Article: Should Students Have A Gap Year?

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In the article “Should Students Have a Gap Year? Motivation and Performance Factors Relevant to Time Out After Completing School,” author Andrew J. Martin looks at statistics and research to determine whether or not a gap year is a good choice for students going from high school to college. Gap years through the past years have become a popular choice for students who think that they are not ready for college, or are looking for a better way to become prepared for college. As stated by Martin, “A gap year can involve structured activities, such as part-time work and volunteering, or unstructured activities such as leisure” (561). There have been many cases where students have seen success after taking a gap year, but there have also been cases …show more content…

Martin reports that of the 338, about 20% had taken a gap year before attending college. Martin found that most of the students, similar to the results of his first study, had taken gap years because of uncertainty of what they were going to do after school. Of these students, most had said that they now knew what they were going to do, and had a clear way to pursue that goal. Having 20% of students taking gap years is substantial, and Martin says that he would not be surprised if this number increased greatly in the near future. This is especially true because of the rising cost of college, and because students are starting to believe that college isn’t worth it and they want to have options for their lives. Martin concludes by claiming that there are many benefits to taking a gap year, whether that be before college or during college, but students need to be careful so that they don’t lose focus on what they need to be doing during their gap …show more content…

I am not saying that taking a gap year is at the top of my list, but I do think that a gap year would be a good way to get me used to either a job or to really see what it takes to be a good college student before I head off to college. This article really got my attention because I had no idea how large the number of college students that took a gap year was. Before I read the article I would have guessed that maybe 5% of high school students going into college students took a gap year, but seeing that the number is 20% really surprised me. This article also stuck out to me because one of my friends and classmates is taking a gap year next year, and learning more about the advantages of taking a gap year really opened my eyes about the great opportunities that she has in front of her. This article challenges some of my beliefs, because I feel like going to college right after high school is kind of a tradition. I also feel that my parents would not be completely with the idea of me taking a year off because they would think that I wouldn’t be able to stay motivated, and go back to school after I had seen what it was like not having to go. This article has given me many ideas of what I could do over a gap year to better myself as a person, and a student, but

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