Hello berries! Since most of you are out of school and have been through college, I feel like you’d be the best group to ask about (dramatic pause) gap years! The thing is, I’m almost a senior in high school and I need to start thinking about what I’m going to do after I graduate. My high school is very college oriented, and it’s been expected since my freshman year that I’m going to go- even if it’s a two year program at a community college. But a part of me has this urge to travel. Part of me says that if I don’t do it next summer I never will (which is a bit silly) and college will always be there. But another part of me says that I can still travel after college or during spring break. I’ve only asked two friends and they had opposite opinions- one said to do it (since I’m only young once) and the other told me that it was a bad idea.
So have any of you done a gap year? Did you regret it? Did you lose motivation to go back to school? And have you ever considered it, but in the end decided not to? I’m not saying that your stories will completely sway my opinion, but it will definitely give me an idea of what to expect.
Thanks in advance berries, I look forward to reading the replies.
I never took time off between high school and college, but I regret it! I went straight to college because it was expected of me and since I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life I ended up dropping out and trying a new program… 3 times! What a waste of money! And because of this, I’m still in school at my age and haven’t had the time or funds to travel (and probably won’t any time soon as we have decided to start trying for our first baby) so based on my experience, I would suggest travelling until you know what you want to do, then go to school! If you find something you are passionate about you will not have trouble going back to school! I was off for 2 years between my last school endeavour and my current field of study. I had no problem going back because I found a career path that I think absolutely fitting for myself!
Good luck!
I did a study abroad program through my university. They have many countries and courses to choose from depending on your school and major.
That way you can still be in school and travel and have a new experience all at the same time. I chose to do mine in Mexico, my SO did a semester in [name]France[/name] when he was in college, and I have friends who’ve spent theirs in [name]England[/name], Spain, [name]Italy[/name], [name]Argentina[/name], etc. There are a ton of possibilities. I’m glad I opted for that over a gap year because I would’ve been behind or even changed my mind about going back since being away was so much fun. The travel bug has stayed with us, we’ve been all over, and here at home we apply our degrees and education as much as possible.
Thanks for the input so far, guys!
@whitegold- that’s what I really fear! I don’t know what I want to do, and though I could figure it out during my senior year, there’s a good chance I might not. I’m not exactly in the financial situation to throw money around on changing programs. Thanks for sharing. I’ll definitely keep this in mind.
@stephanie413- study abroad is an appealing option. I’m looking at schools that offer study abroad, and at schools out of the country. I’ll also keep that option in mind.
I guess I did a gap year- I took 2 years off after high school because I had no idea what I wanted to study, and I just wasn’t ready to go to university. I didn’t want to waste time or money, so I stayed home and worked. I still travelled, because my family travels a lot, but it wasn’t much of a self-discovery time for me. All of my friends went to school, though.
Over the past 7 years since being out of high school, I took 2 years off to work, went overseas twice on holiday, started my 4 year degree, went overseas for reading week in 2nd year, moved to Spain for school, graduated, moved to the Basque Country to work, got a second degree. I’ve gone across [name]Canada[/name], down to the States a handful of times, and hit a few countries in Europe, too.
I really don’t see travel and education as an “either or” situation.
The school I went to for my undergrad had a bunch of school-sanctioned year abroad programs ([name]France[/name], Spain, Germany, Ghana, Thailand, [name]Costa[/name] [name]Rica[/name], Mexico & Ecuador), and 75% of the people I met at that school did a year abroad. I went to that school specifically for the year abroad options.
And at the school I’m just graduating from now, pretty much everyone travelled outside of [name]North[/name] [name]America[/name], and most of those had gone for either a summer, a semester or a year to work or go to school.
I obviously haven’t lost motivation for school; I did an Honours degree with a double major, a [name]Bachelor[/name] of Education in 3 divisions, and I would love to do my Masters in Anthro & Ethnography. I think motivation really depends on the individual, and not on time out of school. I almost failed out of high school and wanted to drop out all 4 years, so I really don’t believe HS is always much of an indicator once you grow up a bit. Plus, post-secondary isn’t for everyone, so if you (anyone) really don’t want to be there, it doesn’t matter when you go. If you do want to be there- doesn’t matter if it’s the day after you graduate high school, or 20 years down the road, you’ll be more motivated.
[name]Just[/name] wanted to add: My choice for my undergrad was to major in what my highest mark was in high school, and I made that call the night my ex and I broke up (we broke up, I went inside, and was like, “I’m applying for university!”), hence the anthro degree. I majored in Spanish, too, because you have to declare it if you do a year abroad. Now, in my post-grad, any time anything anthro-related comes up, I literally get teary with happiness. My advice is to go with your gut. If you’re studying something you’re excited about- it doesn’t really matter the practicality, it’s going to help.
I didn’t take time off to travel for much time between high school and college; my high school also celebrated a 100% matriculation rate to undergraduate or similar programs, and I did transition from one right into the next. That said, I road-tripped from VA up to Montreal and [name]Quebec[/name] City with other graduated friends of mine the summer between graduation and orientation. I studied abroad in my junior year, and financial aid from my university followed me to help pay for my semester in Australia. I got there two months before the semester started and traveled, making friends with other travelers, but then enjoyed being in an Australian university where I lived with and met actual Australians, haha. And then post-college, I got a job for a year working at a school in Greece. I still look forward to traveling in the future; in my own travels, I met many individuals and couples who work for several years, saving up, and then take time off or quit to travel for several months before heading home and doing it all over again.
[name]Long[/name]-term independent travel can be incredible. You learn to be independent, to be confident approaching and making friends, to truly understand the fact that people around the world not only live differently, but value different things, etc. But it can also be exhausting living out of a suitcase and washing your unmentionables in a hostel sink; it can be easy to start to feel “left out” while most high-school friends are doing traditional college freshman things; and it’s expensive, particularly if one travels around Europe. You might be amazed (I say this not knowing the degree of research you’ve done) by how much just two, four, six weeks will cost to fly to Europe, [name]Africa[/name], [name]Asia[/name], etc. and then to stay in hostels, visit museums, eat out, etc. And traveling as an 18 year old can be tough because you aren’t always allowed to rent cars, book certain hotel rooms, etc. because of age limits.
If you have no idea what you want to study in college and don’t feel that 1-2 years of further education will help you figure out what major you want to declare for the remaining 2 years, then maybe it would be wise to take the time to explore options outside of going to college immediately. You could travel, shadow professionals in fields that interest you, get a job that bores you to tears and learn from that what you miss most, what you would much rather be doing. But I wouldn’t make the decision based on a worry that you’ll never get around to traveling–you could take two months of the summer between high school and college to travel a lot, and still make it to orientation in the fall. You could study or volunteer abroad during college, or do research with a professor whose work will take you to Togo or Vanuatu. You could use your being a student to qualify for discounts on museums passes, travel expenses, etc. You could work abroad after you graduate, whether trained to do a job that requires overseas travel, or just having a degree that will make you more desirable as an au pair or something less “permanent”. Like the pp above me, I also don’t think education and travel are mutually exclusive. If you make travel a priority in your life, you’ll do it. You just don’t have to do it all at once. That’s just my two cents, though. [name]Happy[/name] traveling, either way! I’m sure you’re do plenty 
Hello
As a general rule I would never advise a gap year to a person between high school and university - with a gap year being when a person is definitely going to go to college after - rather than just a year off.
My parents had this rule - and I went straight into uni from school which has been a great decision - I have made a conscious decision to travel in the summer - I am from the UK and work as a summer camp counselor in NY which then gives me time to travel after, and experience a bit of american culture.
I firmly believe that if you are going to travel - school won’t stop you it will only aid you.
On a gap year at the age of 18 you are limited, by money, your age, gender (gasp!) etc. The only way it truly works is if you sign up to a work/volunteer program - I have seen so many people effectively waste a year - you will spend months saving to the be able to travel for a couple of months. Which seems like a shame when you can work part time whilst studying then still do the same amount of travelling during the summer.
But yet it all depends on what you feel is right for you. I just personally feel that you should use your holidays during college wisely - and then at 21/22 you can always take a year off if you feel like you need to travel to somewhere for a prolonged period of time.
And ditto what everyone else has said about study abroad.
Good topic. I went straight to college and will be finished in less than a year. My considerations were money, my age, and security. I had (still have) the urge to travel too, but I knew I could never convince my mother to let her 17 (or even 18) y.o daughter travel alone. I knew I should be able at that age, but my mother has paranoia… So I wait until I’m older. I’ll be 21 at the time I graduate and I wish to travel in the summer of my 22nd birthday. In that way, I save my time, will have a degree soon, and won’t be worried about the age limitation or some paperworks that need to be signed by my parents if I’m under 21.
My advice is, do the gap year only if you’re not sure of what you want in college. I have friends who also went straight to college and soon regret their decision because they picked wrong majors. If your only reason is wanting to travel, I’m sure it can wait. And not to mention that you can still do it during all the breaks…
Choose wisely, [name]Athena[/name]. Good luck.
I didn’t do a gap year after high school, but I did my senior year of high school on exchange in Norway and then did a study abroad program in Scotland my 3rd year of Uni. I did a gap year back in Scotland after I graduated from University before starting my masters degree. I think it was better that I was a bit older as I could get a more responsible job and was able to stay longer than just doing bar work or living off my saving or my parents’ savings. I didn’t get to travel as much, but I’m not big on those 6 countries in 10 days trips. I prefer to live some place for an extended time and really get to know the culture.
I fell in love with Scotland and ended up living there for 18 years, but also did a year teaching English in Greece and now live in Finland, so I think my early years of living abroad really set the tone for my life.
I would definitely recommend some time living/ travelling abroad, but I’m not sure if I’d necessarily financially support my children going right after secondary school. I guess it depends on how mature they are and whether they would really appreciate it. I think study abroad programs are brilliant because they combine both and you get a chance to spend longer in one place and make friends and get to know the country. I am still very close to people I met on my two study abroad programs.
I did go straight into college, but then ended up taking a couple of terms off while getting my undergrad to work in the opera and then backpack through Europe. Honestly, I did not have a ton of direction when I was younger, and I would definitely say now that I was more tooling around than accomplishing anything. But taking time off did not hinder me. Maybe things were more relaxed back then? Maybe my goals just haven’t been all that lofty? I graduated high school in 1997. I did eventually finish my undergrad with high marks and went on to get a law degree. I managed to get scholarships the whole way through as well, so it didn’t hurt me in regards to the cost. But again, possibly things were more laid back then.
BUT I have seen a lot of people taking gap years at 18 and I don’t know- I hesitate to say that they are wasting time, but if you are taking a year off school and all you’re doing is living in your parents basement, working at [name]Red[/name] Lobster, and going to lots of concerts w. friends- I don’t know what else you call that. I see lots of people making big plans, and then not following through. So you know yourself and your motivations best! Maybe you are the kind of person who can travel the world on her own and spin that into admissions committee gold. I do think that joining some organized young person centered volunteer organization (something like YWAM or similar) is a great way to travel, find some focus, and look amazing in college interviews.
Take a gap year. Unless you’re terribly excited about starting college, have an idea of what you want to do in college, etc…a gap year is a great idea.
I took two gap years, partially because I didn’t know what I wanted to study and a general liberal arts major seemed like a waste of time to me (it’s not), and partially because I wasn’t able to afford school except for community college, and I didn’t want to do that, so I worked to save up money so I could go away to school (best decision of my life).
When I got to college as a freshman, I was two years older than most of the other students in a few of my classes (depending on the school you choose, some have a larger adult-ed program, more returning students…so my night classes had lots of people from various ages and backgrounds, but starting out a counselor put me in lots of classes with mainly incoming freshman from HS). There was a notable difference between the classes full of 18 year olds straight out of HS and the 20 or 24 or 30 year olds who were there because they desperately wanted to be back in school and worked hard to get there. [name]Plenty[/name] of 18 year olds thrive in college, but plenty of them are as annoyed about being there as they were in high school, are only going because their parents wanted them to, and are too busy acting cool by strolling in late and rolling their eyes and texting to actually participate and enhance everyone’s learning experience.
I regret not traveling more. Originally, after HS, I wanted to go work with children in Cambodia, but the programs I found were all quite costly. I didn’t know then about free or low-cost volunteer opportunities. You can go to TONS of places, commit to anywhere from a week to a year +, pay something like $5-$15 a week for housing and meals, and work in the community. There are options domestically and internationally. Anything from nannying, to staying on a working farm, to teaching English, to building schools, to working with wildlife or at a hospital.
College will always be there. You can always find a way to get a higher education if you work hard. But as you get older, life gets more serious, commitments get more common, and the opportunities to travel for very little money start to slip away.
I am glad I went to college right away - I did a lot more self-exploration my freshman year than I probably would have done just taking a year off to travel.
That said, I did take a year off between my junior and senior year of undergrad to be a counselor and crew leader at a work therapy program for mentally ill adults, and it changed my life in an extremely positive way and it meant that I didn’t get totally burned-out on school
I also went straight to college after graduating high school. I do not regret it because I struggled with my motivation through all four years and I am on my last 3 weeks of school now and I am SO glad to be done. I think that if I had taken a year off that I would have lost that last tiny bit of motivation that has allowed me to finish. [name]Even[/name] though I’ve pretty much hated life while in school, I managed to pull my GPA up to above a 3.0 over the last two years (I started out in a science major but almost failed out, so switched to a writing based major after my second year). I do not have a really big desire to travel outside of the US though I would still jump at the opportunity. I am very much a family oriented homebody so I can still be perfectly happy at home. Plus I have my honeymoon in [name]Charleston[/name], SC coming up in [name]October[/name] so I can look forward to that.
Today was my last day of my senior year. I’m going straight to college in the fall and I’m not excited but I’m going. My parents expect me to go and I need a job so I need to get my chemistry degree even though its relatively useless until DH finishes his military career but I’d still like to get it over with. Im however doing a study abroad for this time next year and I am pumped for that.
Absolutely, 100% do it! I went to Mongolia and worked in an infants’ orphanage, then to [name]India[/name] and worked on an organic crop test farm. [name]Both[/name] were volunteer positions. Did lots of travelling around other [name]Asian[/name] countries inbetween. It completely changed my perspective on life, increased my confidence and independence, changed what I wanted to study and was the best thing I ever did. It was also very addictive - I have done a lot more travel since then & am now living as an expat abroad
I think this is a conversation you need to have with your parents especially since travel involves lots of money. But I am a big traveler and believe that experiencing and seeing how others live is really important in our world today. I would also be very nervous letting my 18 year old kid (esp a girl) travel/backpack alone. I realize it’s not that much safer for a 21 year old but eek. If your parents are worried about safety maybe you have family friends or friends of friends who live aboard who you could stay with, or you can find a friend or better two to travel with.
Also, you don’t have to take a gap year right now.
I had a friend who was an excellent student at college and just didn’t feel like it was everything it was cracked up to be, so she took a semester off and traveled. (Because she had credits coming in, and she planned out her semesters after she still graduated on time.) I think taking time off during college is actually fairly normal (at least for many of my friends), and the nice thing is you are already accepted to a college so you don’t have to worry about what your travel year looks like on an application or if you got the “correct experience” for them or whatever else you or your parents might be worried about.
Alternatively, study abroad is pretty great. There are program where you study on a boat for a year or in any city in the world you can imagine. Upside is also that if you know you want to spend a lot of time in south america but your spanish is “no bueno” you can take spanish or portuguese languages classes at college and fill those “foreign language” requirements and prep for your trip. (I never studied abroad but I just moved back to the states from living in Europe for 14 years, so I always felt like I was abroad. lol).
If you go to college and plan to take some time off in between I suggest having a plan of action. This doesn’t mean you have to know what your major is going to be before you start but instead that you focus on fulfilling basic education requirements early on. I have so many friends who thought they’d major in one thing and took all their first semester classes in that department and then took a basic requirement class and changed their minds. While it’s valuable to explore different fields you can avoid “losing” that semester and instead just take it off. Or even graduate early and then travel.
AJ, a true ‘gap year’ is very, very uncommon in the US. Most colleges/universities don’t allow students to delay matriculation (unlike in the UK or the rest of the Commonwealth). Travelling internationally is very expensive, especially if you have to pay for health insurance out of pocket (and you would be absolutely nuts to forego it). Most ‘volunteer’ programs catering to 18-20 year old with few skills are likely costly and don’t offer the incredible international experience you’d think they would, seeing as they surround their volunteers with a comfortable warm bubble of parentally-approved and -financed protection. Usually, frankly, you’re with a group of spoiled somewhat troubled kids who have varying degrees of commitment to the cause at hand. The exception being something religiously-motivated; if you’re so inlcined you can often secure a placement with a missionary and do all kinds of meaningful and substantal work for a few hundreed dollars annually.
In the States, the common path is study abroad, as most have noted. It’s easier to get something more meaningful when you’re already a university student, as–depending on your major-- you have the ability to argue that you have a particular skill set which can be put to good use. This absolutely need not be anything remotely “academic” in the traditional sense; many colleges award general service credit for things like working in orphanages or installing solar panels. Personally, I studied French lit in [name]Paris[/name] and backpacked Europe; worked in a medical clini in Haiti; did original malaria/anthropology research in Nepal; and took shorter pleasure trips through Europe & [name]Asia[/name] all while in college. And none of it cost me a dime, through research/travel grants offered by my university.
PS As you’re in Oregon and not sure if you want a typical college experience, you should check out Evergreen State College.
I went straight to uni from sixth form because it was what you’re “supposed” to do. I didn’t put as much research into what I wanted to do or where I wanted to go as I should have done because I was afraid of leaving home. I was lucky in that I ended up really liking my course and [name]Derby[/name] (the city I studied in) but now that I’m older and still looking for a job I wish I’d picked something that made getting into a career easier.
I went on a trip around Europe with one of my best friends (funnily enough, an American who’d just completed her semester abroad in [name]London[/name]) right after I finished uni and we had a great time
So… I’d recommend taking your time making sure you know where you want to go to uni and what you want to study so you don’t feel like you regret anything. Then do your studying, save up and go travelling when uni is over
My best advice I can offer, as a student who took off… 4/5 years before returning to school, is BE SURE of what you want to do, before doing anything! I just finished paying off a ridiculous amount of student loans for one year of a BA for Psychology, which I took before I realized, hey, I do not want to do this with the rest of my life! Now I’m finished upgrading, and heading to school in [name]September[/name] for Video Game Design (Talk about a vocation change!) [name]Do[/name] not go to school until you really know what you want to do, even if it takes more than a year, it’s better than running up a bunch of useless debt in the long run! I personally think it’s ridiculous to expect a student entering grade 10 (15 years old usually!) to choose the courses and etc they need for their future career! Choosing the path you follow for the foreseeable future is a big decision, take your time!
I really don’t know much about gap years, but I’m speaking as a person who went right to college after not liking high school.
There are a lot of things to consider here. First and foremost is money: you need to actually have the funds to take a gap year and then go to college, if that’s what your plan is. I don’t know how much you’ve saved up or what your parents are willing to contribute, but make sure you know exactly how much you have to spend and how you’ll be spending it, whether it’s in college or doing gap-year activities. It may also be more difficult to get scholarships after a gap year-it’s not the policy everywhere, but at the college I went to, the general unstated rule was that earlier application meant better scholarship opportunities.
Next, and I think my most important piece of advice: come up with a plan and make a real decision. [name]Don[/name]'t take a gap year because you don’t feel like going to college right away, and don’t go to college right away because you feel like you have to. Make your decision because you want to do that, not to get out of the alternative. And know specifically what you want to do if you do a gap year. You should be able to express in an essay/timeline what you did when and how that benefited you, so that it doesn’t look you just bummed around for a year. You don’t have to know what you want to major in in college or what you want to do with the rest of your life, but you do have to know what you want out of college if you decide to go. College will (I think) offer opportunities socially and academically that you won’t get during a gap year, and it is more “practical” financially.
Study abroad would be an EXCELLENT option for you- certain programs aren’t that academically rigorous, but instead focus on immersion in the abroad experience. There are programs in virtually every discipline, to nearly every country in the world, in any semester including spring and summer breaks. They’re also more structured and, especially for women, safer. I don’t know where you want to go or what type of program/itinerary you’d want in a gap year, but being a foreign teenage girl travelling alone is never really the safest thing in the world, even if you do everything right. The more structure and support you have available, the better off you’ll be.
[name]Case[/name] in point: two college friends of mine studying abroad in [name]France[/name] took a short trip to Spain; while there, one got mugged, the other got her bank card suspended (it was the company’s mistake.) They had only their cash, which was about the equivalent of $30, to last them for three days to cover lodging, food, and travel back to [name]France[/name]. Neither of them knew any Spanish. Needless to say, they were terrified and didn’t eat the first day, but they called the head of their program, who covered their expenses until they could make it back. Experienced travelers could’ve negotiated their way out of that situation without too much of a problem, but I doubt that you, as a high school student, have had that much experience travelling abroad alone, and that safety net is really, really important if you don’t know what you’re doing. (I don’t mean to sound condescending- you seem like a very smart kid, but travelling abroad on your own is hard for anyone, including adults)
Another point: Know that college is much, much different from high school; the two educational experiences, for me at least, were not even remotely similar. I was a bit tentative about college courses because by my senior year I hated high school, but I ended up loving college. I didn’t go abroad until my 20s because I never had the money, but I do now- you will be able to do it later in life if you make it a priority! And also- 22 isn’'t old. If you work and save throughout college, you may be able to travel after you graduate. You won’t be able to go through college with kids your age if you take a gap year.
Sorry if that was incoherent- it’s late!