It has become quite common for students to join a university only after a year of travel or professional work. I believe this to be positive as one can decide whether they are on the right path for their career, and travelling helps them clear their stress from high school and plan in calm mind for their future.
From my experience, it is important to know to what extent are we interested in a certain field. Only, then we can decide whether continuing on a certain field on a university will be the next step for our career as goals aligned with interests are much more achievable rather than blindly opting for university out of mere trends. In addition to this, diving into industry via professional work, helps us realise what are the important areas and skills, we need to focus on during our time in university.
Taking pause for a year and travelling to different places, clears our mental load from school and bring new experiences and helps us march forward to welcome new beginnings. As a result, one can be motivated towards their aim in life and make a correct decision choosing a stream to pursue in university, with free and open mind.
That is why, from my point of view, taking a year off before going to university by working encourages pupils to pursue a more specific and determined path in university. Travelling clears their stress, prepares them for new adventures. Hence, I find this to be a good trade off.