While gap years are increasingly popular, they continue to be rather controversial because the benefits are hard to quantify exactly. There are arguments on both sides of this very topical debate, and I will discuss them now
On the one hand, opponents of gap years point to the cost involved in areas such as air fares, accommodation and living expenses. All this money has to come from the student’s family, or even from borrowing to be paid later. Secondly, it is often said that gap years take a young person’s focus away from studying, and allows them to get involved in distractions such as travelling. This can make it hard to adjust to university life, damaging the student’s performance. Finally, there is a concern over the safety of young people if they are travelling to remote places. Being kidnapped or mugged is a poor start to an academic career, after all.
On the other hand, supporters of gap years say that the skills learned outweigh the disadvantages. They highlight the independence an assertiveness that a student will acquire, in areas such as time management and interpersonal skills. They also say that these skills lead to greater career success later in life, thus canceling out the costs involved. Furthermore, there are many examples of young people using gap years to achieve something significant, whether in voluntary work or in a sector of business that interests them.
In conclusion, my own feeling is that a year off can indeed be a useful activity, with the experience leading to improved skills that are invaluable in the future. Of course, this is provided that the year is planned carefully and used for something genuinely worthwhile.
While
gap
years are
increasingly
popular, they continue to be
rather
controversial
because
the benefits are
hard
to quantify exactly. There are arguments on both sides of this
very
topical debate, and I will discuss them
now
On the one hand, opponents of
gap
years point to the cost involved in areas such as air fares, accommodation and living expenses. All this money
has to
come
from the student’s family, or even from borrowing to
be paid
later.
Secondly
, it is
often
said that
gap
years take a young person’s focus away from studying, and
allows
them to
get
involved in distractions such as travelling. This can
make
it
hard
to adjust to university life, damaging the student’s performance.
Finally
, there is a concern over the safety of young
people
if they are travelling to remote places.
Being kidnapped
or mugged is a poor
start
to an academic career,
after all
.
On the other hand
, supporters of
gap
years say that the
skills
learned
outweigh
the disadvantages. They highlight the independence an assertiveness that a student will acquire, in areas such as time management and interpersonal
skills
. They
also
say that these
skills
lead to greater career success later in life,
thus
canceling out the costs involved.
Furthermore
, there are
many
examples of young
people
using
gap
years to achieve something significant, whether in voluntary work or in a sector of business that interests them.
In conclusion
, my
own
feeling is that a
year
off can
indeed
be a useful activity, with the experience leading to
improved
skills
that are invaluable in the future.
Of course
, this
is provided
that the
year
is planned
carefully
and
used
for something
genuinely
worthwhile.