07Jun

8 Important Reasons Why You Should Take A Gap Year Before Graduate School

Taking A Gap Year After College Graduation 

A gap year is a period taken by a student to travel to work, often after high school or before starting graduate school as break from formal education. Most competitive universities and colleges encourage applicants to pursue a gap year option after graduating from high school. The schools believe that students who come to pursue higher education with an extra year of life experience bring valuable perspective to the classroom.

Gap years are popular with Australian and European students, but remain relatively rare in the Americans. However, in the recent years more and more American students are preparing for college by taking a gap year. 

Below are the virtues of taking a Gap Year after college :

 1. Allows You To Develop Into A Real Person

College is a time to be selfish. It is all about the development of you as a scholar, a thinker, and an individual. It is not a bad thing; it just is what it is.

However, no man is an island. You have to learn how to deal with others, work for others, and bridge the age and culture gap between yourself and the rest of the world. If you are a woman, it means throwing all of that post-adolescent idealism regarding feminism out the window and experiencing the challenges of being a woman in a man’s world. If you are a man, it means learning a certain code of professionalism and respect that gets lost amid the keg stands and naked parties in college.

Regardless of what gender you are, it also means learning how to fail at and struggle with real life circumstances that puts into perspective how getting a C (or even a B) in a course is not the end of the world.

 2. Provides A Much-Needed Break From School

You are afraid of losing your momentum and motivation by not going straight into graduate school. However, did you ever think that you might just run yourself into the ground if you continue at the rate you are going? You have been going to school for at least 16 years. Most people do not even stay at a job or in a given career path for that amount of time. Burnout is inevitable, and you really do not want to be that person who drops out in year 2 of a super awesome PhD program just because you are sick of school.

 3. Refine Academic Interests

If you are taking the Masters route, you do not want to be throwing money out the window by flinging from one sub-specialty to the other. It is tempting to go right into a Masters program after undergrad because most are only 1-2 year programs, and most universities allow you to jump right into their graduate schools. However, do not do it unless you are 100% sure. We no longer live in an era where we can just freely spend money. Even if you get financial aid, graduate school usually involves some serious loans that can take the rest of your adult life to pay off.

The gap year gives you an opportunity to try out a bunch of things and figure out what you want to do at a much cheaper cost. You may find all of a sudden that you are really into management and the only way to get a significant bump in pay is to get your MBA. Financial incentives are always a great way to refine your academic interests, but you will not get those incentives until you are out beyond academia’s gates.

 4. Gives You Time To Test Prep

Depending on what kind of program you are looking at, sometimes all you are to the admissions office is a number: GPA + Standardized Test Score. You want to take the time to really study and prepare for these tests, because not only are they pricey and lengthy (some in the 6+ hours range), but very few counselors will hesitate to throw your application into the reject pile just based on your score.

College life is hectic and chaotic, especially in the junior spring and senior fall. Make sure you are in the position to do your best studying for these tests.

 5. Allows You To Earn Money To Finance Your Graduate Education

Even if your parents are going to be helping you pay for graduate school, the least you can do is earn some money for your personal pocket change, rent, gas, food, etc. Also, if you are fully financing your graduate education, one, I have so much respect and admiration for you, and two, it will keep you from just throwing money at a degree that will be entirely useless to you. In addition, while earning money, you may realize that you actually do not need to go to graduate school and are doing fine supporting yourself without that higher education degree.

 6. Gives You Time To Use Your Passport

Travel is so fundamentally important in cultivating awesome human beings. If you have spent 4 years on the same campus, take this time to stretch your wings and marvel at something on the other side of the world. This is especially important for those on the professional track (JD, MD) and the PhD track. Once you are on those tracks, it is impossible to step off the path because these programs have already planned the next 3-7 years of your life out for you. So enjoy your freedom while you can, little dove.

 7. Allows You To Have A Guilt-Free Social Life

I remember always feeling guilty for going out Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights or just hanging out with friends because I should have been studying. The guilt never really stopped me from socializing, but it was still unpleasant to have this unnecessary emotional strain. The nice thing about being out of school is that in the real world you leave your work at work. It is terrific. There are occasional times when you do have to pull a few all-nighters or bring work home, but once 6 pm hits, your time is your own. You can actually take advantage of Cheap Movie Tuesday and go to Happy Hour, which is a freakishly funny phenomenon because everyone gets hammered in his or her work clothes.

 8. Find Your Academic Niche

College is an opportunity to explore a wide range of academic disciplines, but students will get a lot more out of their education if they have at least a general idea of what they want to study, and what career their expensive education will prepare them for.

Conclusion

Everything that you do leading up to graduate school is part of what will make you a better lawyer or whatever you end up being. Learn about yourself and make sure you want to be there. The biggest problem is that people are not sure they want to be in a graduate program. If it takes, a year to figure out that is what you want to do, then do it.

A gap year can be one person’s redeeming feature and another’s bad decision. It is up to you!