Taking a 'Gap Year' Before College Is a British Tradition That's Becoming a Big Trend In The US

[DEAD7]

Today, many U.S. universities not only allow admitted students to take a year off before beginning their studies, but encourage it. In 2000, Harvard's admissions officers co-authored an article titled "Time Out or Burn Out for the Next Generation," in which they suggest admitted students combat the mounting pressures of secondary and post-secondary education (and modern life in general) by taking a year off. [...] The term "gap year" caught on in the US about a decade ago, when Prince William and Prince Harry took planned time off before entering university in the UK, according to Holly Bull, president of an independent agency called Interim Programs that helps US pre-college students plan their time off. Bull's father founded the agency in 1980 to promote the concept. "I've basically watched the trend grow from its inception in the U.S.," she says. "And while I wouldn't call it mainstream now, we've seen a lot of growth." This growth has led to a burgeoning "gap year" planning services industry, populated by an increasing number of consulting agencies such as Bull's. The American Gap Association (AGA), founded in 2012, oversees this industry, acting as a kind of accreditation agency. Based on the programs it reviews, the AGA estimates that between 30,000 and 40,000 students annually take a planned "gap year" in the U.S., and that the number of students doing this has grown by between 20% and 30% each year since 2006.

 

[Jhoon]

Let's import more European traditions like universal healthcare, stronger government intervention, ...

 

[Trip]

the rich kids get to backpack through Europe year

 

[88m3]

go backpacking, brehs

 

[ill]

go backpacking, brehs

I'd love to. My friends did it during college for 2 months and said it was the best time of their lives.

Its easy to do that in Europe though. Theres free hostels in every country so its fairly cheap to travel and see the sights. I'd imagine it would be much harder and far more expensive to do the same in the states.

I think the gap year is a great idea. Take that year to find yourself and what you really want to do with the rest of your life rather than be pushed into college with no career goals in mind.

 

[Jack Trippa 3z company ho]

Bad idea. Get college knocked out as quick as possible. I know people that said they were gonna do that and then it ended up turning into like 5-6 gap years. Then they're in college as a freshmen aged 23-24 while the rest of us were graduated and they regretted not being done stacking paper.

It's greater later friends. When you got paper you can do those travels and even better. Heck study abroad while you're in school if you want. This sounds like lazy procrastination excuses to me.

 

[Anerdyblackguy]

Bad idea. Get college knocked out as quick as possible. I know people that said they were gonna do that and then it ended up turning into like 5-6 gap years. Then they're in college as a freshmen aged 23-24 while the rest of us were graduated and they regretted not being done stacking paper.

It's greater later friends. When you got paper you can do those travels and even better. Heck study abroad while you're in school if you want. This sounds like lazy procrastination excuses to me.

This^^ I've seen people 30 and over get depressed that they're in school, and their colleagues are having their own careers.

 

[Jhoon]

Only rich people can travel.

the rich kids get to backpack through Europe year

 

[Cynic]

I'd love to. My friends did it during college for 2 months and said it was the best time of their lives.

Its easy to do that in Europe though. Theres free hostels in every country so its fairly cheap to travel and see the sights. I'd imagine it would be much harder and far more expensive to do the same in the states.

I think the gap year is a great idea. Take that year to find yourself and what you really want to do with the rest of your life rather than be pushed into college with no career goals in mind.

Creating yourself >>>>>>>>>Finding yourself

This^^ I've seen people 30 and over get depressed that they're in school, and their colleagues are having their own careers.

Those people are weak and compare themselves to others.

Fukk depression. We all have our own paths.

 

[Fillerguy]

a young black kid traveling through Europe with no money

 

[#1 pick]

Bad idea. Get college knocked out as quick as possible. I know people that said they were gonna do that and then it ended up turning into like 5-6 gap years. Then they're in college as a freshmen aged 23-24 while the rest of us were graduated and they regretted not being done stacking paper.

It's greater later friends. When you got paper you can do those travels and even better. Heck study abroad while you're in school if you want. This sounds like lazy procrastination excuses to me.

This is good for rich people. Regular folks especially Black folks. Not so much. You already clearly behind the 8 ball. This should be your last take.

 

[CHL]

I know people that said they were gonna do that and then it ended up turning into like 5-6 gap years. Then they're in college as a freshmen aged 23-24 while the rest of us were graduated and they regretted not being done stacking paper.

This^^ I've seen people 30 and over get depressed that they're in school, and their colleagues are having their own careers.

Wait this actually occurs?

 

[#1 pick]

Wait this actually occurs?

All the time. This is normal where I am from. Those whites and Blacks lack money and can't do those backpack or retreat like the Malia's of the world.

 

[88m3]

I'd love to. My friends did it during college for 2 months and said it was the best time of their lives.

Its easy to do that in Europe though. Theres free hostels in every country so its fairly cheap to travel and see the sights. I'd imagine it would be much harder and far more expensive to do the same in the states.

I think the gap year is a great idea. Take that year to find yourself and what you really want to do with the rest of your life rather than be pushed into college with no career goals in mind.

I think it's a great thing for people to do. I know I went directly into college after high school and wasn't really happy about it. I probably would have been more happy working and getting a better idea of what I wanted to do in life than going directly into college. It also didn't help I graduated high school in 07' and the world was going to hell.

That said when I was 23/24 I spent a year living in Europe and backpacking around and it's one of the best decisions I've made in life. I really had the time of my life and learned a lot about everything and most of all myself(strengths/weaknesses/dealing with different people),

I don't think i could have done what I did if were 17/18/19 either at the same time honestly. Even at my age I had to be pretty savvy to keep it all together.


I found Europe to be very reasonable whether renting apartments, hotels, hostels, food/drink, traveling by air/rail/bus and people were very accommodating. Made a lot of life long friends, business connections, and conquests along the way.

America is depressingly expensive to travel in although home sharing has made it a lot more palatable. It's easy to blow a cool thousand in days here traveling and that's messed up imo.

I think going directly from high school into college and an eventual career path is kinda like trying to push a square into a circle.


Even though I have a very flexible work life it's hard now to travel for month(s) on end, I can't imagine if I worked for a company. When I travel somewhere I want more than weekend.

Travel while you can young brehs out there.

America

 

[CHL]

All the time. This is normal where I am from. Those whites and Blacks lack money and can't do those backpack or retreat like the Malia's of the world.

I just didn't think it extended much longer than a 1-2 year gap.