If your teen is feeling nervous or uncertain about the idea of going to college right after they graduate, you may want to consider offering them the opportunity to explore a gap year. A gap year, the year between graduating high school and starting college/further education, can be great opportunity for a recent high school graduate to explore what they want to go to college for, where they want to attend college and take time to figure life out on their own after having so much of it structured for them the first 18 years of their life.
While college offers a great deal of independence and academic pressure, it doesn’t have the formalized structure that high school had. College students mold their own structures around the class schedules they choose for themselves. Under most circumstances, activities like eating, exercising, studying, sleeping and socializing are in fact far less structured than one might think when continuing their education immediately after high school. Some students can thrive on this, and others can in fact suffer if not properly prepared.
Benefits of a Gap Year
A gap year can help young adults discover how to implement structure into their lives before they enter a higher stress situation like college. Similarly, if your child had a very rigorous or difficult high school education, a gap year may help prevent burnout in another academically challenging environment.
Gap years can also help your teen discover their career aspirations and prepare for a college experience if they are feeling lost. Going into college without an idea of why they want to be there ma not be a good idea as it can lead to extra years and funds spent pursuing a degree. A gap year can provide cultural immersion and unique life experiences and can help your child build confidence and a sense of independence. The year after graduating from high school may also be the only time your child will be able to experience living in another country for an extended period of time or doing meaningful volunteer work. Life only gets more complicated as you get older, and there will be plenty of time to worry about pursuing careers, investments and retirement. A gap year can be once in a lifetime experience, so if your child is even the slightest bit hesitant about starting college immediately after high school, a gap year might be the best solution.
How to Start a Gap Year Journey
The Gap Year Association, a nonprofit that specializes in helping students and parents understand and work towards a gap year, divides gap years into four categories: paid work, service and community work, internships and career exploration and cultivating an adventure based on your unique interests and skills such as “cultural immersion, language learning [and] refining hobby skillsets.” First, identifying a path that will take your child out of their comfort zone and challenge them, but not overwhelm or scare them is important. Try to help them identify what types of activities would be most beneficial and supportive to their personal growth, then discuss where they would be for the gap year and how structured it would be.
The Gap Year Association offers free planning guides and other resources on their website and has an extensive catalog of global gap year programs for students to embark upon. If your child is considering a gap year program, your child should still apply to colleges and universities along with their peers to keep their options open. Most colleges allow students to defer their admission for up to one year, so your child would be able to feel secure that they would have a spot in college and would not have to worry about applying to colleges while pursuing their gap year. Every college is different, so communicating with their chosen college is key before deferring/accepting/declining admissions.
Important Considerations
While a gap year can be a very meaningful experience, it may not be for everyone. If your child may feel like they are going to miss out on the experiences and memories that their peers are going to have in their first year of college, then a gap year may not be the best option. A gap year must also be planned and organized well to be successful. If your child is not willing to take the time and really think about what a gap year would mean, then it may not be beneficial.
A gap year is not just about taking a break from academics – it is about broadening horizons and personal development. So, if your child is hesitant about college and is looking for something more, a gap year may be just what they need. They might discover more about themselves than they ever thought possible!
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