Question

Some school leavers travel or work for a period of time instead of going directly to university. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
 

Answer 1

Instead of going straight to university, some high school graduates choose to travel or work for a year. In my opinion, the drawbacks outweigh the merits. 

There are considerable benefits of travelling after graduating from high school. The first advantage is that students will have the opportunity to experience different cultures. As a result, this will help students increase their ability to integrate into many learning and working environments later, especially international ones. Another drawback is that working multiple jobs during school breaks can help students understand more about their abilities and be able to choose the right major at universities after finishing their gap year.

There are potential drawbacks of taking a gap year before starting education. The first drawback is that people who make trips after completing high school easily encounter financial issues if they travel to another country. As a result, they have to be financially reliant on their parents and this may put a heavy pressure on their family. Another disadvantage is that having jobs after graduating high school may cause students to forget their academic knowledge and lose study discipline when applying for universities. Going to work early may be beneficial in the short term, but it will be a major barrier in the long run if they want to grow in their careers without a degree. 

In conclusion, the drawbacks of suffering from financial issues and losing study discipline seem to outweigh the merits of improving the ability to adapt to various environments and being able to choose a suitable university major. Given this situation, students should not be encouraged to take a gap year before studying at university.