Take a Leap
Most students who take gap years argue that their time away from school helped to ease the transition into adulthood and feel that they are more mature than their peers who went straight to college. In his article “Minding the Gap? Young People’s Accounts of Taking a Gap Year as a Form of Identity Work,” Andrew King argues that students returned from their gap years with a new-found confidence and sense of maturity. This study includes interviews with many students who participated in the study. One participant in the study, Matthew, claims that he has more life experience and maturity than his classmates that came straight from school because he took a gap year got a job.
This is not uncommon for gap year students. Students who take a year off tend to participate in activities that require more responsibility. They must act in a more adult way because they have more accountability, whereas their peers in school are able to safely experiment with more questionable and immature behaviors in a school environment. Because of this, it seems gap year students go into formal education with a more “no nonsense” attitude. However, the benefits don't end with personal growth. In an article published in Time Magazine, Robert Clagett stated that a study he conducted showed that students who decided to take a gap year could have GPAs of up to 0.2 higher than their peers who decided to go straight to college. Stakeholders for this position are high school seniors suffering from academic burnout, their parents, gap year programs, college counselors, and college admissions departments.
This is not uncommon for gap year students. Students who take a year off tend to participate in activities that require more responsibility. They must act in a more adult way because they have more accountability, whereas their peers in school are able to safely experiment with more questionable and immature behaviors in a school environment. Because of this, it seems gap year students go into formal education with a more “no nonsense” attitude. However, the benefits don't end with personal growth. In an article published in Time Magazine, Robert Clagett stated that a study he conducted showed that students who decided to take a gap year could have GPAs of up to 0.2 higher than their peers who decided to go straight to college. Stakeholders for this position are high school seniors suffering from academic burnout, their parents, gap year programs, college counselors, and college admissions departments.
Personal Testimonies
In this video, Jean Fan talks about her decision to take time off, even though she was considered by others to be a very successful student. She discusses the importance of challenging the traditional ideas of success in the United States. She emphasizes the fact that taking a gap year is taking time off from school, not learning.
Caspar Roth, from Holland, explains during his Ted Talk why he believes gap years are so crucial to sparking new ideas.
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