In recent
years
, it has been more common for high
school
students
to travel to other countries or work for several
years
before studying at
university
.
Then
, more high
school
graduates are eager to know the advantages and disadvantages of having
gap
years
. In the following, I will offer my view on
this
issue.
The
first
advantage is earning different
life
experiences. No matter at high
school
or
university
,
students
primarily concentrate on their learning. They spend most of their time at
school
, attending lessons, doing homework, or preparing for examinations.
Hence
, their
life
experience
is very limited. Comparatively, travelling around the world or working for a period of time may provide these teenagers with another
life
experience
. Travelling to other countries allows them to interact with people of various colours, languages, or cultural backgrounds. Getting into the job market gives them a chance to cooperate with people of different ages, dealing with specific assigned tasks. These are all
life
experiences
school
teaching cannot offer. With more
life
experience
, there is a
second
advantage.
That is
, these high
school
graduates may have a more clear goal in their
life
.
School
teachers and parents basically give their
life
goals in high
school
. And obviously, the purposes are having good examination results and successfully getting into the
university
. They do not really have their own targets. With more
life
experience
, they become more mature to think about their
life
and are able to find out what they really want, which can be being a kitchen, running a marathon, or living in a foreign country.
However
, there are
also
disadvantages of having
gap
years
.
Firstly
, learning knowledge is more efficient at a younger age. Scientific research demonstrates that a younger human brain is better at absorbing and digesting knowledge. Having
gap
years
means that high
school
students
need to study at
university
at an older age. In
this
way, they cannot learn the most updated knowledge at their best status.
Secondly
, in the job market, every
second
is important. Having
gap
years
means that
students
may need more time to graduate from the
university
. If they get into the job position earlier, they may have a few
years
of working
experience
more than their peers. These few
years
can be crucial for their future career, allowing them to get a promotion faster than the others.
In short, there are benefits and drawbacks of having
gap
years
before studying at
university
. On one side,
students
can earn alternative
life
experiences and
thus
have a clearer goal in their
life
. On the other side,
this
action may be detrimental to their learning efficiency and their future career.