“A year´s break has helped me fine-tune for the courses I´ll be taking at college,” says Aryal, who plans to study literature.
There’s a new trend among students – especially those going for studies abroad – of taking a year´s break before beginning their undergraduate education. While some students take it because of academic fatigue, some take it to explore their own interests, reflect a bit on life, and prepare for a future course of action.
“Students can utilize the time to know themselves better,” says Rajni Upadhyaya, the A-level coordinator of Rato Bangala School in Patan. “Most of them involve themselves in part-time jobs, learn a foreign language, and do some community service.”
She adds, “Students can learn from the outer world.”
Though the gap year is a matter of concern for parents who think that it may pose problems to their children academically, it’s a common trend these days, and universities abroad highly appreciate it.
“You’ve studied for thirteen years already, and if you don´t jump off this education treadmill for some time, you’ll ruin your college life,” says Garima Pradhan, a student who’s taking a year off before joining a college in the US.
“Most colleges abroad appreciate the idea of students taking a year’s break, and I think it’s a positive idea that can help you to be more prepared for education abroad,” Pradhan adds.
Upadhyaya says a gap year doesn´t mean a full stop to academics. “This can actually make kids more focused,” she says. “But it all depends on the students. It’s unwise to take a gap year if the student is academically poor. I believe such students should join a college right away to prevent more loss.”
On the other side, Pradhan´s mother Shanta agrees with her daughter’s decision. “I totally support the decision of my child to take a year’s break. It´s been six months now that she’s joined an INGO, and this has kept her very busy. And I should also say that she’s become more sociable than before.”
Likewise, Steve Hada, who’s doing his A-levels at GEMS, doesn’t want to make a regrettable decision to major in something that he doesn´t like. He wants to take a sabbatical to make better decisions.
“I’ve already decided on taking a year off so that I can prepare for my SAT and TOEFL exams and do an internship and do community services as well,” he says. “A break would also help me get into a really good college later.”
Students seem to take a break for financial reasons, too.
“It´s true that I got to discover my never-observed traits, but I think my biggest achievement is that I earned enough during the time to support my college fees. I´m now an independent girl and I´m proud of it,” says Sleshma Adhikari, who’ll be joining a college in the US this August.
Sabbaticals, as seen through the above instances, can be one of the many ways to recharge one’s batteries before hitting life’s superhighways in later years.
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