Some students prefer to take a gap year between high school and university, to work or to travel. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
Over the past decade, taking a gap
year
between high school and post-secondary has become a prevalent and publicly recognized phenomenon. Although
this
may bring several downsides for students, the returns are highly justifiable.
On the one
hand, students deferring entry to university appear to have better opportunities to participate in constructive activities such
as travelling, volunteering and working. In fact, spending time
travelling during the gap year
gets students exposed to different cultures and lifestyles. Such
exposure will certainly help them not only make sense of the world,
but Remove the comma
apply
also
cultivate well-rounded minds for better functioning academically. Besides
, by getting their hands on various tasks through volunteering and working, students are more likely to accrue practical experience, thereby becoming more mature, acquiring better job prospects, and gaining a new appreciation for their college degrees. Even a blue-collar job performed in the year
break can be an excellent source of understanding how the real world might look like after their graduation.
On the other hand
, there are certain disadvantages students need to consider. First
, apparently taking a year
off means they will have to graduate one
year
later than they would otherwise
. This
would inevitably lead to lost wages. Also
, one
might argue the gap year
is not as valuable as the one
that is
lost after graduation since this
is the ideal time
to kick-start their careers and start building professional networks. In addition
, it might take students some time
to make several adjustments before settling back to studies.
In conclusion, although
putting off one
or two years of post-secondary education comes at a cost, the advantages still outweigh the disadvantages. Taking a short break seems to be a more plausible alternative if they are justified by constructive and fulfilling pursuits during that time
.Submitted by sherdorbakhtiyorov on
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