Gap year programs for students have been growing in popularity and, according to the Gap Year Association, approximately 130,000 students sought such opportunities during the 2020/2021 school year alone.
The benefits of taking a gap year or a gap semester after graduating from high school and before enrolling in college are numerous. To examine these advantages, however, it’s important to define gap year programs and differentiate between the various opportunities available.
What’s a Gap Year Program for High School Students
The non-profit organization The Gap Year Association defines this opportunity as a semester or an entire year of an interlude from participation in an academic program. Instead, the time is dedicated to experiential learning.
Usually, a gap year or a gap semester is taken right after graduating from high school but can be enjoyed halfway through high school, college, or even after college graduation.
Many students use this opportunity to gain a better understanding of their personal and professional goals for the future. By doing so and by enjoying meaningful experiences, students acquire valuable life skills and the clarity that will turn them into more dedicated and productive college students.
The Benefits of Having Some Gap Year Experience
More tailored and focused professional development isn’t the sole advantage of taking a gap year. Some of the most important benefits linked to partaking in a gap year program include:
Gaining a Better Understanding of How the World Works
Gap-year opportunities allow high school students to go into career exploration and also gain a better understanding of reality.
Until that point in time, most high school students live in a “bubble” that involves curated local environment experiences. Through a gap year program, students can acquire actual skills and immerse themselves in new environments to gain a deeper view of the bigger picture.
A Chance to Experience New Cultures and Social Interactions
Some gap year opportunities involve traveling abroad or to another community. Learning a foreign language and immersing oneself in a new culture can be tremendously enriching.
Experiential education is all about first-hand knowledge and observation. Traveling, meeting new people, learning about customs and societal norms, and gaining some international experience leave lasting impressions.
Acquisition of Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills
Whether a gap year program involves an internship experience or adventure travel, it provides amazing opportunities to acquire essential skills and practical soft skills.
Leadership skills, interpersonal skills, and even valuable life skills can be obtained through a gap year experience. Often, students will be put in situations that are new or uncomfortable for them. In the absence of the sheltering environment they’re familiar with, these young people will have to learn how to survive and thrive on their own.
Other Benefits
These are just a few of the benefits a gap year program brings to the table. A couple of other advantages worth mentioning include:
- Connecting with new people and establishing long-term friendships
- Getting better at networking and socializing (be it in personal or professional settings)
- Acquiring confidence after overcoming challenges
- Developing a higher level of maturity
- Distancing oneself from their typical environment to gain more clarity and insight for the future
- Exploring actual opportunities to find out if they’re as lucrative in real life as they are on paper
Common Misconceptions about Gap Year Students and Programs
While they’re appealing to more and more students, gap year programs are still linked to some controversy. Let’s address a few of the most common misconceptions about these opportunities:
- Taking a gap year means you’ll fall behind academically: most students are conditioned from an early age to believe academic learning is the only type of learning to be prioritized. Thus, a gap year may be seen as a waste of time that could have been dedicated to college. Going out of the actual academic environment for some time, however, can help you “recharge” your batteries and achieve a much better performance once college enrollment occurs.
- Taking a gap year means you’ll never go to college: if you don’t go to college immediately after graduating high school, you’ll just quit this opportunity and never continue your education. Interestingly enough, studies show that 90 percent of the students who take a gap year begin college within 12 months of their gap year experience.
- A gap year is essentially a vacation: education programs, the intense acquisition of cultural experiences, professional development workshops, leadership developmentprograms, active career exploration, remote internships, experiential learning, and community service can all be a part of a balanced gap year program.
- Only rich kids can afford a gap year program: each program comes with a certain price and there are also ways to finance such an experience (through fundraising or a scholarship, for example). Many high school students are actually capable of paying for the program on their own.
Types of Gap Programs
Some common options as far as gap programs are concerned include:
- Travel programs: going to a new host country and acquiring international experience is the goal of a travel program. First-hand cultural immersion can’t compare to learning about a nation or a community from books or the big screen. These programs show students the immense cultural richness the world has to offer and can also be combined with intense language courses.
- Volunteer and service programs: community service or dedicating a gap year to a charity is another way to make some meaningful impact while also acquiring important life skills. Gap-year volunteer programs can be local, national, or international.
- Academic-based programs: these programs focus on academics but they can be combined with international travel and other opportunities (like career-building options). You will get to explore a college campus, dive into some academic disciplines and get a better understanding of what college life is going to be like
- Work-based programs: career exploration is easier through first-hand experiences, as well. These programs give you access to well-established internship programs and other professional opportunities. Having such an experience listed on your CV gives you a competitive advantage even before you’ve started searching for an actual job.
Ways to Select the Best Gap Year Program
Would you like to visit amazing places like South America, Australia or Europe? Or maybe you’d like to find out what studying marine biology or astrophysics is like? Do you want to overcome your shyness and become more independent?
Focusing on your personal goal, your strengths, and your weaknesses will make it much easier to pinpoint the gap year program that’s best suited to your needs.
There are a few other things you may want to keep in mind in order to choose the best option:
- Understand what makes a gap year program good (diversity and richness of the program, the feedback provided by others who have enjoyed such an opportunity, and the price-to-quality ratio)
- Determine if the duration is suitable as far as your schedule is concerned
- Find out if the gap year program can give you some college credit or help your academic career in any other tangible way
- Look for school-sponsored programs that are approved by a college or a university that you have a particular interest in
- Consider the program outcomes and how they align with your future goals (the acquisition of language skills, meaningful experiential education outcomes, adventurous experience, etc.)
Finally, remember there are opportunities to acquire DIY gap year experience. You can look for opportunities or international travel on your own. This approach gives you the most personalized experience but there are some risks. Always assess both the pros and the cons, especially when it comes to spending money and making important choices bound to impact your future.
