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SALT LAKE CITY -- The sound of “Pomp and Circumstance” has faded, and the graduation hoopla has died down. Many young adults are finally taking that next big step into the “real world,” now that mom and dad are spending the summer turning their childhood bedroom into a bonus room.
For many high school graduates, their plan is to join the 2.2 million young Americans who enrolled in college during the fall of 2010. But choosing a major and charting the course for the rest of your life might be too daunting for some students.
Despite the increase in college enrollment over the last few years, slightly more than half of those enrolled go on to actually obtain a degree; the figures for success at the community college level are even more abysmal.
A major contributor to the college dropout rate might be educational burnout.
The experience and skills picked up through a gap year, like a second language and job experience, can also give students an edge when entering the workforce.
The thought of taking time off between semesters might sound downright blasphemous to those who have been caught up in the educational rat race. But taking a break from school — a “gap year” — is something even administrators at Harvard promote.
Harvard’s office of admissions explains that a gap year "is a time to step back and reflect, to gain perspective on personal values and goals, or to gain needed life experience in a setting separate from and independent of one's accustomed pressures and expectations.”
A gap year is more than the chance to bum around with friends while your parents wonder if you’ll ever do anything with your life. Programs like gapyear.com promote backpacking trips abroad, volunteer opportunities around the world and experiences that can motivate young people to enter college with a clearer vision of what they’d like to pursue after graduation. Gap year fairs travel the country offering students options for gaining valuable life experience, before focusing solely on academics. (See usagapyearfairs.org/ for a fair schedule.)
Gap years popular in other countries
The idea of a gap year is gaining momentum in the United States, but it’s been a popular idea for many years throughout most of Europe. England native and former “gapper,” Nick Sunley believes other countries make it easier for students to take a year off.
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“I think it is a lot easier and more culturally acceptable to take a gap year in England," he said. "For one thing, we don't have to worry about medical insurance. We're covered regardless under the system of socialized medicine, so the pressure to get a job immediately that offers the safety net of medical insurance doesn’t exist.”
Laura Descher, 23, spent her gap year after college gaining job experience by teaching English in a rural part of France before diving into grad school.
“I had been pushing myself non-stop for four years in college after pushing myself non-stop since elementary school practically, and knew I wanted to go to grad school but was definitely burned out," Descher said. "I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to study yet as far as grad school was concerned, and it seemed like a waste of time and money to go to school for something I wasn't positive I wanted to do for a long time.”
Gap year fits well with college experience
While some may fear that a gap year might result in postponing college enrollment indefinitely, The Center for Interim Programs believes the experience will have lasting, positive results.
“Of our Interim students who intended to go to college after their Interim Gap Year, virtually all have attended college," states the center's website. "Only those rare persons whose passions became ignited by a gap-year experience that placed them on a path that did not require college chose to, at least temporarily, pass up college after their return.”
Many colleges are making it easier to defer enrollment in order for students to take some much-needed time off to refuel for the pressure of college.
The experience and skills picked up through a gap year, like a second language and job experience, can also give students an edge when entering the workforce. According to Interim, “Many employers both here and abroad believe that a grad who has taken a gap year brings a level of maturity to the work place that far surpasses those who have never taken time to explore themselves and the world."
The cost for a gap year varies depending on the type of excursion. Work and volunteer programs make it affordable for anyone who is up for an adventure.
“Living and traveling abroad taught me a lot about living on my own, especially since I was figuring out adult life like renting an apartment and opening a bank account without help from my parents -- all in a foreign language, in a different country with different customs and rules," Descher said. “I’ve recommended taking time off between undergrad and grad school to everyone I know. I think you come back to academics a lot more centered and focused.”
Nicole Pollard currently resides in Canyon Country, Calif.
