A Gap Year After High School

The twelve years you spend of your life going to school, is about learning new things and preparing yourself for the real world. Towards the last four years of school, you start thinking about what you want to do after high school, you start taking classes that’s required for what you want to go into, looking at colleges where you can get your degree. College isn’t for everyone right after their done with High School. Other people don’t need college for what they’re going to do, they can just start there job right away. Some people that have no idea what they want to do might consider going into the military, then find something in any of the fields.

For some students, the question of what to do after high school may be a burden to even contemplate as it approaches quicker and quicker. The pressure to continue another four (or more) years of education after high school can be overwhelming considering twelve years of schooling has already been completed; why go right back to school again? When’s break time? Some people are simply just not ready for college and they know it, or at least until after they have had a long break or have had some time to recollect themselves. Technically speaking college isn’t for everyone, nor is it necessarily needed for a career. Luckily today, there are many other options that potential career seeking beings can get a head start on such as community colleges and trade/vocational schools. These alternatives to a four year college are considered to be a good start on a job (and maybe even a career). The best benefits of these alternatives involve the cost of attending, the student environment, and the degrees offered.

The competition for admission into college can be extremely tough, and a gap year, especially a mandatory one, can lead to even greater competition than before. When searching through application upon application, universities tend to look for students who have “passionate involvement in a few in or out of school activities” as well as “out of school experiences including work, community service, youth organizations, religious groups, etc.” (IECA, 1). Many universities look out for not only a student’s GPA throughout their high school years, but also the extracurriculars and experiences the student has gone through in order to find the handful of applicants that are deemed the “cream of the crop.” By adding the mandatory gap year for all students to the educational system, the students who are aiming to be accepted into the top universities of the nation will essentially have another year of school to go through because of their need to have their college application look the most polished and unique out of all the others. Yet a vast majority of the applicants will have similar-looking application forms because of the actions they are all taking to appear as the best. However, that specific “king of the hill” type mindset is what creates the cookie-cutter applicants many universities face today, and the arrival of a mandatory gap year could magnify the problem with more and more students trying to outshine each other in the fight for the top.

Since the student is currently learning some independence, this is a great time where they can get to know themselves better. During a gap year, students have the opportunity to get to know them as well as learn what they want to do in life (Ma, 2014). Back in 2013, there were interviews given to many students at different universities, about their experience with a gap year. A student by the name of Eden Full, Princeton University, stated that since he was young, he was always on the path to success. With a gap year, it had given him time to learn some new skills and explore some new interests that he had never had before (Lazaro, 2013). Another student by the name of Tiffany Yanagida, a computer science major at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, stated that a gap year had given her some time to find out her future career path. This was something that she had no idea about at the young age of 18 (Lazaro, 2013). This is a great time to have fun, build up your social network, and go out and enjoy the world.

It is been an evident problem in high school because they think their job is done after they click that ‘submit’ button on their computers, which signifies the completion of their college applications. This is around the time of winter break, so this when students gradually lose their motivation to finish the last leg in their high school career out strong. However, the article “The Truth About Senioritis” by Kat Cohen

This article was another one of my pieces that was very informative. The article was made by NAFSA: Association of International Educators, which is the world’s largest nonprofit association that focuses on international education and exchange programs. They focus a lot on helping students plan and take their gap years. This article has both information on personal peoples’ gap years and statistics on gap years. I think that NAFSA is very qualified to speak about Gap Years because their whole business rotates around them. Holly Bull, president of the Center for Interim Programs (CIP) speaks throughout many of the articles. The CIP is another program that assist students in their gap year, making Holly Bull a great person to rely on for further information about gap years. Another person repetitively mentioned throughout the article is Ron L. Witczak, assistant vice provost and director of study abroad at Portland State University. They give a lot of insight for gap years

I really liked that Kimbrough saw the idea of speaking up than to keep silent about the situation. Her story could and will for sure help the others just because she spoke on something she felt the need to be adjusted. The article black student holds protest after getting rejected from the university of Michigan, also pointed out that the university saying that each student's application undergoes several holistic reviews on which to consider many factors when determine whether a student is he right fit for the institution. It also pointed out that the university negotiated with blacks’ students as far as back as the 1979, stating that they will work on the numbers of minority enrollment to 10%, but 44 years later, there is still no changes.

To begin, it takes two-to-eight years to earn a degree, which could be better spent learning valuable work experience and making money. While taking a gap year or a small break from academic work, one may be able to try out various career paths. A gap year enables one to narrow down what field they would like to focus the rest of their careers on (Young People in Debt). Once a field of interest is discovered, a young adult can further explore said field and come to understand just what requirements they must meet in order to obtain this job. Once one realizes what exactly they must do, they can begin focusing their studies on attaining the necessary skills in order to

People these days should take the gap year because it lets them have the time to find out the person that they want to be in life. Today most students are taking the path of having a gap year because they are very stressed throughout high school and just need a break from school for a little while. Some students have no motivation or clue what they want to do in college so by having this gap year it gives them the time to explore and find out what interest them. This will give them a better idea of what they want to major in and eventually have a job in as well. Some would say that going to college right after high school could make life a lot less problematic; however, students should choose to take a gap year to have the most favorable outcomes after high school.

By taking this time off to explore what life has to offer, this decision has made several students feel more mature as young adults. They were able to understand who they have become, and able to handle pressures in life that came along such as basic stereotyping, patience with others, and feeling more mature than their peers when they return to college. With using a year in between school and college, one can defer their application to college and go figure out what type of person they will become. Some get upset with going to college that first year and by taking the year off, most students come back with some life changing skills that enable them to have the traits, skillset and firsthand knowledge to deal with the first year of college situations such as parties, ethics, and alcohol. Most students feel that by taking this time off, it helps in their growth and not just mentally, but spiritually. One female even lost faith during her first year as a result of her experience. After hearing of the rape of one of the orphans, she recalled her religious doubts: “How can God let this happen?” (Shea, J. pg. 570). Many colleges are allowing more students to apply for a gap year. “In 2009, Princeton University launched a fully subsidized international volunteering gap year option for incoming undergraduates to encourage an international perspective and

Their placements represented a broad spectrum ranging from a remote village in Guyana to downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina. O’Shea identifies change as the overarching theme that characterizes both participants’ rationale(s) for taking a gap year as well as their experiences during their gap year. In his empirical chapters entitled “Changes in Themselves,” “Changes in Relationships,” “Changes in Civic and Religious Perspectives,” and “Changes in Ways of Thinking and Future Plans,” participants report “wanting to experience poverty rather than watching it on TV” (p. 17) and through this experience “question [their] beliefs--why we are the way we are; why we do the things we do” (p. 81). Some report feeling changed “because I lived as a local. I saw the world from a villager’s perspective” (p. 37). Others express skepticism about the authenticity of “seeing as a local,” stating, “You try to be like common people here, but it’s not the same if you have a return ticket; you can press the escape button and rewind” (p. 110). O’Shea particularly highlights students who had negative, or alternately, very

An educational opportunity that I have taken advantage of is the free education America provides to children whether they are citizens or not. I’m from Mexico and the education there is really expensive which causes the majority of students to drop out. I am thankful for my parent's decision to bringing me here to America because I wouldn't have been able to have an education at all. I choose to continue high school because an education is worth so much, I should take advantage of the opportunities I come across because others aren't as lucky as I am.

It has become apparent that many students drop out of college within their first year. My principals of business teacher, Mr. Eeg, has told me numerous amounts of time that he has students who return from their “dream” colleges after just one year to instead go to De Anza or Foothill because their college life was too hectic for them. They claim it was too much reading, too much homework, and not enough of an actual life out of school and/or work.

However, students continues from high school will lack of some benefits. In my experience, I didn’t take my classes seriously because I was rushing to hurry and finish college to get my AA degree to start my career. So much had happen as I was trying to rush my classes and I even lost my second child at 23 weeks. . After my third child, I'm still rushing through my classes. When I notices that I was failing both my summer 2015 classes, I feel like giving up. I lost confidences in me, no motivation to keep going. What I should had done was take a year off.

Students could take a gap year to gain perspective on their life. During this time a person will have time to clarify career goals. This time is also gives students time to commit to what is most important to them. Which is the vest decision for them when it comes to their own future?