Is it Wise to Take a Year Off in a Down Economy? A Gap Year Could Be a Great Idea

New graduates have been doing it in Europe and Australia for decades-– taking a year off before either continuing with school or looking for a job. The practice is common throughout the world but here in America, many parents cringe at the idea. And now, given the economy, is it really wise? Unemployment is soaring with no end in sight. When competition for jobs is fierce, how do potential employers view a candidates’ gap year? And what about colleges?

Turns out, taking a gap year can be a benefit all around.

The terms “gap year” and “year out” refer to a period of time off between high school and college, college and grad school, or school and career. Many people use the time to gain skills and practical life experience. The reasons for taking a gap year are as varied as the people who take them. Some just need a year to recharge. Others want to experience an adventure and stretch out of their comfort zone. Still others use the time to try out an occupation before committing to years of study.

Why Take a Gap Year After High School?

Many colleges not only approve of taking a gap year, they encourage it. Princeton University recently started a program called “Bridge Year” that allows newly admitted students to spend a year performing public service abroad before starting their freshman year. And Harvard encourages every student they admit to take a year off before starting college.

Parents need to remember that getting a kid into college is just the start. It’s completing college that matters. According to the College Board, 30% of college freshman don’t return for their sophomore year. If a student isn’t ready for college or doesn’t want to be there, chances are they won’t do well. With the average tuition of a private, 4-year college at more than 20-thousand dollars, that’s an expensive gamble.

For some new grads who aren’t quite ready for college, taking a year off can give them the breathing room to mature a bit, get a taste of the ‘real world’ and earn some money to put toward college. It can also allow parents more time to get finances in order.

A Gap Year Can Enhance Your Career

Whether you’re fresh out of college or find yourself burnt out in your job, taking a gap year can help you refocus, clarify your goals, give back to the community, and become a global citizen. Many gap years involve internships, volunteer work, apprenticeships, caretaker opportunities and specialized training programs.

We don’t believe a gap year will hinder anyone’s career advancement, and in fact, we think that it could enhance it. More and more employers are looking for a wide variety of life experience. Taking a gap year can make you more confident, a better leader, worldlier, more mature and a better employee. Many employers now, particularly the more progressive ones, see all of those things as a great benefit.

We both took a gap year immediately after college and worked for a year through Americorps with Habitat for Humanity building low-income housing in the Seattle area. We not only made great friends, met each other and got engaged, we gave a year of service, and experienced living in a completely new part of the country.

The majority of our living expenses were taken care of by Americorps, we were given health insurance, our student loans were deferred, and we each earned a $5000 education award to pay off a chunk of our student loans, in addition to a stipend. It was a great transition from college into the “real world” and we would highly recommend it.

That’s why we started the Gap Year Scholarship program. It's easy to find scholarships for college, but pretty rare to find someone who will give you money to participate in a gap year. We'd like to start a new trend.

Last year we awarded a scholarship to a young lady who decided to take a break from college. She prepared a gap year to live and work in France, and explore her interest in writing. Another student just out of high school was awarded a gap year scholarship for an international service-travel project he was enrolled in. The scholarship is available to anyone between 18 and 25 who wants to take some time to learn a little bit more about themselves through a gap year.