Why a Gap Year Can Propel Your Success
Why a Gap Year Can Propel Your Success
By this time of the year, flowers are blooming, once-bare trees have become lush, and most of your senior friends are proudly donning t-shirts from the colleges they will attend. Anticipation and excitement fill the air as everyone discusses the new cities they will move to and new people they will meet.
But while it may seem like all your peers are going straight from high school to eight semesters of college, up to 40,000 students in the United States take a gap year annually. At Harvard, about five percent of incoming students defer enrollment for one year to work, travel, serve, and rest.
The benefits of taking a gap year run wide and deep, from improved family relationships to gaining in-depth work experience to better mental health. People misunderstand gap years as simply a delay in one’s education, but in fact they could be the very thing that propels your success.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the great reasons to consider taking a gap year before you begin your college journey.
A Time to Rejuvenate
Each year many colleges across the U.S. report that the previous admissions cycle was their most competitive yet. All around the world, a higher percentage of students are applying to college. And yet the number of seats available have not increased sufficiently to meet growing demand.
The sense of competition, of running the race well and fast, grows among adolescents as they take on more extracurriculars, leadership roles, and AP or honors courses. High school students go from one activity to the next, from studying for their calculus exams to serving as a coordinator for a local nonprofit, and work full-time internships during the summer, when they should be recuperating from the school year.
This pattern of packed schedules and constant sense of urgency to do more does not stop in college. At the country’s most competitive institutions students who were once big fish at their high schools find themselves among other high achievers, and the pressure to excel sometimes compounds. No wonder mental health issues are on the rise.
A gap year provides not only a mental break from rigorous courses but also a physical break from environments where you feel pressured to race against time, against others, and against yourself to land a great job or graduate degree.
A Time to Prepare for Transition
Transitions can be stressful, requiring much mental and emotional energy. Your brain and body have been accustomed to certain sights, habits, and amenities. When you shift into an entirely new environment—especially where the weather, food, and pace of life differs—it takes time to adjust.
Because senior year of high school is often intense and jam-packed, staying home for an additional year can allow you more time to remain present, slowly transition out of high school, and reconnect on deeper levels with your parents and siblings. With more closure, you will have greater emotional capacity to hit the ground running once you get to college.
A Time to Reflect and Mature
If breaks for you are few and far between, then you may not have had time to truly reflect on your life’s journey. Sure, college essays may have helped but most students write their stories under an intense time-crunch, with classwork and activities vying for their attention.
It is important to reflect on who you are, who you want to become, and where you want to go, because these pieces of insight can direct you forward.
Start college with a grounded sense of what you want to achieve, and you will build for yourself a stronger internal compass to press forward when classes get tough and distractions come your way.
Four years may feel like a long time, but they slip by quickly. Take time to reflect on your life goals to make the most of the academic resources available to you when you matriculate.
A Time to Explore Passions
If you are deferring enrollment, the pressure to participate in activities, take courses, and develop skills for college applications—even if that was not your sole source of motivation—lifts. With a year in your hands, you can now read those books you have put off, get deeply involved in an issue you care about, or finally learn hip hop dance. Try out new things, rediscover old hobbies, and find what makes you come alive.
While you should aim to rest during your gap year, it’s important you do not spend all your days idle. Find a skill or two you want to learn or perhaps even take a class at the local community college to keep yourself sharp.
To structure your days, you might find a part-time job or even commit to a year of service. These experiences can open doors later on to meaningful internships during college.
A Time for Yourself
As you enter into adulthood and become financially independent, the number of opportunities dwindle for spending long periods of time to discover yourself, rest, and explore new passions. Think of a gap year as an investment into your emotional, relational, and mental health.
After a year break from a full-load of courses and activities, your brain can recharge and be better prepared to tackle the demands of college. Remember, your education is not a sprint; it’s a marathon. Taking a gap year can be just what you need to build needed momentum to cross the finish line strongly.
The expert admissions consultants at Wise World Prep have helped hundreds of students maximize their potential of being admitted to their top choice colleges and universities. Over 20 years, we have successfully guided students through each stage of the application process – from choosing competitive high school courses to building an appropriate college list to drafting winning essays to writing persuasive update and appeals letters. We would be happy to answer your questions and partner with you to create a successful admissions roadmap.
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