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Princess Pravika C. Rai

Professors Willers

COR1003-17

December 21, 2022

Mind the Gap

Money is a privilege—-the more money you have, the more things you can do. Hence the

socioeconomic status of the general population is like a triangle. The more you ascend, the less

people are in the levels. Therefore, there are less people who have the capability to do as they

please. This is why taking a “gap year” is a concept that has slowly gained traction. From the

perspective of the middle part of that triangle, it can be said that, with the current financial situa-

tion of the populace, taking a gap year could be seen as an opportunity to prepare yourself finan -

cially, as well as in other aspects of your life. 

Looking at the situation of those in the lower class, many of them are incapable of study-

ing with sole reliance on their financial status. This is why most of these students opt for student

loans. Not only does this problem occur in third-world countries, but it also is one of the major

crises that American students face. Thus, students in the middle to lower class become more

prone to fall in debt and face further financial difficulties should they have decided to continue

their education without a benefactor, such as their parents or the government. This is where tak-

ing a gap year presents a solution, since students will have more time to save up funds for their

education instead of taking up unnecessary loans—-rash financial decisions that will eventually

turn out to be detrimental in the long run.

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Aside from preparing yourself financially, taking a gap year is useful to prepare yourself

mentally as well. In a survey conducted by Haigler & Nelson (2005), students gave two reasons

for taking a gap year before college: academic burnout recovery and self-discovery. After spend-

ing your entire youth on pursuing education, at some point it would tire you out. However, due to

the expectations set by the people around you, being expected to go through your entire aca-

demic journey in a short amount of time while also being expected to be the cream of the crop,

you’d force yourself through it, not wanting to disappoint. Eventually it comes to a point where

it’s not the education itself that is being pursued anymore, but instead only the mere proof that

you have gained and completed it. Does it matter if you did learn? You’d say no, but at least you

completed it. Various studies show that taking a gap year really does help in discarding this kind

of mindset, and lets you take the time off to think about what you really want to learn and

achieve. Once you do, it's more likely that you go into college, or whatever you decide to do on-

wards, with a new motivation and a rejuvenated passion for learning.

Furthermore, by taking a gap year, one can immerse themselves in activities that would

expand their horizons and enhance their skill set. It would let you have the time to engage

yourself in things that you really like, and improve upon yourself. Doing so would also lead to

attracting potential employers in the process. More accolades and designations on your resume

means a higher chance of employment in different fields of work. Employers would like

someone who is a jack of all trades on their roster, for they see great value in such individuals,

and they feel that these people would bring a lot of value to the company, in more facets than

one. Not only does it lead to you being the perfect applicant, but it also leads to you being a well-

rounded person in various aspects.

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Contrastingly, time is money—-as cliche as this quote may seem but for those who only

have sufficient money to support their needs—-not wants—-needs, efficiency is necessary. Most

parents from third-world countries tend to let their children skip a year or enter preschool at three

years old, which is why graduating 12th year of high school before turning 18 years old became

a common thing. For example, there are several 17-year old students in Sogang university that,

because they attended school as early as three years old, were able to graduate before reaching

the legal age of adulthood. From a third-world collectivistic country perspective, a degree means

a better chance at finding a job, and the sooner one gets a stable job, the sooner they can help the

family and repay their parents. Therefore, in addition to attending universities as soon as possi-

ble, high school graduates from developing countries prefer degrees that are the most likely to

help them land a job as soon as possible (Bangayan 2022). 

Nonetheless, everything has its own drawbacks, and the concept of taking a gap year is

not an exception. One might say that time is being wasted with a gap year, and if not planned

thoroughly, it can destroy whatever momentum you have. Worst case scenario, you’d be lost

without a purpose, and be stuck doing unproductive stuff for the rest of your days. Or maybe you

try too hard to think about what you should do in your time off, with fears of spending your time

poorly, and get into some programs that can get very pricey. If it would be something that you

are not really interested in, it might just end up as one of many irresponsible financial decisions.

Still, the only way to counter these ideas is to go back to the drawing board, plan your next steps,

and make sure that everything gets considered, in order to make sure that you are making an

informed decision, and that you’ll be making your intended gap year productive, one way or

another.
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References

“Legal  Age.”  LII  /  Legal  Information  Institute, https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/legal_age.

Accessed 29 Nov. 2022

Haigler, K., & Nelson, R. (2005). The Gap Year Advantage: Helping Your Child benefit from

time off before or during college. St. Martin's Griffin. 

Bangayan, Leinard. “Influential Factors Among Senior High School Students’ Career Prefer-

ences: A Case of Private School.” Journal of Positive School Psychology, vol. 6, no. 3, 2022,

pp.5545–5551.