Gap Year

Topic: Students who take a year out before their degree can develop more useful skills and gain better knowledge than students who go directly to university.

There have been controversies over students taking a year out. A year out which is also known as gap year is a year which students take time off not to study but to do something else such as work. There have been series of arguments concerning gap year. This essay examines the merits and demerits gap year.
The popularity which gap year attracts today depends on who is actually writing the essay especially when it involves a tour company. One demerit facing gap year is that students may not be thinking of their studies while on gap year, they are fascinated and may easily forget about education to the new work environment. Another discomfort to both students and parents is that, gap year is too expensive (Hartog, 2010; Denton and Edwards, 2009).
On the other hand, there are some merits of gap year. Gap year may give students the required work experience needed for the future. An example is a non-English speaking student taking up a gap year in an English speaking country to improve his English for a job in the future. Gap year also give students money to pay for their education (Wright, 2010).
In conclusion, gap year is expensive and is a burden to both parents and students. However, students who experience gap year stand a chance of gaining work experience and income to pay for their education. Therefore, students should think carefully before deciding whether or not to embark on a gap year.