at an astronomical rate; the University of California system, for example, has laid forth a plan for 5% increases in tuition each year. If you’re attending a school that is offering you no or little financial aid, you may end up paying more, as the longer you wait, the higher tuition grows.

Finally, many students who take a gap year, especially those postponing matriculation at top schools, have been go-getters their whole lives. After four years of high school that probably included countless AP classes, participation on several athletic and academic teams, and hours upon hours of community service, the idea of taking an entire year off (especially if they don’t have any concrete plans for travel, work, or studying) can be unchallenging to a frustrating degree. If you’re the sort of student that performs best with a jam-packed schedule, taking a gap year may not be the best choice.

Though taking a gap year can be frustrating for students who would rather start school immediately but can’t due to personal circumstances, it’s important to remember that taking a gap year has a negligible effect on your life as a student once you start school. Other than the difference in age, you’ll face all the challenges and enjoy all the privileges that other freshmen do, and if you’ve used your time off productively, prospective employers are unlikely to mind. Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to take a gap year should be made on a case-by-case basis. Students who consider taking a year off should carefully evaluate the pros and cons of each decision, and consider not only the immediate, but long-term consequences of the decision. Though there is pressure for students to attend college directly after high school, it’s most important that students carefully weigh their options to make an informed decision that’s best for them.

Read more

How to make the most of your gap year

Rebranding the gap year: A look into Global Citizen Year

Rebranding the Gap Year: A look into Global Citizen Year

For the longest time,  the gap year was assumed to be for the rich or the academically burnt out who needed a sabbatical before they embark on four years of higher education. However, the gap year is anything but a holiday. Abigail Falik, in a New York Times Article challenged us to rebrand the gap year, “When used intentionally, the year before college can be a bridge, a launch pad and a new rite of passage. It’s the students who find the courage to step off the treadmill – replacing textbooks with experience and achievement with exploration – who are best prepared for life after high school.” Many universities look at a gap in a good light. Bill Fitzsimmons, Harvard’s undergraduate admissions dean, wrote a manifesto about the need for students to take time off before college. Rick Shaw, Stanford’s undergraduate admissions dean, now speaks about the value of non-linear paths and the learning and growth that come from risk taking and failure, as opposed to perfect records. Princeton, Tufts and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have recently developed “bridge year” programs that encourage – and pay for – students to spend a year immersed in the world before arriving on campus.

This means that students aren't using this as way to just relax, they are leaning new things, finding jobs in careers that they might want to explore in the future, and doing Service. When we look at a resume the last thing we look at is if the candidate has been involved in a service project or not. But what if that was not the case? What if a year of service could be an effective way to not only understand yourself but the people and the world around you? A lot of student have moved toward doing just that. One of the leading gap year programs in the US is Global Citizen Year, a nine month excursion into countries such as Senegal, Brazil, and India where students live in a homestay and work in meaningful places. In India students work with Teach for India and an NGO for girl child education out of Hyderabad. In Senegal, the students work in creating sustainable infrastructure. Students love the program even though it costs as much as a year in a public college (though most US citizens get financial aid). As an Indian you can apply for the program but may only be eligible for financial aid if you are a student at one of the United World Colleges. 

Apart from GCY, there are other service opportunities in India as well (U Chicago’s Delhi office runs a lot of service immersion programs). Contact us and we can guide you in the right way. 

How to Make the Most of your Gap Year

There are a lot of opportunities to explore when you take a gap year. Students, learn new languages, invent apps, work in part/ full time jobs, create companies, and most importantly travel. According to the American Gap Association (americangap.org) over 85% of gap year students (“gappers”) wanted to travel in order to see the world and experience other cultures. 

Regardless of the motivation, the time off can be helpful. Srini Pillay, M.D., Harvard psychiatrist, academic adviser, and author of Tinker, Dabble, Doodle, Try: Unlock the Power of the Unfocused, can relate a number of advantages students may have as a result of time spent away from academia during a gap year.

In his book, he outlines exactly how time off such as a gap year can benefit the brain. Some examples include activating the default mode network of the brain – what he calls its unfocus circuit. This area of the brain increases creativity, improves memory, enhances a sense of prediction about the future, and re-energizes the brain.According to Pillay, “Time away, even when it seems irrelevant, can enhance creative solutions because the brain has time to shuttle around old memories, recombine puzzle pieces, and invent new and fresh approaches to life.”

The American Gap Association surveys alumni to gain further insight into the benefits of taking time between high school and college. The most recent reports show that:

• More than 80 percent of respondents said they would recommend a gap year to someone who was considering it.

• The most meaningful experience for the majority of respondents was being in a new and different environment.

• Also important was the increased exposure to new experiences.

• Gappers may even get better grades when they get to college. Undergraduate students who had taken a gap year before enrolling earned 0.1 to 0.4 higher GPAs than students who didn’t, according to studies conducted by Robert Claggett, former dean of Middlebury College.

Overall, gap years can be extremely fruitful if planned well. Having your parents or a gap year counsellor help you plan your year may help greatly increase your chances of making the most of your year! Contact us for more information about how to plan a gap year.