During my years as a tutor and mentor, I have advised nearly all of my students to take a gap year in order to cultivate social, occupational, and academic growth. The motive has differed from student to student, but the outcome has remained consistent: almost all have ignored my advice.

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
-Socrates (470-399 BCE)

When official visits and peer enthusiasm crest in springtime, however, even the most intrepid students are persuaded to follow the ordinary path to college. Since adulthood is about successful autonomy, I never compel compliance. I do, however, endorse active self-discovery during adulthood and adolescence alike.

Perhaps not always a year in duration, contemplation of the self is invaluable during periods of transition – geographic, academic, and occupational. That is, relaxed reflection is essential to the practice of everyday life with particular focus on the space between the signposts of success. Simply put, scenic detours engender happiness, encourage exploration, and reinforce confidence. Although it is best to start young, it is never too late to begin living the self-examined life Socrates could not live without.

Before reading on, you may also listen to a full recording of a seminar on the gap year, which was held in Spring 2010.  Feel free to listen here or download the file for later.

The Arguments Against

Fortunately, I have learned from my students’ reaction to deferred promotion and thus have a certain amount of insight into the teenage psyche. Teens, like the rest of us, are creatures of habit, whose daily environment of bells and corridors seamlessly leads intellectual growth from one level to the next. In fact, “staying back” in the K-12 system engenders perpetual promotion to college and beyond. It is this concern for continuity, which constitutes the primary student arguments against the gap year.

Why wait when I am ready for college now? This is always the first question high school students ask when confronted with the prospect of a gap year. In most cases, students are not ready for collegiate success; they merely think they are based on the immature students who have made (or are making) this transition. In truth, the student capable of simultaneously adapting to a new set of social, amorous, and academic responsibilities is rare indeed. Rather than confront all of these trials at once, it is best to tackle each of these matters over a full year without the burden of classes – and tuition.

If I take time off now, I worry I won’t go back to school. This is one of my favorite excuses, because it is simply ludicrous. If, however, a student feels this is a genuine concern, there is a sure fire solution: get a job. After a month of 40-hour workweeks, any teenager will be begging for school. The discipline of rising early for work is also an invaluable academic practice. From personal experience (albeit not until senior year), a 9-to-5 approach to school ensures excellent grades without the burden of stressful cramming or all-nighters. In fact, most students will find a full academic workload corresponds more closely to thirty than forty hours per week.

By next year, I will be too old for college. The movie, Old School, should have confirmed you are never too old for college. If, however, Frank the Tank is not a credible mentor, it is worth recognizing that college is the first step to eliminating the artifice of age from one’s consciousness. College courses, unlike those in high school, are homogeneous mixtures of lower and upperclassmen with a few graduate students mixed in. As such, the age of any college student has little import within or without the classroom.

For the most part, the social stigma of “staying back” seems to prevent many students from taking a necessary moment to pause and reflect on life and learning. As a result, social inertia pushes students along – often to places they are not ready go. While some are ready for promotion, others are much better served by a break – an opportunity for contemplation, introspection, and exploration.

The Argument in Favor

The concept of a gap year (often up to 15 months including two summers) is almost always misunderstood. Parents and students fear the onset of lethargy and mental atrophy and wonder what to do over that seemingly interminable span. To those people, I always stress a multi-faceted approach. Imagine the opportunity for personal growth inherent in the following timeline:

• June: Graduation
• July – September: Summer employment
• September – January: Travel abroad to learn a foreign language and culture
• February – June: Work, intern, take a course or two, and visit with friends
• July – September: Continue study, work, and connecting with friends

Beginning school as a freshman the following fall, a gap-year student has the distinct advantage of maturity, additional education, a rested mind, and increased social confidence. Often self-growth is the process that occurs in the background of life, while we aren’t paying attention. As a result, it tends to be ignored or devalued. The self, especially during times of transition and growth, should instead be prioritized. During adolescence, little is more important than understanding of the self in isolation as well as in worldly context.

With self-awareness and confidence comes success in academics and work. Unfortunately, other pressing priorities overwhelm this subtle necessity. It usually takes decades to fully know thyself – in fact, most people never get to that point. It’s best to begin early and practice the art of reflection often. If you do, you will have more success and less stress – while saving tuition money in the process.

If my anecdotal authority is not persuasive enough, the following excerpt from “Time out or Burn out” by William Fitzsimmons, Harvard College Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, should bolster the argument for a gap year:

For over thirty years, Harvard has recommended this option, indeed proposing it in the letter of admission. Normally a total of about fifty to seventy students defer college until the next year.

The results have been uniformly positive. Harvard’s daily student newspaper, The Crimson reported (5/19/2000) that students who had taken a year off found the experience “so valuable that they would advise all Harvard students to consider it.” Harvard’s overall graduation rate of 98% is among the highest in the nation, perhaps in part because so many students take time off. One student, noting that the majority of her friends will simply spend eight consecutive terms at Harvard, “wondered if they ever get the chance to catch their breath.”

During her year off, the student quoted above toured South America with an ice-skating company and later took a trip to Russia. Another interviewed in the article worked with a growing e-commerce company (in which the staff grew from ten to a hundred during the year) and backpacked around Europe for six months.

[http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/prospective/applying/time_off/timeoff.html]

Rather than dwell on the potential downside of a year spent exploring the path less traveled, we should all consider its benefits. So, once you’ve finished the getting into college, do yourself a favor and pause to consider setting aside some time for getting into yourself. You’ll be happier that you did.

If you don’t believe me, listen to Stefan Sagmeister’s argument for “time off”: