Some considerations about taking a gap year before
university education.
By Ma. de los Angeles Mendoza González
Every year, in
America and other countries, lots of young people decide to take a gap year
before they start a university education. It can be a good idea or not,
depending on their plans for the future and how this gap year is profitable or
add value to the student’s background. In this document, some of these
considerations will be discussed as follows.
First of all, it’s necessary to consider the student’s needs, for example, some people need to work to get some money and save it to pay for the loans obtained to study at the university. Another element of consideration is that a year gap can be used to think and be sure of their decision because sometimes students can be confused or unsure about the degree, they want to enroll in.
Secondly, some students can
use the gap year to travel abroad and take some courses or visit some
interesting places to enjoy life before they get into university
studies, which can result in hard work. Also, if the student has some health
problems or is lacking the desire to continue studying, taking a gap year can
be of benefit.
What is more, students can
learn a lot and grow up. So, they will be able to take advantage of the
knowledge and background acquired during the gap year and they will give better
opinions and obtain conclusions based on their own experience, which can result
in better grades and getting a better scholarship.
On the other hand, as a
Latin-American people and based on my own experience as a professor and a
student I do not agree with the idea of taking a gap year because I think time
flies and people need to study according to the scheduled scholar year, I mean
there is no time to lose. Competition is hard and there are thousands of
students graduating each year.
Additionally, it is necessary
to take into account that in America and Mexico, for example, there are
different circumstances for living and studying. We have public universities
where you can study for very cheap quotes, and the students will not have the
need of getting a loan, as happens in America where even the public
universities or state universities charge an expensive registration fee and
monthly payments. Then, most of the students do not have to worry about taking
a gap year for working and saving money to pay for loans or university.
Despite the fact I explained
in the previous paragraph, the economic situation in Mexico and Latin America
is not as good as in some places in America. So, families cannot afford to help
their sons or daughters to take a gap year because implies that they will be
losing time instead of studying, or worst they will be doing nothing but
expanding the family money.
Finally, I really think
taking a gap year can be beneficial for students depending on their personal
and family circumstances. Besides, to understand the different opinions and
points of view on this issue, we need to have a picture of the social and
economic situation, the country, and the student’s needs, customs, and ways of
life.
It is not easy to establish a single opinion, over
all when you are living in a country like Mexico or in a Latin-American country, because life is hard, people need to work a lot, and there is a lot of inequality, even as it was established that some public universities are almost free not all young people can access to the opportunity of studying a degree. Poverty is growing each year and although scholarships are usually given by the government, sometimes people need to work instead of study. Thinking about taking a gap year to travel abroad and enjoy life, results in insulting if we face the reality of our countries. That is why I agree with the benefits of taking a gap year, but also, I feel sad because it is not a problem we have, it is not a discussion, and we simply cannot take a gap year unless is for working.
