Some students prefer to take a gap year between high school and university, to work or to travel.

Do the
advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?

Many a student opts to take a year off after graduating from high school to work or travel. Its merits
pale in comparison with its demerits.

On the one hand, the first benefit is that gap year takers may become more well-informed and have
their horizons broadened. Thanks to traveling, those could embrace the alien cultures to which few
people get exposed. For example, after having a year-long break to explore the UK, my sister thoroughly
knew how to throw an afternoon tea party. In addition, this is the best window of time to take up new
hobbies such as playing the violin, cooking, and making up because they are not occupied with hectic
schedules at university. The second upside is that the gap year might be conducive to the monetary
aspect. Were one not to attend university but (rather) land a job, one might partially lift the financial
burden from parents’ shoulders. Even, the money one earns is liable to be dedicated to studying in due
course.

On the other hand, I argue that the aforementioned positive effects are eclipsed by adverse influences.
First, it usually gives rise to deteriorating academic performance. Those who have every intention of
resuming education would likely encounter problems, which is attributed to that they do not revise and
put what they have learned into practice. As a result, they fall behind their peers. As a case in point,
English learners’ listening skills may be worse if not honed in a long run. Second, bridge year would put a
strain on family and society. On the family level, that one opts to travel within a year in lieu of going
straight to work might set him back. In the worst-case scenario, their family must incur crippling debts.
On the societal level, the unemployment rate tends to escalate, to the detriment of the national budget.
Some 18-year-old youngsters who do not embark on tertiary education seem not competent enough to
take a job, necessitating the government’s subsidization to mitigate this problem.

In conclusion, taking a gap year has both pros and cons and I hold the notion that the significant benefits
of this phenomenon are weightier than the drawbacks.