The gap year, already an established rite-of-passage in the UK and Australia, is quickly gaining popularity among U.S. students and parents. Many top universities such as Harvard and Princeton are now encouraging students to take a gap year before entering college and even providing sponsored opportunities for students to work and live abroad before their freshman year.

So what exactly is a gap year? The American Gap Year Association define gap year as “A structured period of time when students take a break from formal education to increase self-awareness, learn from different cultures, and experiment with possible careers.  Typically these are achieved by a combination of traveling, volunteering, interning, or working.”

Here are the top 5 reasons to consider taking a gap year: 

1. Avoid Burnout

The pressure to succeed in school, sports, and extra-curriculars from a young age can lead students to feel exhausted by the time they graduate highschool and are expected to take charge of their own education.  A gap year allows you the opportunity to take time, step back, and reflect, as well as gain valuable experience free from life’s normal pressures and expectations. With studies showing as many as 50% of college freshmen dropping out before graduation, opportunities for this type of reflection and growth can be crucial for future success.

2. Get more out of the college experience

Students who take a gap year bring more to their college experiences and get more out of them as well. During you gap year you finally have a chance to explore your true interests and talents and choose an educational path that you find engaging and valuable.  After a year off, students tend to enter college with a more informed and mature outlook than those students coming straight from high school.

3. Increase employability

88 percent of gap year students report that their gap year significantly added to their employability. Not only do you come out of it with real-world experience that employers seek, but you also now have an added layer of interest and intrigue, and inevitably some great stories!

4. Get to know yourself

When you step away from the books and off the field or court, you discover things about yourself you might not have pushed yourself to realize otherwise. As OBCR Semester Couse alum said about his experience here with Outward Bound Costa Rica, “It’s a test and a challenge, physically, mentally, and emotionally. You learn in a way that in school, in sports, in pretty much in anything in life, you wouldn’t get the same sort of knowledge that you get here.  You learn things about yourself that you didn’t even know were possible. It’s incredible, there’s just no way to describe it.”

5. Get to know the world around you

Spending a gap year abroad provides greater global awareness and intercultural skills.  By getting outside of your comfort zone and immersing yourself in a new culture, you increase interpersonal skills, gain knowledge of global issues, and may even learn new language skills.  You see first-hand how you as an individual fit into this world. See what some alumni have to say about their gap year experience with Outward Bound Costa Rica and the invaluable life-lessons they gained.

See what some alumni have to say about their gap year experience with Outward Bound Costa Rica and the invaluable life-lessons they gained: