By the time high school graduation rolls around, some students are so burned out that they cannot imagine going straight to college. Even though they may have been preparing to go, some students question whether they are going just to please their parents or because of their own desire to pursue an educational goal. Because of their indifference, these students believe a break is the advantage needed to restore their enthusiasm for academic life.
Earning tuition money is a big draw for waiting to start college and may also prevent student loan debt. Work also gives students a taste of real life, responsibility and a sense of independence. In a Chronicle of Higher Education forum "Are Too Many Students Going to College?" political scientist Donald Murray discusses a "difference in maturity and focus between kids straight out of high school and those who have worked" as a plus in college.
Time off can help students appreciate what they are missing. When their friends talk excitedly about coursework, clubs and other school-related opportunities, someone who took time off may begin feeling left out of the social scene, spurring a desire to join their friends at school. Time spent traveling or in service to others challenges students who will welcome the chance get into the college routine with their peers.
Taking time off should not mean lying around doing nothing. The College Board reports that colleges will want to know exactly how the time off was spent as part of the application process. An explanation that includes taking classes, volunteering or participating in foreign travel shows you tried to better yourself in preparation for college, which is far more likely to impress the application committee.
Much of the college application process is geared toward traditional students. When applying for college straight out of high school, you have access to resources and advisers, reports National Association for College Admission Counseling author Jennifer Gross in the article "Taking a Gap Year." If a student does not already have a college acceptance letter and formal deferral in place, trying to access the resources necessary to complete the application process while working full time or volunteering oversees can require more effort.
Sometimes, life has a way of upsetting even the most careful plans to return to school. Occasionally, individuals may become preoccupied with relationship, health, or family concerns to such a degree that a return to college no longer makes sense. Without a strong inner or family incentive to return to school, some students put off their plans indefinitely, always planning to return to school at a better time, but never actually managing to do so.