Gap Year Benefits

Building ProjectThe desire for change, for broadened perspective, is shared by people of all ages: students looking for experience outside of school, adults exploring career opportunities, professionals seeking sabbatical options, retirees pursuing meaningful activities.

The emphases and needs may differ, but the benefits of pursuing life, education, and career enhancing experiences are shared throughout. When given the chance to take on new opportunities, gappers will:

  • experience the challenge and reward of taking a chance on something new;
  • explore new interests through hands-on learning;
  • deepen skills through immersed practice or study;
  • expand a broader view of self and the world;
  • build self-confidence and independence;
  • gain a clearer sense of future paths;
  • improve candidacy in competitive positions.

High School & College Students:


  • address the potential burnout of 12+ years of schooling;
  • create their own life and choices for a year;
  • connect the relevancy of classroom studies to the real world;
  • return to interests that were forfeited due to academic demands;
  • develop greater maturity, confidence, independence, and life skills;
  • gain a clearer sense of college studies and/or career path;
  • become more compelling college and/or job candidates.

Mid & Post-Career adults:


  • gain experience outside of the work environment that can lend a fresh outlook;
  • add new tools to their skill set (communication skills, a broader social perspective, a degree of independent thinking, etc.);
  • develop a valuable area of competency, such as learning a language;
  • create expertise in a specialized area of their profession (the classic sabbatical);
  • find a new career;
  • discover a new business opportunity.

Read more about career breaks and opportunities for mid and post-career adults.

Facts & Figures:


Horseback riding in CanadaWe have been privileged to work with thousands of individuals who have expanded or reinvented themselves during their gap time. You can read some of these student and parent stories in our Testimonials section.

Through our decades of gap year counseling work, we have compelling anecdotal evidence of the value of taking a gap year. It is gratifying to now see more Facts & Figures coming out in support of the gap year in the U.S.

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