Here Are the Benefits of Taking a Gap Year Before College
This guide is all about cognitive thinking. The mind is a flexible organ which when forced to operate past what it can sustain it can explode. Thus, it can not go beyond its limit. Here to explode means you can lose your normal thinking, and lose the ability to grasp anything taught be it class or an outdoor related. To avoid reaching the exploding level sometimes is always advisable to take time off and as such taking a gap year can be so much beneficial. Taking a gap year help in keeping the mind refreshed and ready for the next intense academic year without a glitch
Reasons Why Students Take a Gap Year
Sooner or later, you may come to a situation that needs your attention at the contemporary time. The benefits that come along with such situations can compel you to think otherwise about education since later you may not get the chance to pursue such opportunity again. This can be due to jobs or any other thing that even though education is essential, they might be once in a lifetime opportunity that needs proper thinking to make a decision. Below are some of the reasons that compel students to take a gap year
- Financial Basis
Most students face a tough time to meet the fee expectation due to family financial status or lack of money due to some personal reasons. Thus, the quest to raise such amount of money to raise the financial aid award, they have to chip into uplift the family’s financial situation first. Thus, they are compelled to take a year off studies to work and save some money which would later make their education process comfortable. Nevertheless, some students are forced to take a gap year due to unique job opportunity offered to them which will be hard to accept later while pursuing education seriously or in anytime during their career.
- Personal situations
A significant number of students take a gap year before joining school. They do so that they can relieve themselves from all the hindrances that may come their way once they have fully settled for curriculum activities. For instance, they may choose to travel in the year before joining school since once they start studying, their free time and summers will always be occupied by studies related activities and internships. Either way, the student may choose to take a year out and conduct research either locally or abroad since once they start studying they intend to concentrate on the research while seeking help from professor concerning the research.
- Health issues
Many students have health conditions which may keep them in and out of health facilities hence lack quality time for both taking care of health and education. Seeking medical assistance at regular intervals may compel the healing process to take a long time at the same time studies will face negativity such as poor performance due to less concentration. As such, a student may take time off to learn how to manage their illness as well as ease the recovery process without the stress of classing and movements. Similarly, some students may take time off from educational activities to take care of a sick relative.
Most high school graduates may choose to take a gap year to allow them to get full relief from the initial intense year that entailed back to back curriculum activities as well as extra curriculum activities. Thus, the ultra-competitive students who have spent much of their time pursuing education seriously may feel burnout due to intense activities such as studying competition, sports, and APS. Thus, taking time out to decompress becomes a necessity. Thus, some students take a gap year to prepare enough for the competitive university environment encompassed with much pressure.
- Pursuing personal interests
A significant number of students feel the pressure of high school which limits them from pursuing other extra-curriculum activities that they would still have no time to pursue in college. Thus, the benefits of taking a gap year give such student a chance to pursue their interesting activities to their level best. This gives them a chance to explore this activity to the degree they would not afford to get while in high school as well as soon as when they start their college or university education.
Below Are Some of the Merits of Taking a Gap Year
Even though some compelling reasons can be the reason for taking a gap year, there are a lot more benefits that are associated with the decision of taking time off from intense studies. Some students may view it negatively if you decide to take time off from education. It is because they do not know the benefits that tag along with taking time off from intense college or university education. Such students may ask in disbelief that “what are the benefits of taking a gap year?” since they do not know, they will find some cruciality of taking time off which may influence them to do so too. Below are some of the advantages you exploit when you take to make time off the decision
- Perform better in college
Taking a gap year may help in enhancing the cognitive ability of an individual. For instance, taking a year off academic activities gives a student the ability to face the education process with enthusiasm and zest which influence positivity and seriousness in educational activities.
Similarly, students who take time off, get the better chance of knowing what goes around the world which equips them with the value of education in a different dimension. First and foremost, taking time off equips the student with the value of understanding education placed upon them from the societal perspective. The same way, it also enables students to understand the inherent value of education which makes them not only marketable but also equip them with sympathy to humanity plights. Thus, when you take a gap year, you relax your mind and learn the value of education in two different perspectives which increases your capacity to think and grasp ideas efficiently hence better education ability.
- Exploration of good and bad of the world
Not every individual can travel once or twice in a lifetime. Thus, it takes a significant number of students to graduate to feel the pleasure of exploring newer heights and places. Thus, during the process of exploration, they experience both the good and the bad side of humanity. They may come across good people with hospitable hearts while at the same time they may come across mean people with negative thoughts. Thus, this experience may make you understand yourself better and develop the desires, hope, and focus on changing the world to a better place. Thus, when you get back to the education process, you may develop positive virtues that may be helpful not only to you but to your fellow students and the society at large.
- Build your resume
Once you start schooling, you are held back from pursuing many activities. These activities can be sporting, volunteer work, and hobbies that are very important since most employers look past just a degree. Thus, just a degree is not enough convincing tool to employers. They believe volunteer work and unique experience build an employee, not a great deal not only as a worker but also as an individual. Thus, having time off from education activities to pursue other essential activities is a significant job opportunity tool. For instance, pursuing many volunteer jobs will convince the employer that you are not only certified (as a result of your degree) but also you are empathetic individual. Try as much as possible to make a positive difference to the world. Thus, an employer can have a second thought on you by creating a mental picture of the positive energy and effort you will bring to their company once they hire you.
- Experience gain
In this modern age, after graduation from college most graduates are asked of their job experience as the only key to unlock their employment opportunity. Since most students prefer studying all through without taking a break for volunteer works they miss such opportunities. Thus, taking a gap year is important. Taking time off from education gives you a significant time to pursue some of the volunteer activities. Having work field experience does not only help you in college but also prepares you for an internship or career. Taking time out from school activities to work on volunteering activities, provides an experience, that proves an individual with the work and experience to be successful and not just knowledge to be successful in his or her career. Thus, in the work environment, an employer is likely to employ a lower-risk new hire with entry level than an individual with a degree without any experience. This is because the experienced individual will put the company at a low risk such as making minor mistakes which cannot cost the company much compared to an inexperienced individual.
- Reduce the possibility of burnout
Burnout is the experience you feel after intense concentration which starts to lower your ability to grasp or start to pay less attention unconditionally. Thus, taking a gap year more so after intense high school education prepares you for the next chapter you are about to face. If you decide to face the new chapter and join college without taking time off to prepare you to mind and be well-set cognitive-wise you are likely to experience a burnout which may cost your college performance a great deal.
- Development of new life skills
Sometimes you may not be able to see the benefits of taking time off from intense school activities, but it is very important. For instance. Taking a one year time off is a significant time to enable you to do a lot more things that you cant achieve while schooling. For example, when you are off schooling, you can learn many things such as drawing, cooking, public speaking, a new language, and other hobbies. Such may be helpful through your college life the same way they can help in boosting your personal and professional life. Life skills such as learning a new language and public speaking can boost the edge of a professional career which prepares them to take on the field with much courage. Other hobbies such as playing video games can boost your spatial memory and body organs coordination such as hand and eye.
- Develop into a more well-rounded individual
With all the life skills, hobbies, volunteer works, independence, and responsibilities achieved as benefits of taking a gap year before college you are likely to develop into a more well-rounded individual. Being well rounded can create different positive opportunities in life; thus you should strive to attain it. Thus, taking a gap year before college tags along with thins to achieve, do and enjoy which lead to a more interesting and enjoyable college life and experience. What more, taking time off from school helps in building your desire and enthusiasm for studies. Thus, when you get back to classwork, you take all your time to learn, explore and take any aspect of studies serious. Thus, it is highly advisable for students to look at the matter with a lot more seriousness before diving into an intense academic chapter with limited exploration, visiting and personal activity opportunities.