Exploring Future Options with Gap Year

DEBORAH CHEN
Copy Editor

With graduation coming up soon, what comes next? For most seniors, college is the next chapter of their lives. However, there is also the alternative of taking a gap year.
A gap year is a period of time when a student takes a hiatus from school in order to engage in non-academic activities, such as interning or traveling.
“I’m taking a gap year because I want to know what I want to do, find myself [and] change myself to be a better person,” senior Karen Tsuchihara said.
Those who take a gap year can take that time to mature and gain experience that would otherwise be inaccessible to them in a college classroom. In addition, their gap year can either confirm their goals or lead them onto a new path. However, taking a gap year could also lead to a diminished work ethic or the discontinuation of school.
While there are no exact statistics of students who take gap years, a recent survey of 300,000 freshmen at four-year colleges and universities found that 1.2 percent of students waited a year to enter college, according to the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles.
“My church offers a one-year program […] where you go out to different states and countries to do volunteering services and missionary work. From this experience, I hope to learn how it is like [to live] outside the United States,” senior Takayo Hiraki said.