High school students nowadays are put to incredibly high standards. They are expected to play numerous sports, take a bunch of AP classes, and sometimes maintain a job all at the same time. But the most egregious expectation of all is this: High school students (especially seniors) are supposed to know what they want to do and where they want to go to college. For some, heading straight to college with this pressure works well. But for many who are unsure of their path, a gap year can be a valuable alternative.
Gap years can be incredibly beneficial, especially when considering the big financial step towards college that students have to make. NBC News highlights this benefit, stating, “Taking a gap year allows graduates to make sure that when they do spend the money on college, they’re spending it on something that they’re sure of. Far too often, we see kids who go to college for something just because it’s what their peers were doing or their superiors encouraged them to do it, only to find out thousands of dollars later that they settled for what they thought they knew; what they thought they wanted and who they wanted to be didn’t align with where they ended up.” College is extremely expensive, and when students are going to enter, they want to be sure that they are getting themselves into something worthwhile that they would like to build a career in.
I was interested to see what people at Ipswich High School thought about gap years, so I went around and asked a few people. I was curious to get a few different perspectives on the topic, so I went to the guidance office. While interviewing guidance counselor Mrs. Powers, I was told that, “If they are unsure about college it is a big financial investment so they need to be committed. There is the option of applying and most schools will hold your application for a year and your financial aid. It is still worth it to go through the process in high school with a plan.” This was an interesting thought. The school provides extensive support during the college application process, and students should take advantage of that while they can. Another comment Powers made was that during the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of students took a year off and never ended up going to college. They simply got derailed from academics. “It can happen,” Mrs. Powers told me, addressing my concern that students might not want to go back to an education after taking a year off. While some worry that taking a year off might lead students to abandon college altogether, the benefits of a gap year often outweigh this risk. They can help students to better prepare and build ideas for their future.
I also wanted to interview a student at IHS to get their perspective. I asked senior Sau-Lok Ma if he had ever noticed a stigma around taking a gap year; he told me, “Sort of, I’m aware that many people already expect high-school seniors/recent high-school graduates to know what they want to do in life and thus immediately go to college. Ultimately, everyone’s circumstances are different. If you don’t know yet what you want to do, a gap year can definitely be beneficial to continue weighing your options.” Unfortunately, high school seniors feeling pressured to go to college is nothing new. Again, from NBC news, “There’s a bit of a barrier around the stigma that gap years are for people who aren’t ready for college, or they just don’t have the academic rigor, or they’re not mature enough.”
Figuring out what you want to do in life is not something that takes a few years. Truthfully, it can take an entire lifetime for some people, and that is okay. For some people, the decision is easier than for others. On a similar note, college isn’t for everyone. There are many other extremely valuable paths to take in life that do not require college. Gap years aren’t a sign of uncertainty or lack of direction—they’re an opportunity to pause, reflect, and make more informed choices about the future.
