My son is deciding between going to college or taking a gap year

I am a first generation graduate. Growing up, a lot of emphasis was placed on the importance of going to collegebut there was no real guidance for what to do once there. No one helped me choose a school, decide what to study or pay for it. I chose the school my best friend chose, took many modern dance classes with little prior dance experience, and now have a student loan balance that looms large.

I would never say that I do I regret my experience at collegebut I will say that it has influenced the way I think about my son. More than anything, I want him to feel supported regardless of his decision, which is why when he floated the idea of ​​taking a year off after high school — otherwise known as a gap year — I didn’t bat an eye. . In many ways, I think it’s a great idea.

What a gap year is (and isn’t).

A break year it’s not just a random break that students take who aren’t sure what they want to do after high school—when approached properly, it’s a period of time (typically 6 months to a year) that allows an adult young person to reflect on what they really want out of life and where they want to go literally, physically and metaphorically.

Young adults can use their time to expand their horizons, travel and see new parts of the world, work and plan for their future, and more.

There are benefits to taking a gap year before going to college

When done correctly, a The gap year can offer opportunities. For example, while I entered college with no idea what I wanted to study, taking that year off from school can allow a young person to expand their mind and really consider their options, goals, passions, skills and dreams. This is a big part of why I like this idea for my son if he chooses to do it.

The truth is, at 15, he has a lot of different interests and a lot of different directions he could go. He loves theater and acted in his first play last year. He’s also a guitar player, and I could definitely see him pursuing something in the creative arts – but I could also see him exploring biology and wildlife science, two areas he’s been passionate about for many years. And like many young people, he may be moving in a direction that none of us can see coming yet.

The the call of a sabbatical year to me is that he will be allowed to approach the world as a young adult without the context of also being a student. He is creative and social, still reads for fun and is interested in writing his own music. He likes to travel and is interested in other people and cultures. A gap year could help him cultivate all these traits.

A gap year can also promote more independence, especially if he decides to move out of his dad’s house and mine, where he alternates spending time, and into his own place. It’s hard to imagine him not coming home in just a few years, but I can also appreciate that independence might be something they would enjoy.

The only downside to taking a gap year isn’t that bad

For some, a big, obvious confusion for a gap year is starting college a year latertherefore graduating a year later – but not all students graduate within four years to begin with, and career paths are constantly changing and transforming. Also, as someone who took five years to graduate from college (and was married and four months pregnant when I finally did), I can say that the extra year had little to no impact on my career trajectory.

My son mentioned that he already has friends both older and younger than him. Of course, it’s hard to know if he’ll go to college with those friends at this point (but they’re very close, so I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens). He doesn’t seem too bothered by the idea of ​​starting college at 19 instead of 18, and it doesn’t seem like it would make much of a difference in the long run.

If there’s one concern I have, it’s this the return to school after a year off and getting back into the routine could be a challenge. However, the potential for a gap year to instill more responsibility and confidence in my son seems to outweigh this particular confusion in my mind.

I haven’t made a decision yet, but I feel like there’s still plenty of time

Fortunately, even though many people start planning for college early in their children’s lives, I feel like my son has plenty of time to decide what he wants to do. If she doesn’t take a gap year, I think it would be a great idea for her to attend college and get her core requirements out of the way before committing to a major – at least for a while.

For me, as a creative person who has been able to build a career in a field that I love, I know that he has a lot of options available to him and that it’s okay if his collegiate journey doesn’t follow a traditional path.