By Ella Mahan
Due to COVID-19, the global pandemic sweeping across the nation, many students are
considering taking a gap year before their freshman year of college. Students tend to take
gap years to travel globally, work, or volunteer to get hands-on experience, however,
chances are, students cannot do any of these due to restrictions. Students should not take
a gap year before their freshman year of college because the risks that stem from it
outweigh the cost.
The main reason most students take gap years is to travel, and without this opportunity,
students are left at home with no future plans. Traveling between senior year of high
school and freshman year of high school is an amazing way for students to check off their
bucket-list items before they tackle the hard work ahead of them. Also, students get a
break from the exhaustion that the education system brings. This way, when students
attend college, their minds will be refreshed and ready. Students are also exposed to new
cultures and ways of living, which ultimately teaches them more about the rest of the
world than any text book can. However, with traveling restrictions put into place
globally, students no longer have the option to take a gap year for the sole reason of
travelling.
In addition to traveling, many students choose to take gap years to work and get
experience in their desired field, or to discover and experiment with different work fields
to ultimately decide their desired job. But with lots of internships being cancelled because
of the pandemic, students are left unsure and stressed out over what will happen next for
them. It also can push back future career plans. The same goes for volunteering, as
COVID-19 regulations restrict students from branching out and getting hands-experience.
According to the Washington Post, the most common reasons why students took gap
years were because of safety, the possibility of a second wave, and high expenses just to
be learning online. Even though school this fall is online for most schools across the
nation, online school is still beneficial for college students. With all the benefits of online
learning such as course flexibility, can work at their own pace, and no time constraints, students should not take a gap year for the sole reason that they do not want to participate
in online learning.
With the previous, most common reasons for gap years becoming unavailable because of
the pandemic, such as travel, jobs or internships, and volunteering, students should not
take a gap year after graduating high school, as it will only make them fall behind in the
future.
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