10 Reasons You Should Take A Gap Year

Taking a gap year between high school and college doesn't mean you're lazy, or that you're skipping out on life.

In fact, it means that you're living life to the fullest. Here are 10 reasons why.

1. Youll perform better in college.Students might worry that college admissions officials or professors will look down on them for taking a gap year. This isnt necessarily true: many schools report that gap year students have higher GPAs and are more involved on campus, so their attitudes toward gap years are far from unfavorable. Acceptance letters from Harvard even suggest that students might want to take time off before they enroll.

2. Youll realize what you love before you start studying.More often than not, college students commit themselves to one area of study, realize its not for them, and then swap to a completely different major often two or three times. Youll cut down on coursework, tuition bills and stress if you take time before college to decide which role in the real world is most appealing to you.

3. Youll get to adventure at your prime.When else are you going to be 18 years old with no job, no mortgage payments, no significant other, no kids, no homework and no worries? Never. The answer is never.

4. Youll know whats important in life before most people do. College is insanely fun, but its easy to get so caught up that you begin to believe your fraternity or friend group is the absolute center of the universe. As such, any small crisis or fight might seem like the end of the world. However, if youve traveled the wider world in all its complexity and glory, youll understand there are bigger issues for humanity than a failed date night or lost game of beer pong.

5. Youll be an expert at adapting to new places.On a gap year, youll be forced to integrate into a new society, a new group of friends, and maybe even new languages or cultural norms. College requires similar adaptation skills, and youll be much more ready to handle it if youve already shifted societies once before.

6. Youll have something to talk about.Skip the same old where are you from? and whats your major? chitchat, and nail the whatd you do this summer? question with stories from your gap year. Youll have first-hand opinions to share about people, places and ideas that your peers might have never even heard of.

7. Youll have a shinier resume.Oftentimes, a gap year involves staying in one spot and soaking up its culture, part of which means getting a job. No matter where you work -- a sandwich stand in India or the embassy in London -- youll have valuable (international!) experience for your resume and can explain your ability to do business with customers from different cultures. If youre a real cheap traveler, you might even have some earnings left to use on college tuition.

8. Youll pick up the pieces you missed in high school. Slept through every Spanish class? Head to Argentina for your gap year, where you'll be forced to speak the language for reals. Wish you knew more history? Spend time touring government buildings in Europe. A gap year is your time to refine the specific skills you feel like youre lacking and sharpen them up for college.

9. Youll have time to think.Life feels like its unfolding fast right now, and in college, things only move faster. Give yourself room to think and breathe and be on long train rides from country to country or days spent strolling through new towns. Youll be surprised where your mind wanders when you give it free rein.

10. Youll make new friends.How cool would it be to go through life knowing you have a best friend in Italy or a pen pal in New Zealand? Their unique perspectives on life will hugely enrich yours as you compare all the major events that happen in your 20s and beyond. Plus, youll have crazy awesome places to visit during college breaks.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/30/gap-year_n_4325969.html