After a lifetime of school many students are turning to a gap year after they graduate high school. A gap year is a year between high school and college where a student typically travels, volunteers, or works. Many concerns arise from the word travel. How much will it cost? Will my child be safe? Will they ever go back to school? Parents are concerned for their child’s well-being when students are pursuing a gap year. With students maturing, gaining a sense of self-worth, and potentially securing a successful future, a gap year has many advantages. Some studies even show colleges encourage taking a gap year saying, “Gap Year alumni are more likely to be supported with scholarships,” (Gap Year Benefits) future college alumni should take a gap …show more content…
Meet Ellora, a vibrant, young girl taking a gap year as an au pair in France. An au pair gets food and board in exchange for taking care of the host family’s kids. Bonus, they get paid. Ellora, originally from New Zealand, has learned about the culture as she writes about her adventures in her blog: Diary of an Au Pair. From learning to dance the Flamenco to spending a week celebrating carnival, Ellora has done it all. "All in all, I think au pairing is a fantastic way to travel and gain a first-hand experience of a different place without spending a fortune" (Ellora). So for those who are money savvy and taking a gap year, an au pair is the way to go. For the guys who are thinking kids are not my thing, Ben, a gap year student, became a math teacher in Guyana. The living conditions were not the best, having to walk a few hundred meters to get water and kill a few cockroaches, but the experience was worth it. According to Ben the kids were welcoming and he learned most of the teachers were really young. . "The kids are wicked, really friendly, even if some of them can be a little intrusive when they come over to the house" (Ben). While working in Guyana he got breaks like all teachers do and took time to explore-even crossing country borders illegally- do not worry the locals showed him how. Being in a different country with a bunch of strangers a gap year alumni has never met before is a “frozen with fear” situation. They do not have family or friends to fall back on they are not there to cheer the alumni up when they mess up or to celebrate when they do something great. The adventures push students into the real world, what it is like after college, gap year alumni get a first-hand experience of what it is like before college. When students come back to start college, they know what to expect and how to handle it like a mature
But do kids really belong in college after twelve years of schooling? “The National Association for College Admission counseling has suggested that the practice of taking a gap year is on the rise.” (collegeparents.org) A gap year, is when students take a year off college. What the student decides to do in this case, is completely up to them. This topic is debatable for me. I think that students will slack off if they get that one year off. The gap year is just like a summer vacation, only extended. Students struggle to get back into the habit of going to high school, so I believe they would do the same even if the situation was going to college. A year off may be a good thing for some, just as it probably would have been for Linda’s son. However, I do believe that taking so much time off would be a huge problem for most of
The go-to-college tsunami has given young students who really don’t know why they are there or where they are going. Students been told that college is their only option and they will land better jobs and earn more money with a college degree. However, College is not always the logical next step of high school graduates. There are plenty of honorable and viable choices for the year after high school. The decision not to go to college should not necessarily be viewed in negative way. Many people could earn money by simply going to work in a field they want to explore. There are numerous non-college choices right out of high school such as military service, hospital aide, doing mission work in Central or South America, becoming a nanny, or cultural
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
From my experience most people think they know what a gap year is, some of those who think they know, infact have a skewed idea of what a gap year is. So, for the sake of everyone being on the same page, let 's go over a typical gap year; a gap year is a time that graduating high schoolers take off between graduation and when they enroll in college. The amount of time they take off varies, but most commonly around a year is taken off. There are many reasons that make a gap year a good idea for someone, such as: needing a break from school to “reset” in a way or not knowing what you want to do for a career and instead of jumping into college and working for a degree that you likely won 't use. In fact only 27% of college grads have jobs related
The stereotypical version of the normal life of a teenager proceeding to college would include high academic standards met throughout their high school career and outstanding outside testing scores resulting in automatic entry into the institution of their choice. Many of these individuals have the support of their accomplished family members in the form of financial support. There are those who have not had the luxuries of any easy upbringing but forced to decide between a life with a college degree or full-time employment. For myself I want to have it all and to achieve that I have taken on both.
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.
...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.
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.
Mobile Phone Forensics Paper Introduction Mobile phones and electronic devices are dispersed all over the world assisting in our everyday life. These mobile devices are occasionally involved in crime incidents and assist in building cases against cyber criminals. Mobile phones have various challenges when attempting to extract data from them and limitations that could hinder an investigation.
A gap year is a time for teens to take off between high school and college. A gap year is used to travel, work, volunteer or study. In general, a gap year has many advantages. This year out of a school is a good time for students to explore the world and gain valuable life skills and experience while learning to be independent. Teens in the U.S. should adopt the British custom of taking a gap year between high school and college in order to gain perspective on personal values and career goals as well as gaining needed life experiences without the pressure and expectations of a school environment. A gap year is a time for students to become independent and learn a sense of responsibility before entering into university life.
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.
My journey started when I came to the conclusion that, after high school, I wanted (and needed) a break. My senior year had been less than perfect, as I didn’t apply myself, was lazy, partied, and lost my parents’ trust and respect. I was a man without direction or a purpose, and knew that college would be just like high school but with more parties and less parental supervision. I quickly decided that instead of going straight to college, I would take a year off and participate in an exchange program. I’m part Italian, and I’ve always had a desire to trace my roots and to experience Italy and “la dolce vita” or “the sweet life.” When I signed the papers to go to Italy for the exchange program, I pictured myself lying in a hammock on a beach, surrounded by three...
... How Traveling Abroad Affects and Benefits Teens." Orinda Academy. N.p., Apr. 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
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.
According to “Facts About A Gap Year,” the definition of a gap year is “a break typically taken between high school and college that might include travel, work, study, volunteering, or research.” Several colleges encourage their admitted students to take a gap year before starting their freshman year. Done the right way, a gap year can help students excel, while if a student completely puts aside their responsibilities, it can plummet their success in college. Students who take a gap year after high school not only mature, but also are prepared for college and the rest of their lives.