A Gap Year: Just Say No

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Recommended: Transition between high school and college

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. Before understanding the consequences of a gap year, it is important to understand why people take a Gap Year. Senior year can be tense and come with several unanswered questions. Seniors are given four options when leaving High School. Those choices are either joining the army, going straight to work, applying to college, or taking a Gap Year. In a journal by Sunny Niu and Marta Tienda, “Delayed Enrollment and College Plans: Is There a Postponement Penalty?” explains some of the reasons why high school graduates tend to not go directly to a four year university. One of the main reasons high school graduates are hesitant to attend co... ... middle of paper ... ... index.php/considering-a-gap-year/why-take-a-gap-year>. Holmes, Bradford. "Decide If a Gap Year Makes Sense to You." Us News: n. pag. Print. Horn, Laura, Emily Forrest Cataldi, and Anna Sikora. "Waiting to Attend College." National Center of Education Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2013. . Niu, Sunny, and Marta Tienda. "Delayed Enrollment and College Plans: Is There a Postponement Penalty?" Journal of Higher Education (2013): 1-28. Print. O’Shea, Joseph. "Delaying the Academy: A Gap Year Education." Teaching in Higher Education (2011): 1-14. Print. Wells, Ryan S., and Cassie M. Lynch. "Delayed College Entry and the Socioeconomic Gap: Examining the Roles of Student Plans, Family Income, Parental Education, and Parental Occupation." Journal of Higher Education

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