The Benefits Compared to Non-gappers:
Quicker Graduation
On average, colleges students are taking 6 years to complete a 4 year degree**
However, gap year students graduate college sooner*
Higher GPA
Students who take a gap year tend to have higher GPA’s in college compared to their peers who did not take a gap year*
Leadership Roles
Students who take a gap year tend to have fewer behavioral issues and tend to be leaders on campus*
More Certain of Major
The average number of times a student changes their major over the course of their college education is three times, which can significantly add to the length and expense of college***
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Students who take a gap year are less likely to switch majors* **
The Benefits Beyond College:
77% said their gap year experience increased their employability
JOBS
SKILLS
84% acquired skills to be successful in their career
CAREERS
75% helped define their current career path
CONFIDENCE & MATURITY
96% said their gap year increased their self-confidence & 97% said it increased their maturity
UNIVERSITIES RECOGNIZE THE BENEFITS
Many colleges and universities are in support of students taking gap years, finding that students arrive on campus more focused and motivated after taking a gap year. Some colleges that not only support, but encourage gap years, include Harvard University, MIT, Princeton, UNC Chapel Hill, Yale and Middlebury.* *
William Fitzsimmons, Dean of Admissions and financial aid at Harvard University
“Occasionally students are admitted to Harvard or other colleges in part because they accomplished something unusual during a year off. While no one should take a year off simply to gain admission to a particular college, time away almost never makes one a less desirable candidate or less well prepared for college.”
Bob Clagett, served as the Senior Admissions Officer at Harvard University for 21 years, and is also the former Dean of Admissions at Middlebury College.
“Stepping off the educational treadmill for six months or a year between high school and college can be an important way to remind themselves of what their education should really be about. It can also lead to a much more productive experience once they are enrolled in college, since those students will frequently be more mature, more focused, and more aware of what they want to do with their college education.”
SOURCES:
(*) https://www.interimprograms.com/p/facts-and-figures.html, Bob Clagett, Harvard & Middlebury Admissions, Mark Hatch, VP of Enrollment, Colorado College. (**)https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/02/education/most-college-students-dont-earn-degree-in-4-years-study-finds.html (***)https://www.noodle.com/articles/the-academic-and-career-advantages-of-taking-a-gap-year190 (* **)Joseph O’Shea, Director of Florida State University’s Office of Undergraduate Research, Author of Gap Year: How Delaying College Changes People in Ways the World Needs, (* *) https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/education/article9116702.html