As you may know, I am coming to the end of a gap year that quite literally changed my life. Although my gap year was at an unconventional time (after my freshman year of college, instead of before) , I have acquired tons of advice and information that advocates for why YOU should take a gap year.
In this one year, I have grown in confidence, professionalism, maturity, self-love, and foresight. Although it was incredibly challenging to spend a year feeling lost and unsure, it has been even more rewarding to see how much I have grown. I am incredibly grateful for year off in facilitating this growth and positive development, and I hope to share how it impacted my life with y’all.
The 7 Reasons You Should Consider a Gap Year….
- Time to Clarify Your Passions
- Taking a Gap Year gives you the opportunity to explore passions that you might not have had time to cultivate during high school. Personally, I started my blog during my year off and by doing so, discovered a passion and a side hustle I intend to pursue for as long as possible!
- Opportunity to Network With Different Kinds of People
- Taking a gap year, you will no longer just be surrounded by your peers at all times. While most of your former classmates will be off studying on new campuses, you will likely find yourself interacting with people of different ages than yourself.
- Time to Mature and Grow
- Let’s face it… a majority of college freshman are not the pinnacle of maturity! That’s why so many college freshman struggle to find themselves and what THEY want amidst the noise of everyone else in college. Just like I said in #1, taking a gap year gives you the opportunity to explore yourself and grow in maturity and wisdom!
- Save Up Money for School
- If you want to avoid taking out loans or overworking yourself in college, working for a year after high school is the perfect way to save up for school so you don’t have to when you’re actually at school!
- Enjoy Time With Family
- Everyone comes to the bittersweet realization after graduating high school that that is essentially the last time you will be living with your parents as a kid. Family is the most important thing in the world!
- Grow Comfortable in Independence
- Although some people thing that by taking a gap year you will become more dependent on your family, I argue the opposite!
- Create Your Own Opportunities
- One of the greatest skills I have cultivated thus far in my life is my ability to create MY OWN opportunities. In my year off, I have proposed and landed a new internship, pitched brands for sponsorships, and forced myself to put myself out there and make meaningful connections! Though intimidating at first, creating your own opportunities is a great way to cultivate networking skills that are useful in virtually every career.
[bctt tweet=”During my gap year, I have grown in confidence, professionalism, maturity, self-love, and foresight.” username=”soulfulseedsblog”]
What Can I Do in My Gap Year?
Here are just SOME suggestions of the various things that you can do during your year off of school!
- Work
- Internship in your career field of interest
- Volunteer
- Start a Self Driven Project
- Do Research/ Publish a Research Paper
- Travel!
- Start a Business
- Explore an untapped talent
….. and SO much more!
I personally chose to volunteer and start my own blog + business during my year off! But more on that in upcoming articles 🙂
Will it Impact My Chances of Getting into College?
Short answer- ABSOLUTELY NOT!
Many schools actually ENCOURAGE students to defer their enrollment to next year, allotting them time to take a gap year before starting their college career. There are even several schools in the U.S. that offer scholarships exclusively for students that choose to defer their enrollment and take a gap year.
Many schools, like Yale University, encourage students to take a gap year to explore their interests and passions before school.
A gap year isn’t intended for you to sleep in until 12, binge watch Netflix, and mooch off your parents…. it is intended for you to GROW in a ways that do not just have to do with school! If you fill your year with meaningful activities, colleges will be impressed and more inclined to consider you as an applicant.
An article from Times magazine featured an interview with “Robert Clagett, who served as a senior admissions officer at Harvard and is also the former dean of admissions at Middlebury College, [who] found that those who delay a year before starting college have GPAs that, on a 4.0 scale, are 0.15 to 0.2 higher than otherwise would be expected.”
That’s seriously a HUGE difference!
Things to Remember….
Most people these days do not take the “traditional route” of graduating in four years without switching a major, taking time off to work, going abroad, etc. There is no singular path to a degree that is the best for everyone; everyone is different and will thrive on different paths!
Finally, I would like to add that a gap year ISN’T for everyone! There are frankly many people who only will work if pressured by some external force. A gap year is a wonderful option for individuals who are self motivated and hard working, but not so much for individuals that rely on external pressures to be productive.
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