Why is a Gap Year Beneficial?

After students graduate from high school, they can choose to go to college whenever they want. Waiting a whole year before they continue on their paths of success is called taking a gap year. Many people chose to take a gap year for various reasons - they can’t decide on a major yet,  they want to continue their sport one more year, or they want to get a job to help pay for college or get experience in their field. Whatever the reason, a gap year is often an excellent choice for anyone who thinks it will be beneficial for college or for the future. Senior thinking about taking a gap year should definitely apply to college anyway; they can always withdraw later, and if they get accepted to a college that they know they really want to attend, but still want to take a gap year, admissions for a college can be held for up to a year - there’s no need to worry!

Deciding on a major can be hard; it’s a big decision that will dictate what a student's life will be like for a very long time. A major is the subject in which a student wants to specialize at a college. Whatever majors students choose, whether science-, math-, or English-based, will decide which classes they have to take to graduate. There are so many to choose from, so it’s really difficult to choose in advance what majors are best for them. The classes they take in college and the jobs they have later will depend on their majors. The majors students choose will stick with them for almost the rest of their lives, so it’s not a decision to take lightly.

Certain sports require a big commitment as well, and skipping college entirely may be one of those big commitments. If a student is not ready to give up their entire education for a sport, taking a gap year is a good idea to be able to pursue their sport for just one more year. They can use that year to enjoy what might be the last time they ever get to train with their team. They can also focus on improving so that they might be eligible for a scholarship. Some kids just aren’t sure whether they want to go to college for their sport, or take a bigger step and skip college to pursue their career in the sport. An extra year will give them time to think about that, or to realize if they’re good enough to skip college and give up everything for the sport.

Some students want to get a job to get experience or make money for college. A job can give them more experience in the field they might want to work in one day. It will teach them what life after college will be like, so they can prepare. It will teach a student many valuable lessons they will need later on. It can also be difficult to pay for college, so some people take a year to dedicate their time to make money to use for college the next year. They can use all of their time for their job, and hopefully make enough to pay for college. If a student works hard enough, a scholarship is also an option to pay, but a job will make a huge difference. A student can learn a lot and help pay for college by having a job.