While gap years are increasingly popular, they continue to be rather controversial because the benefits are hard to quantify exactly. There are arguments on both sides of this very topical debate, and I will discuss them now. On the one hand, opponents of gap years point to the cost involved in areas such as air fares, accommodation and living expenses. All this money has to come from the student’s family, or even from borrowing to be paid later. Secondly, it is often said that gap years take a young person’s focus away from studying, and allows them to get involved in distractions such as travelling. This can make it hard to adjust to university life, damaging the student’s performance. Finally, there is a concern over the safety of young people if they are travelling to remote places. Being kidnapped or mugged is a poor start to an academic career, after all. On the other hand, supporters of gap years say that the skills learned outweigh the disadvantages. They highligh...