Have you ever wondered where universities are headed? After passing the exam, do I have to choose to continue studying at university, or can I take a year off to study or find what I want? There is a term called “gap year”. Next, let’s take a look at what a “gap year” is.

Do I have To Go To A Higher School After Taking The Academic Test?

The culture of Gap Year originates from abroad. It refers to a period when one chooses to temporarily interrupt his studies or work and look for other experiences and opportunities after completing a specific stage of study or work. It usually occurs after graduating from high school or college, before graduation.

The main purpose of a gap year is to give individuals the opportunity to explore their interests, develop skills, broaden their horizons, and gain additional life experience before studying or pursuing a career. This time can be used to volunteer, travel, intern, learn a new language, or engage in a variety of other rewarding activities.

What Are The Advantages

• Improve language skills and expand international outlook
• Through international volunteering, traveling, or internships, you can get in touch with different cultures, expand your horizons, and improve your language and communication skills.
• Explore interests
• A period of blank time can allow you to pursue different interests, understand yourself better, and make more meaningful choices for your future studies.
• self-growth and development
• The different things explored during this period can enable people to develop differently in different environments, enhance self-confidence, and cultivate independence and problem-solving abilities.
• Rich resume
• Compared with other people, you have an extra experience that is different from others. You can mention it in your self-introduction. This can leave a proactive and positive impression in front of the interviewer.

What Are The Disdvantages

• academic delay
• Although it is a temporary interruption of studies, it may cause the original progress to be delayed.
• financial problems
• All expenses in the free year include living expenses and the cost of implementing the plan. These need to be prepared and can be a relatively expensive expense.
• Leave your original social circle
• During the gap year, to implement the plan, you may cut off contact with your original friends, and you may break away from them after it is over.
• Difficulty reintegrating into school
• If you take a gap year, you will have an extra year to implement your plan. When you return to school, you will be a little older than others and may not be able to integrate.

What Can You Do With A Gap Year?

• IMMERSION GAP YEAR
  An immersive gap year is about experiencing a time surrounded by an unfamiliar culture. You can plan domestic and overseas grand tours, work holidays, participate in exchange programs, participate in cultural activities, etc. The purpose is to throw yourself out of your comfort zone, use unfamiliar environments to force yourself to learn, get along with all kinds of people, and experience different lifestyles.
• VOLUNTEER GAP YEAR
  The meaning of a volunteer gap year is to perform volunteer services in a specific place and actively establish connections with the place to create a positive impact. You can participate in volunteer programs of non-profit organizations to explore areas of interest that you would not otherwise have the opportunity to touch, learn new skills, experience different cultures, and even work with others locally.
• PERSONAL GAP YEAR
  The meaning of a personal gap year is to start from yourself, mainly thinking about your own inner needs to improve or improve, including going to the workplace to intern to enhance your workplace experience, learning to drive, improving cooking skills, doing marathon training, weight training, etc. related to yourself. Usually, to proceed, you need to first recognize what you want to improve or improve, and make an effective plan, otherwise, it is easy to waste this time.
• ACADEMIC GAP YEAR
  The purpose of an academic gap year is to explore university life before entering university or a specific major. You can use university online learning resources such as Taiwan Open Course Alliance and National Taiwan University Open Course to gain access to relevant knowledge in professional fields and find your future. research direction. This is very helpful for people who don’t know which direction they want to go for further studies in the future. Leave some time to explore before entering a specific field. If you are very interested in it, then this direction is your life path!

Conclusion

Although Gap Year reminds people of a free life, you need to be responsible for yourself in this journey beyond the classroom and the system. Therefore, you need to evaluate in advance whether you are suitable for Gap Year, how to plan and execute it, and what mentality you should face it with. Preparing for a Gap Year, etc., are all things that need to be carefully considered before entering a Gap Year.