Gap year

A gap year is a period of time, typically taken after high school graduation but before entering college, when a recent graduate temporarily postpones formal education in favor of pursuing personal enrichment activities. More broadly, the term gap year can refer to any type of sabbatical, or time off, that occurs after a major life event. Common activities undertaken during a gap year include international and domestic travel, volunteer and community service, and manual labor positions outside of major urban areas. Other phrases used to describe the gap year, including bridge year, pathways, and prep year, reflect the widely held belief that these activities do much to develop the skills necessary to succeed in and after college.

Many students view the gap year as an opportunity to hone professional, personal, and sometimes academic skills not taught in high schools. For other students, the gap year is a respite, an antidote to the fatigue suffered after years of high school study. University officials have often reported that students who complete a gap year return as stronger students who are more mature and focused on their career and educational goals than their peers.

Overview

Some historians consider the gap year to be rooted in traditions such as the Grand Tour, in which wealthy young Europeans (and, later, some people from the Americas) would take an extended trip throughout Europe for a mix of education and leisure. However, the modern concept of the gap year is generally considered to have emerged in the 1960s. After World War II, middle-class young people in developed nations began to have more autonomy and spending power than ever before. The influential counterculture of the 1960s also helped increase interest in self-discovery, independent travel, volunteering, and cross-cultural experiences.

In Great Britain in particular, a number of organizations developed to facilitate students traveling abroad or participating in charity work after completing their secondary schooling. The practice of taking time off between high school and university became increasingly popular over the following decades, especially in countries with British influence. For example, in Ghana, opting for a year off before starting college became common practice. In Israel, young people frequently participate in gap year activities after completing compulsory military service but before beginning their university studies. It is common for high school graduates in India to take a year for rigorous study in preparation for college entrance examinations. In Yemen, gap years have at times been mandatory for secondary school graduates, during which many teach or join the military.

The concept took longer to gain widespread recognition in the United States. In 1980, educator Cornelius H. Bull, an early proponent of a gap year for US students, founded the Center for Interim Programs, the first organization of its kind in the United States, to assist students and their parents in developing meaningful bridge year experiences. The practice then gradually became more commonplace in the twenty-first century. Some US students choose to participate in well-known volunteer programs such as AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps. Others take jobs or internships, while still others focus on tourist travel or other recreational pursuits. By the 2010s, gap years had become popular enough in the United States that many top-tier universities in the country offered gap-year deferment options. Some institutions have even recommended that accepted students take time off before beginning their studies.

Gap years continue to be most commonly perceived as an undergraduate experience. However, in the twenty-first century, the practice became increasingly popular before beginning graduate or professional school as well. The term has also been used to describe other situations, such as taking an extended break before beginning a new job.

There has been little argument about the potential benefits of taking a gap year, but some have made the criticism that only students from more affluent families can afford to spend a year traveling or doing volunteer work, and the gap year is thus another unfair advantage of the economically privileged—at least in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, where gap years are not mandatory or near-ubiquitous. Some observers have also long criticized the use of a gap year for purely leisure purposes, such as tourism or even simply partying. However, in the 2020s, many educators and student-oriented travel companies alike noted a marked trend toward socially conscious motivations for taking a gap year. Many taking a gap year engaged in volunteer programs abroad. A majority of those taking gap years at this time stated a desire to grow their skills and better understand themselves before attending college to be sure they would pick the degree best suited to them. Likewise, by working part-time jobs or volunteering, they could market themselves better as both students and future employees. Some also felt unsure about going to college and felt a gap year helped them choose between continuing their education or moving into the workforce. There was also a rise in gap years overall after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with many students stating that the gap year improved their mental health after the stress of the pandemic and lockdowns negatively impacted their state of mind.

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