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Some people do not go directly to university or college but take a gap year. Do you think advantages outweigh disadvantages?

In recent years, students have a tendency to take a gap year before enrolling in a university or college. While having a year off may bring some disadvantages to young people, the pluses of this trend appear to be more significant.

On the one hand, it is believed that taking some time off from studying is associated with some shortcomings. It firstly affects their learning. After the gap year, many students confess that recalling knowledge which they acquired at school is an arduous task. As a result, they struggle to keep up with their peers, and then receive unsatisfactory results. Additionally, those at undergraduate level are likely to lose interest in studying, which leads to the fact that many students choose not to go back school after the year-off. Therefore, they may miss the chance of acquiring a degree at the university.

However, albeit the drawbacks, I firmly believe that taking a gap year has more noticeable benefits to students. The major one is that most of kids these days live the sheltered lives so some time off from school is going to be an opportunity for them to understand how the world actually functions. Students will have time to gain knowledge about different aspects of culture of other countries such as the cuisine or the long-standing customs. This means they will become more open-minded, and they will no longer hold prejudice against other regions. For example, if one kid spend time searching for information about the mountainous inhabitants, he will understand their lifestyles, their traditions, and there will be less misapprehension. Besides, some students have a choice of doing a part-time job, which helps them appreciate the value of money as they have to make effort to earn. For these reasons, a year off will be more a valuable experience than a distraction.

In conclusion, although having some time off is unhelpful on a few dimensions, the advantages of this trend are worth considering. It is recommended that students should take a gap year after finishing high school.