The Pros & Cons of Taking a Gap Year
Explore the potential pros and cons of dedicating a year to personal growth through travel.
Key Takeaways
- Gap years aren’t just for students! Graduates, professionals, and career changers can all benefit from investing in a year of personal growth.
- Spending a year to travel, give back, and learn has numerous benefits, both personally and professionally.
- Taking a gap year isn’t all roses, though. Homesickness, poor planning, and unrealistic expectations can ruin an otherwise transformative experience.
- To make the most of your gap year, be sure to budget, plan, and pick a program that’s most compatible with your goals.
Taking a gap year sounds like a fabulous idea but is it the right move for you? Every person is unique so that decision will depend on weighing your goals, circumstances, and financial situation against the potential pros and cons.
Read on to learn about the things that make a gap year both worthwhile and challenging. You might just decide it’s the perfect fit!
What is a gap year?
A gap year is a chance to take a break from school or work to gain life experience, travel, volunteer, or develop new skills. While gap years have traditionally been taken by students between high school and college, adult gap years are gaining popularity for career changers or those who crave a break from the 9-5 life.
Pros of taking a gap year
Gap years are a truly exciting opportunity to see the world while growing as a person. There are countless potential benefits but we’ve narrowed down the most notable.
- Chance to recharge: Whether you’ve just finished high school or are desperate to take a career break, gap years are the perfect time to refresh and recharge. They can help you avoid academic or professional burnout so that you return excited to jump back in. Life is stressful and taking time to pause and invest in yourself is priceless!
- New friends and outlook: GO’s gap year program reviews are filled with stories of the meaningful and lasting bonds past participants made with their group mates. These new people and experiences can lead to the impactful realization that the world is wider and more exciting than you ever imagined.
- Better clarity for the future: A wonderful thing about gap years is the clarity they can provide. During your time overseas, you may find out what really matters to you and decide to change directions in your studies, career, or mindset in life.
- Opportunity to build skills: Gap year activities like volunteering, learning a language, taking a Working Holiday, or interning can all build transferable skills. Your experience abroad can spruce up your resume and help you stand out in a competitive job market.
- Improved confidence: Being on your own abroad for the first time will teach you to trust yourself which builds confidence, self-esteem, and independence. For recent grads, it can also provide a stronger sense of discipline that will come in handy for tackling all those adult responsibilities coming your way.
- Potential for stronger college performance: Coming back from a gap year rested and with greater confidence and enthusiasm is bound to do great things for your college career. You just rocked a year abroad so there’s basically nothing you can’t handle!
- Sense of freedom: This is your time to do things your way! If you've felt like you've always lived by someone else's schedule, taking a gap year allows you to put yourself first and call the shots for maybe the first time ever.
Potential cons of taking a gap year
A gap year can be a fantastic, eye-opening experience but they aren't for everyone. Learn about the potential cons to identify any dealbreakers.
- Expenses can add up: Gap years can be expensive if you don’t shop around for the most affordable programs. Applying for gap year scholarships can help reduce or totally eliminate the overall costs.
- Expectations may not match reality. Social media makes it easy to romanticize experiences abroad but there’s always going to be a mix of good and bad. You’re allowed to have expectations for your gap year but it’s crucial to stay flexible for the times when things don’t turn out the way you hoped.
- Homesickness: Being away from familiar people and places for long periods can take its toll on anyone. Homesickness is normal and there are ways to cope with it. However, some people do realize they aren’t as adventurous as they thought during their first long trip abroad – and that’s OK!
- Requires careful planning: Gap years have the best chance at success if they’re carefully planned. You can do research on your own but it’s also helpful to reach out to gap year counselors and attend a USA Gap Year Fair to build the best plan with help from experts.
- Feeling of lost time: Pausing progress at work or school without a clear outcome in mind can make your gap year experience feel like wasted time, especially if you’re extremely goal-oriented. This is why planning is so important!
- FOMO: Sure, you’re abroad on a new adventure but it’s hard to ignore what friends and family are getting into back home without you. If you’re part of an especially tight-knit group, you may feel left out if memories are being made without you.
- Responsibility: Gap years require a high level of independence. Even though programs are there to organize the experience and provide support, you will still need to take the reins to make it your own. If you're not used to living without the constant safety net of family, a gap year away on your own might come as a shock.
How to take a successful gap year
Follow these steps to make the most of your gap year abroad.
- Set goals: Make a list of what’s important to you and the things you hope to achieve during your gap year. Goals can be professional, personal, or both!
- Budget: Craft a realistic budget based on travel, living, and program costs. If you don’t already have the money saved, this can help give you a number to shoot for.
- Pick the right program: While you don’t have to do a gap year through a program provider, they can make your experience a lot easier. Many programs include housing, meals, in-country transportation, and more in their fees. They also come with a ready-made itinerary of activities and a group of like-minded people.
- Plan from start to finish: Cover all your bases and research every step from securing a college deferral or leave of absence from work to what will happen at the end of your trip when you arrive back home. Your gap year provider is there to support you through much of your planning journey so don’t be afraid to ask questions!
Make your gap year unforgettable with the perfect program
Should you take a gap year?
A gap year may be right for you if…
- You’re flexible, adaptable, and open-minded. Dropping yourself into a new culture isn’t always a smooth transition. You may experience things that shock, confuse, or annoy you but it’s important to understand that different doesn’t mean bad!
- You have a clear idea of how to fund it. Even when taking a gap year on the cheap, inevitable expenses (as well as some surprise costs) are bound to add up.
- You know what you want to gain from it. Winging it may sound romantic but identifying goals and outcomes ahead of time will ensure you feel satisfied with your gap year.
- You love a challenge and are ready for an adventure! Taking a gap year is like nothing you’ve ever done before. It will test you at times but you’ll walk away a more confident, empathetic, and worldly person.
Weigh the pros and cons of your gap year!
Now that you know a few of the things you can expect during your gap year abroad, it’s time to do some thinking. We may be biased at GO but we sincerely believe the pros of taking a gap year outweigh the cons every time!
Stick with GO to plan your gap year:
