Gap years in college are often met with disapproval and skepticism in American academic culture — whether taken after graduating high school or during college. In all cases, critics ask the same question: Won’t you fall behind? Wouldn’t that be a waste of your time? We are so success-oriented that any break from actively building your professional career is considered a mistake, but in many cases taking time to explore and reorder yourself can help achieve long-term success.
Currently, approximately 8,000 U.S. students take a gap year annually. American universities found that students who take a gap year between high school and college achieve 23% higher grades than students that go straight to college. Along with this, 60% of students said that they took their education more seriously after taking a break from the system, improving their academic performance following a gap year. Time off can help students more clearly and confidently see the path of their life, allowing them to take their majors at college more seriously.
Gap years can also help to ease feelings of burnout and academic pressure left over from high school. A 2018 study on mental illnesses in incoming college first-years from multiple countries including the United States found that 35% students suffered from mental health problems to varying extents, indicating students are entering college with mental strain. These mental health issues can range from major depression to mania, generalized anxiety disorder and broad substance abuse problems. Taking the time to process high school burnout while also exploring your own aspirations and goals are both positive results of taking a gap year.
Most of you may think — how will people with traditional mindsets take it? When talking about career paths, some may find no merit in the idea of deferring a school year. I can already imagine the long lectures on the idea being a waste of time and nothing more than an extended vacation. A productive gap year is a way to invest more intentionally in your future. People also often overlook the fact that matriculation and graduation rates for students who take a gap year are practically the same.
NYU, and the American education system at large, should do more to help break the stigma around gap years. Since NYU is an institution that hundreds of thousands of high school students look forward to applying to every year, if counselors and administrators promote finding yourself rather than falling behind, more students and parents would seriously consider it. Even for students who are already enrolled, the Wasserman Center for Career Development should consider highlighting individuals who didn’t recruit for jobs the traditional way but rather took time off after college. When NYU administrators and representatives go visit high schools, taking a gap year should be discussed as a viable option for students.
NYU should make it clear that growth doesn’t follow a pre-determined schedule. When we work hard to get in and pay such large amounts of money for an education at NYU, we should do our best to make the most of this education by knowing exactly what we want to get out of it — and if a gap year is the best way for someone to figure that out, then they should be encouraged, not discouraged, to take one.
WSN’s Opinion section strives to publish ideas worth discussing. The views presented in the Opinion section are solely the views of the writer.
Contact Shanay Tolat at [email protected].
