Over 70,000 students in Washington State graduate from high school every year. With this milestone comes the great responsibility of figuring out a plan after graduation.
Of those attending college, some choose to take a gap year for themselves, while others jump right in. So what is the right choice?
To some, taking a gap year seems like a beneficial decision, but in reality, students should not go down this path. When people consider their future, they want to be the most successful, but taking a gap year will not grant them this opportunity, especially if it is not used wisely, which is often the case.
“I told myself I was going to work a lot and save up money to help with college, and then I just ended up doing social activities,” paraeducator Sarah Weber said.
According to the American Psychological Association, “‘80-95% of college students procrastinate.” On numerous occasions, students who choose to take a gap year get off track and begin to procrastinate their plans, fall behind and lose motivation to return to school.
“It delayed the process. It just pushed out and procrastinated me getting my degree done. I could have gotten it done quicker,” Weber said.
A lot of students agree that taking a break from school for a whole year will hurt their potential to go back to school easily.
“I feel like if I do take a gap year, then I’m not going to have the motivation to go back to school, so I don’t think I should take a gap year,” junior Rylee McMillan said.
One might argue that a gap year can help people financially, but in reality, it can be very pricey. Some use it to travel or do other things requiring money and some use it to earn money. However, this money can easily be spent inappropriately.
Goabroad.com shares that taking a gap year requires a lot of financial planning and saving to gather enough money for this open year, which would be difficult for most high school students.
“You may start working and start earning a decent amount of money and then think, ‘Oh, I’ll go back to college later,’ and the more we put that off, the more debt we tend to get. You buy a new car or things that you might not have necessarily bought if you were in school,” teacher and Career Specialist Kim Lafortune said.
At such a young age, most students don’t understand how to spend money appropriately and may prioritize the wrong things. If a gap year is taken, it can result in a setback in the successful life they could have already begun working up to.
It is difficult to use time wisely when taking a break from being productive in school. People can easily regret that year and feel it was a waste of time. If college is the plan – make it happen right away.
