It’s your senior year of high school. It is time for you to decide what you want to do after you graduate. You have a few possible things that you could do. You could start applying for colleges, get accepted to one, and then go to college right out of high school; or you could do the same thing, but take a year off. This brings up the argument of whether or not a student should take off a gap year before they begin college. There are both, pros and cons to taking a gap year prior to starting college. In this paper, you are going to read about some of the benefits of taking a gap year before college, as well as some of the negative affect of taking a gap year before college. Students should take a gap year before starting college; …show more content…
Since the student is currently learning some independence, this is a great time where they can get to know themselves better. During a gap year, students have the opportunity to get to know them as well as learn what they want to do in life (Ma, 2014). Back in 2013, there were interviews given to many students at different universities, about their experience with a gap year. A student by the name of Eden Full, Princeton University, stated that since he was young, he was always on the path to success. With a gap year, it had given him time to learn some new skills and explore some new interests that he had never had before (Lazaro, 2013). Another student by the name of Tiffany Yanagida, a computer science major at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, stated that a gap year had given her some time to find out her future career path. This was something that she had no idea about at the young age of 18 (Lazaro, 2013). This is a great time to have fun, build up your social network, and go out and enjoy the world. It is true that as the years go by, the cost of college is increasing. But as of October 2013, it was revealed that the rate of cost increase is falling in slow increments: 8.5% in 2011 to 4.5% in 2012 to 2.9% in 2013 (Ma, 2014). This is all thanks to there being better grant and tax benefits. This might mean that it is a great idea to wait to go to college, until the lower price
College can be looked at as a life investment. It is an investment for the future of your life in hopes that it will pay off later in life. College is expensive, but can be affordable for all of those who try. In 2008, Students who applied to attend a four-year college received an estimated average of $5,400 in financial aid and state grants (“Trends in College Pricing”). With this estimated $5,400, this can reduce any students’ price of college to around $1,000 to $3,000 per year! This is an
You may find it difficult to persuade your parents to let you take a “gap year” between high school and college but it’s not impossible if you come prepared with a good argument and logical reasons to back it up. In a situation like this, appealing to ethos, logos, and pathos comes in handy. To start the conversation, you want to make sure that you have plenty of knowledge on the benefits a gap year can provide and speak of the topic in a mature manner. This is necessary in establishing your ethos to help demonstrate that you are credible speaker for the subject. It is important to be aware of any objections your parents might have in mind. For example, your parents might believe that staying home will be a waste of time, but refute this objection
Post-secondary school provides more than just preparation for your career, it teaches you real life aspects that will definitely cross your path one way or another in your life. Growing as a person is far more rewarding than any degree a college can grant (Doc F) College is difficult financially, academically, socially, intellectually, and physically. Because of these hardships every day college students face, a common thought is frequently being replayed over and over, “Is this bearing stress really worth it?” It is worth it, and what keeps them going is the light at the end of the tunnel that promises a life with endless opportunities.
College is a dream that almost every American wants to come true, however, with the extreme rise in the costs of tuition it is a dream that has quickly turned into a nightmare. “Tuition at a private university is now roughly three times as expensive as it was in 1974, costing an average of $31,000 a year; public tuition, at $9,000, has risen nearly four times,” (Davidson). “For the average American household that doesn 't receive a lot of financial aid, higher education is simply out of reach,” (Davidson). That is why many students have begun questioning the worth of a college degree and if the amount of debt that is received upon exiting college is all for the better. And considering that costs have risen much faster than the rate of inflation, many are starting to believe that college just isn 't necessary any more. However, according to White, economically, the answer would still be a yes. “While unemployment rates for new grads and experienced workers alike have fluctuated throughout the recession and recovery, the earnings premium that college-and advanced-degree holders enjoy over their peers who didn 't attend college has remained relatively stable, and in some instances, grown, according to the report that was released this week,” (White). A study was shown that many college grads are able to get earnings that are significantly higher than those who did not get enough education or only hold a high school diploma (White). Even
There have been arguments when discussing the price of attending college. The main argument that we have is whether college tuition is too expensive or not. Over the last few decades the college tuition rates have increased drastically, but is a rate increase necessarily a good or bad thing. I personally believe that the cost to attend college is too expensive especially for low and middle-income families. There are many reasons why tuition could be considered too expensive they include, rise of tuition, little financial aid, and lack of college savings to name a few. The first reason why college tuition is considered too expensive is the continuing rise of tuition itself. Between the years 1973 to 2008 tuition for a four-year increased
In Life today a college education is no longer an option or privilege, but rather it is a necessity. We are raised to believe that a person needs higher education in order to succeed in life. There is a saying, “if you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” You may ask is college necessary? There are people out in the real world that have never set a foot on a college campus before and they are doing better than others that have their master’s degree. There are many views from both sides that have a good argument.
As this country is becoming a more educational country, excelling in Math, Science, English, and Social Studies, education prices rise. Some colleges have tuition prices in multi-ten thousands of dollars. And as the college process go up, the question pops up; is college worth the price? Unless you are wishing to have debt for the rest of your life, the answer is no.
You can use the given time to learn more in school. It’s good to learn new things, and the more you understand, the more you would feel better about yourself. You wouldn’t say to yourself “I failed” or “I don’t know anything.” You become smarter in classes. No one likes an unintelligent person, they like people who do good in school and stay on top. Being in school more also helps your future. Colleges love to see you high school grades and they are the ones who say if you go into their schools or not. It all depends on your grades and how much you know.
Going to college allows for many opportunities to open up in life. Society is changing at a very rapid rate. College is a very difficult time for nearly everyone, as Charles Murray who published an article on should the Obama Generation Drop out also states that “A large majority of young people do not have the intellectual ability to do genuine college-level work” (95). Attending college is not for everyone, but It can teach you to learn how to become independent, develop discipline, evolve new life skills, and learn how to balance a social life versus student life. The experiences you obtain and gain from attending college can lead you to learn how to live your life within the college environment in a way that creates harmony with who you are. It is a time of trial and error until you find what works for you. Eventually harmony is found by choosing a major that coincides in a positive way with the person you are. Once this is found, you will be able to establish a system of studying and learning that works for how your mind works. It is natural that your life will be in disharmony when the circumstances in your life change dramatically, such as when you go to college, but your life should eventually return to being less stressful. During your college journey, you will make many friends. Many friendships that you make in college
With the rise in minimum wage nationwide, things cost a lot more. That doesn't mean you have $42,500 to pay for college yearly,(CNBC 2015). That's a lot of money if you're not working. Even state colleges are charging $19,000(CNBC 2015). And considering you're going to need a loan, That's going to add to our nationwide student loan debt of 1.2Trillion,(CNBC 2015). But due to the fact that you could earn enough money to pay back all that debt, it is still appealing to most people. The thing is going to college is a lot like gambling. You go hoping that you can get your degree, and earn more later on. But like gambling, you can lose everything.
It is time to make a decision regarding what to do after high school. The most popular decision is to go right into college. Some students say they would like to take a year off before going to college. This is called a Gap Year, meaning they have a gap in between education. Some do well, and prepare themselves for college, while others do not. Those that do take a year off have time to explore what life has to offer, and takes advantage of the deferment application, become a better person.
The purpose of my speech is providing you with a little information about the benefits of taking a gap year, what it can do to you, and hopefully persuade you into taking one yourself.
A life without bills, kids, a significant other, or any worries sounds too good to be true. It may be hard to realize with the stress of college and future plans, but seniors graduating high school have the advantage to live this life if they want. High school seniors have many decsions to make before they graduate. They have to decide if they are going to college, what college they are going to, what career they may want to pursue, how to pay for everything ahead of them, and many more. Sometimes this will get too overwhelming for them and cause them to not want to go to college right away. They plan on going to college after a year on their own trying “experience life” before starting college. People call this taking a “gap year”. Taking a gap year is a personal decision that takes commitment. People take gap years for many reasons, but they will regret their decision because gap years usually turn out bad or not the way the students want them to.
As Greg Kristof, a gap year taker and now sophomore at Harvard University, stated in the interview that I conducted, “In America it seems that college is a huge rite of passage when actually it’s a huge investment”.
Most students are not over the pressures of being a senior in high school. That’s why the gap year should be taken to release all the stresses of high school. Most students cannot take being stressed out so decide to wait. These students are not capable of attending college due to their mental stability. Being a college student directly from high school could take a great toll on a person physical and mental state.