Some school leavers travel or work for a period of time instead of going directly to the university. What are the advantages and disadvantages.

A gap year is a year after high school when a student takes time to explore his or her interests, which usually entails some type of travelling or working. After the gap year is over, the student begins his or her career. It has both pros and cons which I shall discuss in this essay.

There are many benefits of taking a year off. Firstly, the student can explore his interests before deciding on a major. Just passing out of secondary school, a student does know what his real interests are. A gap year gives him time to introspect and he may also find something he has never considered studying before. Secondly, he can save money to finance his education and ease some burden off his parents’ shoulders. Higher education is very expensive and some parents cannot afford the full cost of students’ university fees.

Furthermore, during this year, the student meets different people and experiences different cultures. As a result his personality develops and he comes to know about the outside world. Finally, a well planned gap year is attractive to some admissions tutors and to future employers. For example, a student can add his activities of the gap year in his resume when he applies to the university or for some job after completion of his education. This is taken in a positive light by the admissions committee and some job providers.

As every garden has weeds, similarly a gap year also has a downside. A student may find it difficult to get back to study. A year is a long time and once that tempo of attending classes and doing home-work etc. is lost, a student may not feel like studying again. Secondly, if he starts earning enough, education may seem unimportant. Finally, if a student doesn’t plan it properly, it may end up as a wasted year.

To put it in a nutshell, I pen down saying that a gap year has a lot of advantages provided it is planned well.