{"id":60057,"date":"2020-08-21T20:00:36","date_gmt":"2020-08-21T20:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prepmaven.com\/blog\/?p=60057"},"modified":"2020-09-01T14:48:18","modified_gmt":"2020-09-01T14:48:18","slug":"taking-a-gap-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prepmaven.com\/blog\/preparing\/taking-a-gap-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking a Gap Year: Should You Do It?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Taking a Gap Year: Should You Do It?<\/b><\/h1>\n

Though considered a normal rite of passage in the UK and Europe, gap years have taken longer to catch on in the United States. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, taking gap years has become more popular over the last decade or so, as students, parents, and educators have come to understand the value of devoting time to personal growth while transitioning between life stages.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Benefits of Gap Years<\/span><\/h2>\n

It helps that more data is emerging about the benefits of gap years. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Gap Year Association<\/span><\/a><\/span>, a nonprofit that accredits such programs, <\/span>found that 90% <\/span><\/a>of students who take a structured gap year return to school within a year, and are more likely to graduate on time and with a higher grade-point average. <\/span><\/p>\n

David Hawkins, director of public policy and research at the National Association for College Admission Counseling, <\/span>told <\/span>USA Today<\/span><\/i><\/a> that taking a gap year \u201c\u2026could actually help students succeed in college.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

And Mark Sklarow, chief executive officer of the Independent Educational Consultants Association, <\/span>told the <\/span>New York Times<\/span><\/i><\/a>, \u201cA higher percentage of those who took a gap year will complete college than those who do not.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA gap year gives us time for more introspective evaluation and some thinking about what we want to do and, more importantly, why we want to do it,\u201d writes Princeton undergraduate Jae-Kyung Sim in an October 2019 <\/span>Daily Princetonian<\/span><\/i> piece<\/span><\/a><\/span>. He ends with the advice, \u201cOne year of break will not only prepare you better for Princeton but also broadly for your career path and life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Taking<\/p>\n

What should I do during my gap year?<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

What a gap year looks like is up to you. Many students do gap years after graduating high school and before starting college, but some take them partway through college. <\/span><\/p>\n

The possibilities are endless when it comes to how to spend that time, but common options are<\/span><\/p>\n