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Are Gap Years Helpful?

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Submitted By shygaby
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In the article by Sue Shellenbarger, “Delaying College to fill in the Gaps,” Ben Parker is a sophomore in college who experienced an academic turnaround. “Burned out by his senior year of high school from pressure to get into a competitive college, he quit his lacrosse team and let his grades slip.” He deferred his admission to the University of Iowa and enrolled in the National Outdoor Leadership School, a wilderness skills-training program. “He took a semester in Nepal studying language, living in a rural village and climbing in the Himalayas.” He gained the ability to enjoy hard challenges and stated, “By the time I got back to school, I was ready to be in school.” An increasing amount of students are taking a year off after graduating high school, known as a gap year. The article, “Should Your Student Consider Taking a Gap Year Before Starting College?,” states, “A gap year, sometimes called a year out, or year off, or bridging year, is a transition year, usually between high school and college, when the student takes time to do something else.” Many students believe that college is the next step when graduating high school, but taking a gap year is becoming a growing trend. High school students should take a year off before entering college because they will be motivated to return to school, because they will gain new skills, and because they will have time to decide on a career interest.
Taking a gap year reignites one sense of curiosity for learning. Many students choose to take a break from the regular twelve year education to chase a dream, or to relax. Shellenbarger states that, “Burnout from the competitive pressure of high school and a desire ‘to find out more about themselves’, are the top two reasons students take gap years, according to a survey of 280 people.” Many students who graduated high school took vigorous, challenging courses their four years

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