2) Gap Year Pros & Cons: Best College

There are pros and cons to every decision regarding postsecondary choices. See some pros and cons for taking a gap year below (Best Colleges, 2021 Links to an external site.):

Pros

ENTER COLLEGE REFRESHED AND REFOCUSED

The clarity earned by taking a gap year can have measurable effects on a student's performance in college. Students who have done gap years are more likely to graduate Links to an external site. in four years or less compared to the national average of six years.

The time spent reflecting and learning about potential interests can help students make a more informed decision when picking their major and connect better with their selected field. One study reports that 60% of students Links to an external site. felt their gap year influenced their major.

BUILD IMPORTANT SKILLS

A gap year can be used to develop any number of important life skills. This could mean learning a language while living in another country, acquiring communication and leadership skills while working on a service project, or gaining hands-on experience through an internship or job.

Your gap year can be a great opportunity to develop a skill, while free from other obligations, so pick something you feel a connection with.

BROADEN YOUR HORIZONS

Traveling and living abroad for your gap year can be a transformative experience. Immersing yourself in a new culture, learning a foreign language, and seeing the world from a different perspective can lead to important discoveries about your passions and purpose.

IT CAN LOOK GOOD ON YOUR RESUME OR CV

A productive gap year is a great time to engage in resume-building activities. Learning a skill, gaining work experience in your intended field, studying a second language, or spending months immersed learning about a specific topic or country can all help your resume stand out.

A year spent volunteering or interning can also build skills that will impress potential employers.

Cons

POTENTIAL TO WASTE TIME

An unstructured gap year can open the door to wasting time and losing academic momentum. While gap-year programs can provide structure and motivation, if you plan on exploring on your own for some or all of your gap year, you need to make sure you've clearly laid out goals you can accomplish.

If necessary, inform trusted people of your plans so they can hold you accountable. The worst-case scenario for a gap year is that you stall your academic momentum to play video games, watch TV, and lounge around the house.

GAP YEARS CAN BE EXPENSIVE

College can be incredibly expensive, and a gap year can seem alluring for students who fear their time will be poorly spent in college until they've figured out a clear direction for themselves.

On the other hand, gap-year programs and traveling abroad are also potentially expensive endeavors. Make sure you understand the potential cost of your trip or program, as well as any sneaky expenses that might not be presented up front, so your gap year doesn't set you back financially.

FEELING ISOLATED OR LIKE YOU'RE FALLING BEHIND

Watching your close friends go off to college and go through similar experiences at the same time may leave you feeling as though you're missing out. Likewise, knowing that you'll be going through these experiences a year after peers you progressed through high school with might make you feel like you're falling behind.

While these feelings are understandable, remember that when looking at the big picture, entering college one year late won't harm your professional trajectory and you'll get to experience college all the same when you return.

THE TRANSITION BACK TO SCHOOL COULD BE DIFFICULT

A year spent idle or withdrawn from academic engagement could make the transition back to school a difficult one. The best way to avoid this is to make sure that you keep yourself engaged and challenged by material you find interesting, and that no matter how you choose to spend your time, you are acquiring a skill or learning about yourself, an academic field, or a particular culture.