When you think about attending college one might think they must transition as soon as they finish high school since that is what has been done in the past. However, progressively more students are taking a break before starting college. In an article titled “The Credibility in Your Gap Year,” it states, “Taking time off helps students refocus and recharge for the rigors of college - and also fosters their emotional and intellectual maturity. Some who have done it claim that taking a gap year helped them reapply to a college that previously turned them down. Most professionals don 't recommend doing [a gap year] just to position yourself and improve your resume. There has to be a greater sense of purpose.” It turns out taking a break (gap By that time, I was married with a two-year-old, so I did the only thing I knew how to do and I pushed off college again. Fast-forward five additional years and I was seriously looking to enroll in college this time, but now there were three kids and I quit my job (daycare was not a feasible option with three kids) to be a stay at home parent. By not bringing in any sort of income, college still wasn’t going to be an available option anytime soon. Once my youngest was three I decided to start looking at college once again. I knew it would need to be online since my family’s schedule does not allow for anything else. An article titled “College Students with Children are Common and Face Many Challenges in Completing Higher Education” states, “Being a parent substantially increases the likelihood of leaving college with no degree.” I heard about WGU Missouri (Western Governors University) and knew that was my ticket to receiving my teaching degree since they are completely online. Excited doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt knowing I would finally be able to start college. However, my excitement quickly turned to disappointment when I learned in order for me to be accepted I needed to have at least 12 credit hours already under my belt. At this point, I didn’t quite know what I would do. I also discovered my husband and I was expecting our fourth child. I knew college would need to be pushed Arrangements were made with the family; they were willing to help out with the kids when I needed it providing they were available. The article titled “College Students with Children Are Common and Face Many Challenges in Completing Higher Education” states, “Student parents attend community colleges more than any other type of institution (50 percent), and make up 29 percent of all students at community colleges. Yet on-campus child care facilities are becoming less prevalent, and community colleges have fewer child care facilities than do four-year institutions.” I finally started college the spring semester of 2016. My enrollment starting out was to be half-time. I was enrolled in three classes and was to start on January 11th, 2016. I knew I needed a student loan, but it would not be processed before my first payment needed to be made. With the holidays and personal property taxes due in December, I dropped two of the three classes I was enrolled in. At that point, I felt that I must jump through multiple hoops to make college happen for me. I was determined to keep moving forward; loan papers were filled out in plenty of time, so I would not be required to pay out of pocket. One added obstacle was thrown my way; since I was a first-time borrower at MCC I was required to wait 30 days before any loan payments
One day while folding clothes, I saw a commercial sponsored by the President Barack Obama Ad Campaign that encouraged stay- at- home mothers and single mothers to go back to school to get their college degrees. President Obama is specifically assisting moms to go back to college by increasing federal stimulus monies as well as financial aid. Right then and there, I decided to go back to school to further my education and increase my chances of starting a career in the field I would be trained in. I wanted to be able to earn more than minimum wage in this already stressed job market. My decision to go back to school was not an easy decision. For the last seven years, I have been a stay- at- home mother and during that time I have often thought about going back to school and earning a degree. But, whenever the thought of going back to school crossed my mind I would feel as though I was neglecting my duties as a wife and mother. I also suffered from a paralyzing fear of failure that has always kept me from pursuing the possibilities of obtaining a higher education. After much prayer and discussion with my family, I finally made the decision to move forward with my plans to obtain a college education.
In Chris Kelly’s article “Viewpoint: Gap years are good for students –and for schools” published in USA Today, he shows bias throughout his article. Chris Kelly continuously shows bias in his claim during the course of the article when he is saying that gap years are beneficial to students and colleges. Kelly only displays the positive aspects of taking the gap year rather than looking at both sides. In Kelly’s article he uses Malia Obama as a positive role model of a successful gap year student by acknowledging, “Maila Obama’s decision to defer enrollment from Harvard last spring brought renewed attention to alternative options” (1). Maila Obama, however, is not the only positive support Kelly used to convince students and parents that gap
Society puts too much pressure on high school students to attend a 4-year college right after graduation. Though this is an attainable goal for some, a great majority of students are not fully prepared for the demands of college. 4-year schools require an incredible amount of maturity and preparation, leaving very little room for mistakes. Schools often overlook this aspect because their main goal is to get as many students into 4-year college as possible. This is a great goal to have however they send students off to college who aren’t ready to be handle the difficult of their courses while being away from home. My senior year of high school, my family and I came to the conclusion that we were not going to be able to afford four-year college tuition. This upset me at first because I felt like all my hard work and good grades went to waste. I dreaded the thought of going to community college because my who...
Burnout is one of the top reasons students take a break, according to an independent study of 280 gap-year participants by education policy experts Karl Haigler and Rae Nelson, authors of "Gap Year, American Style: Journeys Toward Learning, Serving, and Self-Discovery." That was true for Kenneth Hubbell, now a Princeton junior from Anchorage, Alaska, who pushed himself to excel in high school, was active on the debate team and volunteered regularly. "I poured so much energy into it. At the end of four years, I was tired of being that person," he
If you’re anything like me or any other high school student you know that stress season is coming. It’s a joyous time where students unite to form study groups and enjoy the last two weeks of the semester before they go off into the boring period of “winter break.” Of course, no winter break is complete without the wonderful problem filled stapled stacks of papers handed to you as you walk out the door the last day. When you get handed that packet you know that those long winter break days that seem to last forever be no more thanks to all your teachers. May the rest of your day be filled with bliss and delight. Now this stress season isn’t simply the last day of school it’s so much more than that. It all started on November 9th oh yes the marvelous first day of the last grading
With higher education academy decision letter beginning to arrive, soon to be high school graduate starting to visualized their campus life. Another alternative has emerged and should be consider as a primarily option. It is gap year. Gap year is a year that high school graduate takes off before go off to college. It is widely consider as an option in Europe as it should be in the USA. Gap year has been showing magnificent benefits in student’s life. Due to most high school graduate student still has not fully developed a solid career path nor area of study, life experience and most importantly a desire to continue college with purpose.
This includes just working, volunteering travelling the world, and many more different experiences. The options are endless. If the average postgraduate enters the working world afterwards, it would allow them to explore the careers that are available. Often, they start off with an entry-level position which allows them to gain responsibility and learn how to control their finances better. More common than not, post graduates often devote their year off of school to volunteer work around the nation and world. This allows the students to experience different cultures throughout the nation and world. “Compared with people that do not volunteer, the odds of being ‘very happy’ rose 7% among those who volunteered monthly and 12% for people who volunteer every two to four weeks”(). This shows that volunteering can greatly improve people’s well being. This is a great activity to participate in while taking a gap year because volunteering stimulates people’s brains, encourages happiness, and looks great on job and college applications. It helps provide a sense of responsibility while allowing students to indulge in certain activities that they enjoy. In addition, the satisfaction they feel from knowing that they are helping
Many (Numerous) Schools in Michigan have switched to year-round school. The state of Florida shouldn’t convert to year-round school. Countless kids attend summer jobs to pay for school. It would be really hard to attend their job for 2-weeks every 6-weeks. Other students attend sport’s teams and may cause mayhem for the student. The year-round school schedule will also make it hard for parents to find childcare or babysitters. Even though, many students and teachers less and spend less time reviewing material. The state of Florida shouldn’t switch to year round school there is no proof that it helps students academically.
You’re coming back from a well needed break from school and you feel invigorated and ready to start. The first few weeks are the hardest to adjust to because your brain hasn’t been used throughout the break. The dilemma with breaks, such as summer break, is that one loses valuable information from past academic courses that are essential to ones progress towards higher education. Imagine a whole year without learning and then coming back to intense rigorous classes at a University. Seniors at high schools over the nation have the opportunity of taking a year off before committing to a college. This is known as a Gap Year; instead of directly enrolling into a University many students feel the need to take a break before starting their education towards their future career. Yes, a Gap Year does sound pleasing and beneficial, but in the long run it can be damaging towards ones future. Students should be aware of the ramification a Gap Year brings, such as, the possibility for enrolling in a graduate school is lower, academic growth is reduced, and social obstacles become present.
We all need a break from school, whether its going from high school into college, or during college. Even though there’s a risk of losing momentum after a long layoff from school, its an opportunity to regroup and explore more before taking that next big step into college, having figured out what you want to do in the future. Not only will you able to rest your brain for what’s upcoming, this allows to be fully confident on a major that interests the student, which allows for an easy transition into their careers, and they can have a chance to explore the world at their free will without be strained.
A gap year is a period, typically one academic year, taken by a student as a break between secondary school and higher education. Many students consider taking a gap year because they are longing to get work experience and be sure of a career path before they make the decision to head off to college. During those one or two years off before heading to college, students have the opportunity to travel the world, work, experience different jobs, or simply take a break from school. Some parents do not agree with their young adults taking a break from school because they worry that their child will not do something productive with their free time. Although students taking a gap year run the risk of becoming inattentive or accustomed to making some quick cash, and not returning to school, there are numerous benefits for a young adults. young adults to take a gap year off before heading to college; for instance, many colleges want students that are mature and have some work experience.
Now looking at both these arguments, it is indeed an important decision to make whether students should take a gap year or they shouldn’t. Thus I’m conducting the research on this ...
And they develop a fuller sense of themselves, undefined by their friends, family, or culture.Gap year is, basically, a half-step out into the world and offers students an opportunity to understand that they can handle it just fine. It makes the later post college change from one thing to another less scarring. The gap year gives a student the opportunity to find out what they want to do do in life and gives them time to think about the major of their choices some students leave high school with one major and then take a gap year and come back with a different major. Gap Year graduates report that through the summary of their new experiences they were better able to identify universities that fit their personalities and career desires to do great things. Finally, while we don 't suggest this as a first or more important, many students do report that taking a Gap Year enabled them to get into better
According to “Facts About A Gap Year,” the definition of a gap year is “a break typically taken between high school and college that might include travel, work, study, volunteering, or research.” Several colleges encourage their admitted students to take a gap year before starting their freshman year. Done the right way, a gap year can help students excel, while if a student completely puts aside their responsibilities, it can plummet their success in college. Students who take a gap year after high school not only mature, but also are prepared for college and the rest of their lives.