Topic: Some students prefer to take a gap year between high school and university, to

work or travel. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantaged?

Traditionally, high school seniors will either pursue college or enter the workforce after
their graduation. However, these days, a third option - gap year, where students defer
university enrollment to travel or work, is gaining traction. While there are admittedly
several benefits to students, I believe that the negative influences of this growing
development are more glaring.
On the one hand, delaying tertiary education for one year is advantageous to a certain
extent. First, gap year affords new graduates time to travel and immerse themselves in
alien cultures, which helps them enrich their life experiences and hone practical skills.
For example, when living abroad, students will have to adapt quickly to their independent
life and pick up new foreign languages. Second, given that most high schools provide
inadequate career guidance, sparing several months looking for job opportunities or
attending vocational training courses will empower students to identify a suitable career
path. Such experiences would be hardly attainable if high school graduates immediately
enroll in university and become occupied with their intense study schedules.

On the other hand, I am convinced that the aforementioned advantages pale in

comparison with the significant disadvantages of having a year-long break prior to
embarking on higher education. A major drawback is that gap-year takers may fall behind
in their study as well as facing peer pressure, which could possibly drain their self-
confidence. In addition to this, high school seniors can lose momentum, finding it hard to
resume their education after a long time being distracted from formal schooling. Last but
not least, those young people are unlikely to save up a lot of money or cultivate relevant
job skills during their gap year, which can be attributed to the fact that the jobs available
to high school leavers are mainly entry-level ones that are neither pay well nor teach
them anything substantive.
In conclusion, while taking a gap year is not without certain benefits, I would contend
that the given disadvantages do not make it a worthwhile path.