what to consider before taking a gap year (the benefits and downsides)

Teenager Therapy

Astrolescence & Joy Coalition

Society & Culture

4.8 • 4.3K Ratings

🗓️ 7 February 2025

⏱️ 77 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What happens if you take a gap year, or two, or three, or however many you decide you need? Will reapplying to school get more difficult? What things should you know before taking a gap year? And will you ultimately end up in a better place having taken one than without? In this episode we explore if gap years simply a way for rich kids to travel the world without worry or perhaps they serve a crucial purpose in the lives of low-income youth and their path towards a meaningful career. We talk with students about their gap year experiences and with a previous undergraduate advisor at stanford university to help us better understand gap years, how to decide if they’re right for you, and how to approach your parents about your decision to take one. Follow GrownKid on Instagram: @Grownk1d @gaelaitor @_kaylasuarez JOIN OUR SOCIAL CLUB IN LOS ANGELES: https://form.typeform.com/to/eBSho4lE About Our Partners: GrownKid is made possible by the Schultz Family Foundation, dedicated to helping young people unlock their full potential and successfully navigate to fulfilling careers. GrownKid is made in partnership with Joy Coalition where purpose driven content meets powerful storytelling. From 13 reasons Why to unprisoned, Joy Coalition projects are made to bridge generations and drive groundbreaking conversations. Interested in a career in mental health? Check out the Youth Mental Health Corps – a new program created by the Schultz Family Foundation, Pinterest and AmeriCorps - where anyone with a high school degree can gain experience, skills, and a credential during a year of paid service in the mental health field. Learn more at youthmentalhealthcorps.org Featured Guests: Julie Lythcott-Haims: @jlythcotthaims, Former undergraduate advising officer at Stanford University, author of How to Raise an Adult — advocate for compassionate parenting and self-discovery. Paige Censale: @paigeee.c, took three gap years to explore different career paths and gain extensive hands-on experience, to help discover her passion. After accumulating valuable practical knowledge, she was accepted into Brown University to further pursue her professional goals. Resources: The Opportunity Network - supports underrepresented students through college access programs, career development workshops, professional networking events, and mentorship opportunities. Its goal is to provide students with the tools they need for career success and growth. The Gap Year Association - promotes the benefits of structured gap year experiences by offering program directories, guidance for planning, accreditation for gap year programs, and research on their advantages. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Today's episode is for the grown kids who are debating delaying college by a year or two or possibly even 10,
0:06.6	the ones that just need to feel a little bit more prepared before taking that next step towards higher education,
0:11.9	and for the ones that are just a little bit intimidated by the idea of going to college after skipping it for a year or two.
0:19.6	We'll be talking to people that have taken gap years and learn more about why they decide
0:23.5	to do that and if it actually helped them because I think a lot of times we're told that gap
0:28.0	years are just for rich kids and to travel the world and just have fun, which I'm all for,
0:33.0	but we're wondering, do you actually find a meaningful career through a gap year?
0:37.4	Are there other ways to find that?
0:39.4	To guide us along, we'll be talking with a student that took four gap years before applying
0:43.1	and getting accepted into Brown University, as well as Julie Liffcott Hames, who served as the dean
0:48.7	of freshman in undergraduate advising at Stanford University and has extensive experience on the
0:53.8	value of gap years.
0:55.1	But anyways, let's get into the episode.
1:08.4	Hi, everyone. Welcome to Grown Kid. I'm Gail. And I'm Kayla. And we're just two 20-year-olds who feel
1:14.1	like grown kids and don't really know where our life is going or if we're even prepared for it or let
1:19.6	alone how to plan for it. So that's why we decided to make the show, a podcast where we'll be
1:24.8	exploring the career and life issues that we're experiencing as we
1:28.3	transition from being teenagers to young adults. And throughout the episodes, we'll basically
1:32.9	help you get your shit together by talking with experts and researchers who'll give us actual
1:37.5	advice and tips to just help us navigate this really stressful and confusing time.
1:42.1	Anyways, welcome to Ground Kid. Ready to launch your business?
1:45.7	Get started with the commerce platform made for entrepreneurs.
	...

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