You're returning from a much-needed break from school and feeling reinvigorated and ready to get started. The first few weeks are the hardest to adjust to because your brain hasn't been used during the break. The dilemma with breaks, such as summer breaks, is that you lose valuable information from past academic courses that is essential to progressing towards higher education. Imagine an entire year of not learning and then returning to intense, rigorous classes at a university. High school seniors across the nation have the opportunity to take a year off before committing to a college. This is known as a gap year; instead of enrolling directly at university, many students feel the need to take a break before starting the training path towards their future career. Yes, a gap year sounds nice and beneficial, but in the long run it can be detrimental to your future. Students should be aware of the consequences of a gap year, for example, the possibility of applying to graduate school is lower, academic growth is reduced, and social obstacles become present. Before understanding the consequences of a gap year, it's important to understand why people take a gap year. Senior year can be tense and bring with it several unanswered questions. Seniors are given four options when they leave high school. These choices are: join the military, go straight to work, apply to college, or take a gap year. In a journal by Sunny Niu and Marta Tienda, “Delayed Enrollment and College Plans: Is There a Deferral Penalty?” explains some of the reasons why high school graduates tend not to directly attend a four-year university. One of the main reasons why high school graduates are reluctant to attend co...... middle of paper......index.php/considering-a-gap-year/why-take-a-gap -year> . Holmes, Bradford. “Decide if a gap year makes sense for you.” Us News: n. pag.Stampa.Horn, Laura, Emily Forrest Cataldi and Anna Sikora. “Waiting to attend college.” National Center for Education Statistics. Np, nd Web. 8 December 2013. .Niu, Sunny and Marta Tienda. “Delayed Enrollment and College Plans: Is There a Deferral Penalty?” Journal of Higher Education (2013): 1-28. Print.O'Shea, Joseph. “Delaying Academy: A Gap Year Education.” Teaching in Higher Education (2011): 1-14. Print.Wells, Ryan S., and Cassie M. Lynch. “Delayed College Enrollment and the Socioeconomic Gap: Examining the Roles of Student Plans, Family Income, Parental Education, and Parental Employment.” Journal of Higher Education