The Pros and Cons of a Gap Year

The Academics, the Expenses, and the Existential

By: Quinn McClurg

INTRODUCTION

A pros and cons list. One simple thing that had weighed on my mind all summer. One list on one piece of paper. I had put off thinking about it for as long as I could but I could not put it off any longer. One list, two paths, both riddled with regret in some regard, stemming from one decision, the vehicle of my regret and anticipation, my turmoil. This is how I ended the summer and I needed to act quickly. 

I ended up consulting all those I had trusted before: friends, therapists, school counselors, professors, advisors, teachers, and mentors. Everyone, no matter how objectively I asked, offered the same advice with the same disappointed cadence: do not take a gap year. Whether it be losing one of the most integral years of my life, decreased chances of returning to school, being behind friends socially and academically, or missing out on my current college program’s offers, I heard a lot about every side of the argument and I became overwhelmed pretty quickly.

So I stopped waiting and started to make my pros and cons list. 

In this article, I’m going to examine the pros and cons of taking a gap year through the filter of my personal experiences. I will focus on the academic, existential, and expensive aspects of my gap year from my past perspective and my current perspective. From this, I will address reasons to take a gap year, reasons to not to take a gap year, and how the gap year has impacted my first year of college so far.

ACADEMIC: Avoiding 2020’s Most Expensive Streaming Service

Oh boy, here’s the big one. Academics and gap years. I can’t tell you how many times I heard things in school like, “Yeah, he took a gap year and then it turned into two and before you know it he never went to school again.” That’s okay, everyone takes their own path and college isn’t for everyone, but does taking a gap year really impact your academic momentum negatively? Given my experience, I’d say absolutely not. 

During my senior year of high school, I took 6 college-level courses, joined 5 clubs, had 3 important leadership positions, volunteered 5 days a week, and worried about my GPA. Add the stress and demands of a global pandemic on top of all this academic angst and it’d be pretty fair to say I was burning the candle at both ends. By the time I “graduated” with all this on my plate, it was no big surprise that all that was left of me was a puddle of wax. I was completely burnt out and I knew I wasn’t ready for college yet, especially when college was completely online and, therefore, more demanding of self discipline and academic integrity.

My gap year gave me an opportunity to gain the respite I desperately needed. I could do things I previously enjoyed and find new things that I might start to enjoy. I could visit my friends, discover the world of art, find where my limits were, and learn how to get help. I suddenly had so much time to do the things I never had time for before. This helped me reconnect with myself for the first time in years. I felt sane and relaxed, productive and industrious, brave and adventurous, all because I was living without deadlines. About halfway through, I felt as if I was finally ready to start college, thanks to all the good habits, tools, and experiences I had along the way.

I personally believe that taking a gap year helped me create, develop, and reinforce healthy habits that prepared me for college. I did not lose momentum or become hopeless or lose sight of my goal. If anything, staying true to my goals of self-improvement kept me from staying in a downward spiral and made sure I’d be ready for my college experience, especially one that would be in person and better suited to my needs as a student.

EXISTENTIAL: The Significance of Relative Insignificance

I think we’ve all heard of the transcendent gap year, in which a soul-searching type moves to a foreign country and finds their place in the world. Or maybe you’ve heard of the drug-dealing dropout who got into a slump and stayed there for the rest of their life. Though I didn’t experience such romantic or wonderful things as those myself, I did learn a lot about where I fit in the world and didn’t let myself stay slumped. My gap year helped me put everything into perspective and define the standards I hold myself to. Let me explain.

Throughout my gap year, I worked as a barista and a gondolier, neither of which seemed very easy or sustainable. Though both were new and exciting at the beginning, the luster quickly wore off and I began to feel dissatisfied, stuck, and hopeless. From my point of view, the world was big and important, and no matter how many drinks I made, jokes I cracked, conversations I had, or rides I took, I was just some kid who made drinks and rowed a boat. I felt like that was all I would ever be and, as a result, my world was so small and dark and hopeless. Everyday, I would let myself drown in nihilism a little more.

With help from my therapist, I began to realize that these jobs weren’t satisfying or fulfilling because they were never meant to be; work should not be my entire day or my entire life. After a couple sessions challenging my thoughts and reflecting on where I was, I was able to find immense comfort in my existential insignificance. Sure, I might not matter, nothing might matter, and there might be nothing after death, but I began to realize that none of that could stop me from getting the most out of my life and situation, something I am always capable of. So I started putting more effort into working on myself; I forced myself to do things that I enjoyed, learn about my interests, go to places I always wanted to go to, and do things I always wanted to do. How you think about yourself is a self-fulling prophecy, and I wasn’t going to let myself stay in that slump and become who I thought I was destined to be. I guess part of that reformation had to do with going back to school, because soon it was all I was looking forward to.

Reformation is hard and self-help isn’t easy, but without my gap year, it might have taken me much longer to put that into perspective. Also, my gap year benefitted me by showing me how important returning to school was for improving myself as a person, a chance to make something of myself and live my life to the best of my ability. I did not stay in a slump because I did not let myself; the skills and thought processes I developed over my gap year helped me stay away from any circumstances that might’ve led to me wasting it.

EXPENSES: Debts and Their Invaluable Costs

Whether it’s material, social, temporal, or emotional, I believe cost is another factor of a gap year to consider. Many people may focus on the material costs alone and overlook the other factors, which may influence their decision even more. I believe all costs should be considered evenly: you will consume a year of your life. You may be behind your peers. You may be left behind by your friends. You may question your decision. I failed to consider all of these as in-depth as I would have liked, so I was not as prepared as I could’ve been for what came next.

To be fair, I’m glad I didn’t consider these too much. I needed to take a gap year due to my mental health and I’m not sure I could’ve held off the decision any longer. It hit me a week before I was supposed to move into my dorm in Missouri. I was driving from my father’s place to my mother’s on the interstate. I didn’t trust myself enough to keep the car on the road and I didn’t trust myself enough to keep on living. I pulled over and called a suicide hotline. After that I called my girlfriend and then my father. That day I became aware that the cost of going to college that fall would be greater than the cost of a gap year, financially, emotionally, and temporally. 

I ended up fine. I found a couple jobs that I enjoyed, made friends with my coworkers, saw my girlfriend, met with my therapist more often, and tried to pass the time. Initially, it was hard seeing all my friends move on with their lives. They were meeting new people, going to parties, and living out one of the best years of their lives, while I was wasting away one shift and one day at a time. This bothered me for a while until I let it stop bothering me. I started reminding myself that I was doing what was best for me and taking time for myself. I had to remind myself that I’d experience that eventually as well and that I’d be just as sociable and happy as they were. I see this as a true test in delayed gratification. At the end of my gap year, I had made enough money to focus on school for my first semester and still have money to spare and spend. I improved myself and had grown a lot mentally, especially since I had my girlfriend to grow and improve with. As for “losing” one of my teen years, I still don’t know if I’m over it. I’ve been reminding myself that I still got a lot out of it and that all of it has paid off so far, but soon I won’t be a teenager anymore. I think being in college has helped immensely. The classmates I have had the pleasure of getting to know are all different ages, from all different circumstances, and from all different walks of life. After all, if they’re here and are as happy and as hopeful as they seem, why should I worry?

What I’m trying to say is that most costs that stem from a gap year will be worth it. You can gain back money you’ve spent, reconnect and make up for friendships that were affected, and address and reconcile any strong emotions that stem from your experiences; the one thing you cannot gain back is time. That time will be gone and unable to be regained. This cost may be too much for some and that’s completely understandable, but you can view this in a hopeful way. After all, you will not be able to get this year back, so do your damnedest to make the most of it and grow. After all, you aren’t losing anything if you are gaining more than you would have had without it.

CONCLUSION

In my life so far, I don’t know how many of my actions I’ve been completely sure of. Though this is more of an issue for therapy or inner monologues at 2 am, I still think it is important to openly reflect upon this. So many of the choices in my life have been made for me based on the benefit of others, the expectations of my parents, and society’s expectations for me as a man, but I feel as though the one choice I made completely for myself is the one I am the most sure of and, as a result, the least regretful of. It was my choice to take a gap year. I did my best to grow academically outside of school. I did my best to grow as a person and understand my place in the world through therapy. I did my best to offset the expenses that taking a gap year accrued. At first, I didn’t think I could make it through, but with enough time I began to see that not only could I make it through, but I could thrive. If I, an average teenager, could come out better than I started, then I fully believe anyone else can.

I hope my invaluable experiences from the last year can help you if you’re struggling to make the decision. If the costs and effort and questions posed are too much and you’re comfortable going straight into college from high school, then there is no need. If you are not ready for college mentally, emotionally, or financially, I highly recommend you take a gap year. You will surprise yourself with what you can do. You will get further than you thought you could. And, if you are willing, you will make it out of the other side okay. Just please, never stop growing, never stop improving upon yourself, and never stop experiencing what may help you get the most out of your gap year and your life; may your road ahead be paved with hard work and self discovery, wherever you end up.