Taking a gap semester or gap year after graduation is doing something other than studying, doing homework, working on projects, etc. Students can volunteer, build lifelong friendships, develop useful skills, learn other languages, discover new interests, etc.
People have conflicting views about whether to take a gap semester or a gap year.
¨If you get burnt out from school easily or if you’re burnt out from senior year, it’d be nice to take a break even if it’s just for a semester,¨ said senior Lorianis De Jesus.
Only 3% of Americans take gap years after high school, it’s a small percentage compared to Europeans and Australians according to GoAbroad.
It helps students take a break from school and do things they weren’t able to do before because of doing so much homework, studying, working on projects, etc.
Also, it gives students time to think about what they want to do as a career if they don’t know yet and personal goals to achieve in the future that students after graduating high school haven’t accomplished yet. The main benefit of taking a gap year or semester is working on yourself and building that personal growth.
It also lets others work and expand their work experience on their resumes and a future career, according to Semester at Sea. It can also help others to advance in their skills like problem-solving, critical thinking, effective communication and more. It also helps to earn new opportunities and a chance to explore new things outside of the education world.
Students can volunteer at different places to have different experiences and an understanding of interdependence and allow to give back. Also, career exploration, it can help students what they want to do in the future for a career, according to Chicago Public Schools.
There could be some downsides to not going to school for a long period of time. Although taking a gap year can have many benefits, students shouldn’t forget that they need to use their time wisely.
¨Originally I wanted to but after talking to my parents about it they said I shouldn’t because they didn’t want me to, in their eyes, they didn’t want me to get used to not being in school and prefer working instead,¨ said De Jesus.
When going back to college after a gap year or semester, students might find it hard to get back into a regular school routine. Some can even lose interest in their education and academics. It could also feel like a waste of time if students didn’t properly plan it and that could cause some stress.
Working and studying full time can be difficult for a lot of students. Overtime, it will get physically and mentally draining when working full time. Even having a full schedule involving two important things in life can be overwhelming according to idealist. ¨For example, you may have to stay up late several consecutive nights in order to read 200 pages for class and finish a school assignment by a deadline that just happens to coincide with the day you need to file a report and present to a new client at work.¨
¨If you work a full time job right out of high school, it can be tempting to keep making that money because it feels like a lot when you’re such a young age,¨ said Sarah Carslon, a Consumer Education teacher at OH.
According to Walden University, ¨nearly 30% of high school students are employed in a job for at least a portion of the school year.* For many, working a job provides spending money for a social life. For others, working is necessary to help the family make ends meet or to save for college.¨ It can also take away personal time and can hurt academic achievements or goals.
Hello, my name is Alexa Cuevas and I'm currently a senior in high school. This will be my second year on being a staff member for 42Fifty and being a spanish editor.
Very insightful. Never thought about this too much!