A gap year is a year students take off from school to learn about themselves and what they want to get out of life. Sometimes a “gapper” will use that year to travel abroad, study another language or participate in a community service program.
Regardless of how people choose to spend their gap year, the idea is that they will complete the year with a little more knowledge about themselves and their life goals.
Gap years provide an excellent opportunity for students to gain real-world experience and learn about themselves. Almost anyone can benefit from taking a year off school to pursue their own interests.
For the most part, gap years are taken by students who have recently graduated from high school and are heading to college. Many schools even encourage students to take a year off before beginning their undergraduate studies. These schools feel that the student will benefit greatly from a gap year experience. For over 30 years, Harvard University has been suggesting in acceptance letters that students “defer enrollment for one year to travel, pursue a special project or activity, work, or spend time in another meaningful way.” In addition, Tufts University has recently started a program that will provide financial help to certain cash-strapped students so that they can fully afford and enjoy their gap year.
Gap years can also be taken by people who are looking for a break between undergraduate and graduate school or even those who are looking to change careers entirely. Since everyone at NSU has already made their decision about time off between high school and college, you might be thinking, “Well, why is this guy even telling me about this?” You have an even better opportunity to take a year off between undergraduate and graduate studies.
After studying for four years, most people have a better idea of what they want to do with their lives. This will allow a potential gapper to make a more educated choice about their gap year plans.
For example, someone who is about to go into medical school may want to look into working at a clinic in a third-world country or work with a research facility and gain some field experience.
The benefits of taking a gap year vary from person to person; it all depends on what you do with your time. I think that everyone, to some extent, struggles with burnout at some point during their college career.
As a Campus Companion article put it, “Burnout is inevitable, and you really don’t want to be that person who drops out in year two of a super awesome Ph.D. program just because you’re sick of school.”
Taking a year off to learn a new language, work in a clinic in Senegal, or just explore the world will provide just the right amount of rest and relaxation to get back to school and hit the books — and not with a hammer either, because I know we’ve all considered it at some point.
If you feel that taking a year off would only hurt your academic success, use your own good judgment. Just in case you’re still a little bit unsure, here’s what I think: Business students, go for it; law students, go for it; English students, go for it. There’s a general theme here, in case you haven’t noticed. Everyone can benefit from taking a year off and exploring the world.
What you do during your gap year depends on what you want to get out of it. It’s important to ask yourself a few questions first, such as: What do I need this time off for? What will I be doing?
How will I keep myself from losing motivation?
After asking yourself these questions — and giving honest answers, because this is about your own personal development — you should have a much better idea of what you want to do.
But, if the idea of planning an entire year gives you a headache, there are plenty of organizations out there that specialize in helping students plan their gap year. Programs include studying art history in Italy, preserving the Amazon Rain Forest in Peru, or working with endangered species in the Himalayas.
Many gap year opponents say that it is far too easy to lose interest in school or motivation to pursue higher education. Others claim that students will never return to the original plans that they made for themselves. Think about it this way: if you lose interest in a certain field over the course of a year, it probably isn’t something you wanted to do as a career, and you just saved yourself a bunch of money on graduate school.
Also, you may find an entirely new interest you want to study further, which you can promptly begin doing after your gap year. An estimated 80 percent of college students change their major at some point during their college career. I know I did, and I certainly won’t be the last to do so. Just because you’re not following your own plans for your life — that you probably made around the age of 16 — doesn’t mean that you’ve failed at life. In fact, it means that you’ve seen what the world is like, you’ve realized how and where you fit in, and now you’re studying to be great at it. The best part about this is that your gap year experiences confirm the passion for whichever field of study you choose.
Although I have not taken a gap year, I am considering taking time off between getting my bachelor’s and my MBA, in order to get a better idea of what I want to study and to gain some valuable real-world experience. What’s great about this situation is that a lot of companies will provide tuition assistance for employees who express interest in going back to school.
Whether or not you decide to take one is entirely up to you, as everyone’s situation is different. If your situation allows it, a gap year would be an excellent choice if you want some time off to explore the world, need to figure out what you want to do, or even if you just need a break. Regardless of what you choose to do, a gap year will prove to be a fulfilling and enlightening experience that you will never forget.
