gap year, gap year girl, transfer, college advice

7 Reasons Why You Should Take a Gap Year

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.
 
7 reasons you need to take a gap year before college- gap year, college advice, college tips, gap year advice, high school advice, graduation tips, career advice, #gapyearadvice #collegeguide #guidetocollege #collegeadvice
 

The 7 Reasons You Should Consider a Gap Year….

 
 
  1. 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!
  2. 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.
  3. 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!
  4. 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!
  5. 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!
  6. 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!
  7. 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.

 
 
 
 
gap year, yale, college admissions
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!
 
 
Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges

Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges

The landmark college guide that introduces forty of the best colleges you’ve never heard of–now completely revised and updated Choosing the right college has never been more important–or more difficult. For the latest edition of this classic college guide, Hilary Masell Oswald conducted her own tours of top schools and in-depth interviews, building on Loren Pope’s original to create a totally updated, more expansive work. Organized by geographic region, every profile includes a wealth of vital information, including admissions standards, distinguishing facts about the curriculum, extracurricular activities, and what faculty say about their jobs. Masell Oswald also offers a new chapter on how students with learning disabilities can find schools that fit their needs. For every prospective college student searching for more than football and frat parties, “Colleges That Change Lives” will prove indispensable. Fully revised and updated by education journalist Hilary Oswald, “Colleges That Change Lives” remains the definite guide for high school students (and their parents) who are looking for more in their college education than football, frat parties, and giant lectures. Building on the foundation of landmark author Loren Pope, Oswald spent more than a year visiting 40 colleges, speaking with students, faculty, and alumni to create these vivid and concise portraits. Featuring a new introduction, a new Required Reading section, and a new chapter on learning disabilities, the book is organized into five geographic regions (Northeast, South, Midwest, Southwest, Northwest) to make for easy browsing, and urban, suburban, and rural campuses are all featured. There’s also an alphabetical index of colleges. Each profile includes admissions standards as well as relevant statistics to make your decision easier, including where the school ranks in post-graduate grants and fellowships, what percentage of students go on to graduate school or further education, distinguishing facts about the curriculum, percentage of professors who have terminal degrees in their field, even what activities are available to students and what they’re likely to do on weekends. From the look and feel of the campus, quality of dining hall food and extracurriculars to the percentage of students who study abroad, average SAT scores, and educational philosophy, Oswald anticipates the questions you’ll have and provides the answers (and if you want to know more, there’s a section with contact information for every profiled school). You might not heard of many of these schools, but after reading “Colleges That Change Lives” you’ll be dying to visit yourself. With more than 150,000 copies sold and 24 printings, “Colleges That Change Lives” remains the definite college guide book for discerning students. Whether you’ve got straight A’s and have always known you’ll go on to higher education or you’ve got a mediocre transcript but s






 

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.
 
 
 
Subscribe to be notified when my NEXT email in this series…. telling My Personal Gap Year Journey will be up!
 
 
 
 
External Sources—>
 
 

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *