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The Possibilities of the Gap Year

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A gap year is a year off of academics, which provides time to explore interests and help determine career choices, containing both positive and negative aspects to consider. A gap year can be spent in a several ways from internships, working, volunteering, or traveling and exploring interests. It can provide students with life impacting traits that can provide a better future and greater outlook on life. If taken seriously, a gap year can have many positive effects on education and the motivation to continue school. Although gap years can be very expensive, it can overall be an opportunity of a lifetime, to create clear academic goals. Although a gap year is most often taken between high school and college, some students decide to take one after under-graduate school and before graduate school or entering the workforce.

If a gap year is planned properly, it can help a students take school and life more seriously impacting their entire life. In the UK and similarly in Australia, 11% of university bound students take a gap year (MacDonald 1). Meaning, that almost one in ten students, in the UK and Australia, whom already were planning on attending a university, take part in a gap year. One reason gap years have become popular is that parents have noticed that students are going to college because it is expected of them or for the social aspect, not because they have clear education or career goals in mind (Bull 77). This causes some parents to rethink the idea of a gap year, because college tuition is increasing every year and they do not want to send their child to school if they are not going for the right reasons. Most ‘gappers’ choose to take a gap year because they want adventure, independence, or they want something more that...

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...ons of College and Experiences of Stress Prior to and Through the College Career.” College Student Journal 47.4 (2013): 635-643. OmniFile. Web. 19 March 2014.

MacDonald, G. Jeffery. “Gap Year ‘Before College Gives Grads Valuable Life Experiences.‘” USA Today 18 June 2008: 1-3. USAToday.com. Web. 14 March 2014.

O’Shea, Joseph. “Delaying the Academy: A Gap Year Education.” Teaching in Higher Education 16.5 (2011). 565-577. Web. 16 March 2014.

Sarouhan, Jane and Sarouhan, Jason. “Your Goals, Your Life, Your Gap Year.” CollegeXPress Magazine (2013): 22-25. OmniFile. Web. 14 March 2014.

Sutherland, Paige. “College Offers to Pay Students to Take Time Off.” APFinancial News (2014): 1-2. Newswires. Web. 14 March 2014.

Torpey, Elka Maria. “Gap year: Time Off with A Plan.” Occupational Outlook Quarterly 53.3 (2009): 26-31. Business Source Complete. Web. 14 March 2014.
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