Deciding to take a gap year is a big decision. While all your friends may be going straight to college, you would be deferring school for anywhere from three months to one year. In order to make a choice like that, one must know the potential costs and benefits of their decision.
Gap years are already popular in the UK and Australia, but have only recently started gaining popularity in the United States. Colleges such as Middleburg College University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Princeton and Harvard actually encourage admitted students to take a gap year. Amid rising gap year rates, the White House recently announced that Obama’s eldest daughter, Malia, will take a gap year before attending Harvard University.
1. Teens can discover what they really love through experience
Many college students enter university thinking they know what they want to do with their life, then end up changing their major multiple times. The possibilities for gap year are endless. Whether traveling halfway across the world or volunteering in their hometown, a gap year gives student the opportunity for real-life experience in a field. Students discover what they are truly passionate about and choose the right college major off the bat.
2. A median graduation rate of 3.75 years
After traveling and seeing the world outside of their high school hometown, gap year students tend to be more focused and motivated in their school work, resulting in faster graduation rates.
3. High GPAs
83% of respondents indicated a GPA of 3.0 or higher and 42% reported a GPA of 3.7 or higher. According to Stuart Rojstaczer, founder of Gradeinflation.com, the average GPA at a four-year college was 3.11 in 2006.
4. Less stress on the student
As mentioned in an article by Teen Life, a students senior year of high school is extremely stressful. Even more stressful is the transition from high school to college. Going straight from high school to college can easily leave teens feeling drained and un-motivated in their work. By taking a gap year, students are able to experience the world in a way of their choosing, leaving them feeling refreshed and stress-free upon their return to school.
“Making the successful transition to and through college, seeing themselves as citizens of the world and more engaged than their peers, the students represented in this study provide a powerful portrait of what’s possible when you take a gap year and learn more about yourself and the world,” said Karl Haigler, gap year researcher and author of The Gap-Year Advantage (St. Martin’s Press). Whether you’re a student yourself or have a child currently in high school, taking a gap year is something to seriously consider to benefit your future!
If this article has convinced you to look into taking a gap year, check out our gap year and semester programs here at Outward Bound Costa Rica!