Jai Malpani Professor Klein 12 November 2013 Research Essay Should Students Take A GAP year? Imagine just doing one thing for years, like just playing one game, reading the same book, sleeping won’t you get bored? Imagine a student continuously studying, giving the tiring exams straight when he is 3 years old until he graduates from college. Don't you think its just too much? Straight 16 years of his life just the same thing, don't you think after high school a student needs a “Gap”, some kind of a break so that he can discover, rest, explore and grow and break this monotonous life. Exactly this “Gap” is required. This terminology has now become a trend amongst the high school student. So what exactly is taking a gap year? Well, taking a gap year after high school is basically taking a year off, as a break between high school and college. Different people have different opinions whether a student should take a gap year or shouldn’t take a gap year. A discussion on this topic is really important because all the students and parents are confused whether it would be worth it to take a gap year or it would just be a waste of time and money. The different opinions vary from person to person. According to a few people GAP year is worth it because students become mature, it is kind of a break from studies, grow different kind of interests, do some volunteering work while at the same time some people think its just waste of a year, student lose out on the academics, they lose their interest and difficultly in joining back the academics after an year off. Now looking at both these arguments, it is indeed an important decision to make whether students should take a gap year or they shouldn’t. Thus I’m conducting the research on this ... ... middle of paper ... ...ent a chance rejuvenate, discover himself and understand himself more, about what he wants to do, what is he interested in. This instead of being a bad thing, this could give a student real motivation and guidelines to what he wants to do with his life. Which major, which career line he wants to follow becomes clear when he explores so many different options in this year. Thus according to me looking at all these options, GAP year is indeed a really good option for students. It thus gives them an option to do things, experience it, which they probably won’t do again in their lives. Also different venues get open, choice of their majors, minors, their future becomes clear. The students realise what they what to do, how they are and what is their motto in life. GAP year indeed makes a student educated not only in one way but touches upon several different things.
First, the pros of year round schooling can include; effects on absence and burnout rates, effects on budget, more frequent breaks, and also a big effect on academic achievement. The way that year round schooling works to reduce burnout and also reduce absences is that by having more frequent breaks; students are less likely to want to skip class. This is definitely noticeable after spring break where most schools don’t have any days off until the end of the year that is usually more than 2 months straight. In other words the “April, May, June stretch”. Year round schooling will also help students with their academics as well because with the way the schedule is set up, students do not ha...
Going to college gives students the chance to step out of their comfort zone, try new things, and discover who they are while pursuing a degree that may, or may not, interest them. In today’s world if a student drops out of college society assumes they are unintelligent, while in reality they could have come to the realization that being amazing at a trade job is better than being mediocre at a desk job. There has to be a way for students to want to finish college and find what they are learning interesting. If something doesn’t change, the system of postsecondary education will become a thing of the
Sometimes students question themselves if college is really worth it? That question has many answers that only a student can answer and decide for him or herself. For some students college can have a positive, life-long outcome. However, there are many obstacles when it comes to college. A student has to be very dedicated in school, and they have to know how to manage their personal life, school and work. College seems like it has more negative effects than it does positive for some people. For the following reasons college is not worth the cost because it is very difficult to find jobs after graduating or they find a job that is not in their field, some students who are not academically prepared wind up dropping out of school and wasting their money and some students struggle to balance school life, personal life and work life. As a result these students end up dropping out of school.
In view of this “illness,” junior year also takes a toll on individuals. There is the ACT and the pressure to obtain a certain score to receive a scholarship or to be admitted into a dream school. As a matter of fact, the college application process is exhausting in itself. The stress seniors build up before they click
Thousands of dollars for college tuition; thousands of dollars for textbooks and materials, the cost just keeps building up! Students going through high school right now do not have the experience of having to actually pay for school. Often enough, colleges and universities require students to pay hefty prices to attend their schools and leads the hole in our pockets to become deeper and deeper. To change this problem, public colleges and universities should not require tuitions and school materials to be fiscal problems for students. With this, students would not worry about not going to college just because they could not afford it.
First, what must be established is the distinction of higher education and college. Blake Boles, author of Better Than College, writes in his book the distinction between the two. He points out that college is one path to a higher education that ,essentially, is a prescribed path to success, but it does not guarantee higher education. Furthermore, he writes that: “a higher education is first and foremost the capacity to self-direct your life. Someone who has a higher education can define her own vision of success and pursue it, even in the face of difficulty”(Boles 4). There is a common misconception that college is the higher education path that leads to success. This is why parents hesitate to support their children in taking a gap year. They fear that their children will not be as productive or responsible for assignments. In contrast to that popular notion, gap years require more responsibility, if not more. However, in his book, Blake Boles answers the question of how to pursue higher education without college: “instead of following someone else 's curriculum, self-directed learners begin by asking themselves what fascinates and drives them.Their journey begins- and ends -with self-knowledge. Instead of taking full time classes, self-directed learners give themselves assignments that they find interesting, eye-opening and challenging” (Boles 5). With the absence of the responsibility to turn in assignments , prepare for presentation, comes a responsibility to construct one 's own curriculum. This leaves time for pursuing activities of interest. Instead of relying on professors to instruct one on how to go about learning, one must strive to network with people in the field of interest. They must seek mentorship in order to replace the guidance given by a professor. This takes a considerable amount of responsibility, which becomes very achievable since one understand the value
Firstly, not all classes need to be tailored to the student’s chosen career. Just because he or she is not going to go into business or chemistry or whatever the class in question may be does not mean that it could not benefit them to investigate as many subjects as possible. Kirn naively argues that seniors try “to earn a grade they don’t need” as they endure through their final high school year. This is incorrect. College freshmen are notorious for changing their major, and though I cannot say for sure how often young adults change career, I do know that their desired career is not guaranteed. Therefore, continuing to explore while in the late teen years could help later i...
Arguably one of the most crucial and impactful years of a person’s life are in college. A college student is expected to identify which type of career they would like to pursue and most importantly find who they really are. Although it is a difficult task, I believe a student is able to get on track achieve these expectations if they remain focused, have a passion for the career type they would like to pursue, and just be open to experiencing several different things. There is simply not enough time to fully understand what type of person you are and who you really are in 4 years. It could take a whole lifetime for someone to find who they are but in college we are expected to find this in most cases 4 years.
Not only do the numbers agree, but students themselves have said that after participating in a gap year program, they feel those that they have a greater sense of purpose in these studies and are more driven.
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.
Pressure from grades, jobs, social lives, relationships, and other difficulties can contribute to the added stress of making it through high school. Consequently, students may be especially vulnerable to mental health issues with the added stress and pressure of college. Taking a gap year can give students time to mentally decompress, reducing many of the stressors that have accumulated during high school. Academic burnout is one of the biggest factors for dropouts (add more). A gap year can be a chance to decide what to study in college, as many students leave high school completely unsure what career path to take. For these students, taking a gap year can be an opportunity to find a job or internship that may give them the indication as to what they enjoy and would be interested in studying in college. For most students, a gap year has an impact on their choice of academic major and occupation, either setting them on a different path or confirming their direction. “60% said the experience either set them on their current career path/academic major or confirmed their choice of career/academic major". (Parents). A gap year not only ensures the path of a teen but by taking a gap year it can also improve a student GPA. "Robert Clagett, who served as a senior admissions officer at Harvard and is also the former Dean of Admissions at Middlebury College, has found that those who delay a year before starting college,
A gap year is a period, typically one academic year, taken by a student as a break between secondary school and higher education. Many students consider taking a gap year because they are longing to get work experience and be sure of a career path before they make the decision to head off to college. During those one or two years off before heading to college, students have the opportunity to travel the world, work, experience different jobs, or simply take a break from school. Some parents do not agree with their young adults taking a break from school because they worry that their child will not do something productive with their free time. Although students taking a gap year run the risk of becoming inattentive or accustomed to making some quick cash, and not returning to school, there are numerous benefits for a young adults. young adults to take a gap year off before heading to college; for instance, many colleges want students that are mature and have some work experience.
Others do not have the same advantage of knowing what they want to do once they go into college. This leads students to take a gap year to figure out exactly what it is they want to do for the rest of their lives. Taking a gap year helps students explore different fields and help them figure out if they will truly like to do, or what they do not enjoy. Goth said in an article in U.S News and World Report "NCCC has driven work ethic into me. It 's broadened what I think I could do with my life because all of these projects are things that I would 've never even consider doing ... Then you go and do them, and think, 'Wow, I 'm actually pretty good at them. '" This brings to show how taking a gap year is truly beneficial to the students.
We all need a break from school, whether its going from high school into college, or during college. Even though there’s a risk of losing momentum after a long layoff from school, its an opportunity to regroup and explore more before taking that next big step into college, having figured out what you want to do in the future. Not only will you able to rest your brain for what’s upcoming, this allows to be fully confident on a major that interests the student, which allows for an easy transition into their careers, and they can have a chance to explore the world at their free will without be strained.
Students who take a gap year regularly go on to be successful in college. Even though people might not go back after that year is over, everybody should think about the idea of taking a year off because it has a many amount of benefits and 90 percent of students who take a year off go back to college and graduate and it gives you a fresh start entering college.