Some people believe that students should be given a gap year before they start university. This essay will highlight both the benefits and drawbacks that have resulted from giving a gap year to students. While acknowledging that there are benefits, I will argue that the disadvantages of having a gap year before they study at the university outweigh the advantages.
First and foremost, to begin with the positives, a significant advantage is that it helps students to alleviate their stress. This is because students are taking many exams during their high school careers. It usually means that they may be unable to entertain themselves by going outside with their friends. As a result of this, while some students may feel depressed, some of them may tend to have malicious habits. For example, many students started to smoke while they were preparing for the university entrance exam. If they had been given a gap year, they would have relieved the burden on their shoulders, and they might not have smoked.
However,giving one year of spare time to students also presents some disadvantages, the most obvious of which is that they forget many of their learnings after a gap year. Although some students are not asked about those topics during university, many students should not forget that information. For instance, engineering students should know how to calculate equivalencies when they start studying at the university. Consequently, if they do not have any information about the topic, they may not be able to finish and take a degree from the university.
In conclusion, although having a gap year has advantages such as alleviating stress for students, it also presents some disadvantages. In my opinion, the drawbacks of having one year of spare time far outweigh its benefits.