Gap Year: Yay Or Nay?

When I was doing a research project one summer in Argentina, I met a group of Australian people in their late teens, who were traveling around the world. They had covered over 20 countries in 6 months, and they were brimming with stories of travel, adventure, the experiences they’d had. They seemed older than me, although we were the same age, and so focused and excited about college in a way I no longer was. I was experiencing some educational fatigue, while they were wide awake, ready to learn. It turns out those students were taking a gap year between high school and college, so instead of going straight to university after graduating from high school they were taking some time to explore the world before jumping into higher education.

While at the time I hadn’t met many people who had taken a gap year, the practice is becoming more and more popular among students, and frankly, I can see why. Although many Indians seem to be horrified at the notion, perhaps fearing a loss of motivation or momentum, the reality is that for many students for whom a gap year is the right move find themselves far more motivated and self-directed than their non-gap-year taking counterparts. It’s true that a gap year isn’t for everyone, but for a student who has reached the end of high school and needs some time and distance away from the conventional learning styles available within educational institutions, a gap year might be the right choice, if, that is, a student has an alternate plan.

A student who takes a gap year needs to be very clear on their interests and what exactly it is they are pursuing over the course of that time. After all, it’s not time off, it’s time on, time to learn and engage in the world in a new way, time to pursue the opportunities that the rigid structure of school doesn’t allow for. So a student who wants to start their own business, or do research in a field station, or spend some time traveling and doing community service, or dance with a professional company, or whatever direction their passions point them to, is going to get a whole lot more out of a gap year then a student who wants to explore their bedroom and their television.A student who takes a gap year needs to be very clear on their interests and what exactly it is they are pursuing over the course of that time. After all, it’s not time off, it’s time on, time to learn and engage in the world in a new way, time to pursue the opportunities that the rigid structure of school doesn’t allow for. So a student who wants to start their own business, or do research in a field station, or spend some time traveling and doing community service, or dance with a professional company, or whatever direction their passions point them to, is going to get a whole lot more out of a gap year then a student who wants to explore their bedroom and their television.

If you do decide you want to take a gap year, having a plan can help you structure your time and create your own schedule. After all, that’s why you want to take one in the first place, right, for the autonomy, the chance to choose how your own education works beyond the classroom? So if this is something you are considering, having a 12 month plan, complete with goals, personal or product oriented, can really make sure you’re making the best of your time. 

 For many students, they enter college with either a vague notion of what they want, or a set plan that they’ve never really questioned. But taking the time to cultivate multiple interests and having the maturity and self-knowledge to know what kind of educational experiences help you learn best and how you want to approach your own education is vitally important to getting the most out of a college experience, and not every student in Indian has been encouraged to be active in their own learning. The pressures of the exam system coupled with the route-style learning still popular in many Indian high-schools mean that many students see education as a passive act, that their role is to absorb information, not go out and find it. A gap year can give a student the opportunity to really take charge of their education, but only if they are also prepared to take responsibility for the planning and execution of their learning experience.

Some parents fear a gap year can make their child a less competitive applicant for colleges in the West, but the reality is that it can actually make a student far more desirable for a college, because American colleges want students who are passionate, focused, and self-motivated, and a well-spent gap year can show a college that your child is just that.

Although one student we know studied science in high school, his interests actually veered towards political science and the workings of government, so he spent a year working with a reputed political group to try and gain hands on experience in a field he hadn’t had access to during high school. That real-world learning environment allowed him to understand the realities of political work in India and participate in the process while expanding his horizons as he traveled through rural areas and experience the challenges and rewards of India’s political landscape. He went on to pursue an education at Brown University, one of the top-ranked universities in the United States. 

 For another student, taking a gap year meant immersing himself in photography, travel and social service. In a span of twelve months, he set up a non-profit organization, ‘A Fantastic Initiative’, which was aimed at carrying out relief operations for earthquake victims in Nepal. He interned with an online art magazine startup and acted as a translator for a group of archaeologists who were conducting surveys and excavations in Kashmir, and so much more. He is now headed to University of Texas, Austin, a highly competitive American University.

There are many for whom the path from high school to college is a straight line, but there are also students who find themselves on an alternate path. With planning and consideration, however, a gap year isn’t a waste of time, but instead the road to the future.