The vast majority of students enter their first year of university bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, straight out of high school. However, a growing number of students are choosing to delay their post-secondary education, taking time off from school to work, travel, and explore new opportunities.
Despite gap years growing in popularity, they remain a controversial topic among parents and students alike.
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Eli Hiatt, ArtSci ’27, was uncertain about whether to take a gap year after high school. Hiatt applied to universities in Grade 12 with her peers and received early ission to the University of Victoria in 2022. Despite being accepted into the program of her choice, Hiatt felt dread rather than excitement when she thought about starting university right after high school.
“I really just didn’t feel inclined to jump back into a school experience, and I thought I needed a year to decompress,” Hiatt said in an interview with The Journal.
Hiatt decided to defer her acceptance to the University of Victoria and applied to six more universities, including Queen’s, during her gap year. After her gap year, Hiatt decided to attend Bader College, Queen’s University’s international campus, in 2023.
“Ultimately it worked out really well,” Hiatt said. “I changed the school I wanted to go to, and I found the Bader College program during that time, so I would say it ended on a positive note.”
In addition to providing Hiatt with a much-needed break, taking a gap year allowed her to reflect on her goals for the future.
“In high school, I was very in my own head and felt aimless a lot,” Hiatt said. “After my gap year, I realized that there are so many options, and I don’t need to know what I’m doing yet and when I made it to university, I had room to explore.”
Hiatt, like many students, was uncertain about her long-term career goals when she entered her first year of university. However, taking a gap year allowed her to further narrow down her options before beginning her post-secondary education.
“It gave me time to learn more, and I ultimately changed my major from linguistics to computer science, although that didn’t stick for long because I changed my major again after that,” Hiatt said.
During the first few months of her gap year, Hiatt, who’s now a geography major, travelled to Portugal and Spain to spend time with family friends and immerse herself in the local cultures.
“It was great to be in a different place, unburdened by schoolwork,” Hiatt said.
After returning from her travels, Hiatt worked at a market research firm and later got a job at an ice cream shop, where she was able to save money for school and meet some of her closest friends.
A common concern regarding gap years is that they will become indefinite. For Hiatt, however, taking a gap year further motivated her to attend university.
“The gap year was definitely positive for me,” Hiatt said. “I think for many people, it may not be the right decision, but I was definitely inclined to go back to school.
I just didn’t want to do that to myself immediately.”
Starting university a year later than most undergraduate students also helped Hiatt navigate the major life changes that occur in first year.
“I noticed when I made it to university that I felt to be on the more mature end of the spectrum,” Hiatt said. “I think it really helped give me perspective. I felt prepared.”
“Had I not taken a gap year, I think my life would be on a different trajectory,” Hiatt said. “I probably would be in my third year of a major that suits me a little bit less, and I don’t think I would have had time to really relax and reconsider everything.”
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Omar Sharaf, CompSci ’27, had always planned to pursue a university education right after high school. As his Grade 12 graduation drew nearer, however, he realized that he had one major milestone left to reach before university would be right for
him—Sharaf wanted to move out.
Growing up in a large family with two younger siblings, Sharaf’s home environment was disruptive to say the least. Sharaf knew this would interfere with his education, but his parents were insistent he stay home for university.
“[If I had stayed home], I would have been slightly miserable for all four years,” Sharaf said in an interview with The Journal.
His only option, he believed, was to force his parents into an ultimatum: he would either study at a university outside his hometown Ottawa, or he wouldn’t go to university at all. To show his parents he was serious, Sharaf didn’t apply to any post-secondary programs during Grade 12, taking a gap semester to save up for his inevitable move.
“Taking that time off was a necessary step in moving out,” Sharaf said. “Ottawa was not a great environment for me, high school wasn’t fun, and home wasn’t very conducive to education.”
During his gap semester, Sharaf worked at a restaurant and took online computer science courses to stay busy and start earning his tuition. The semester itself was not majorly transformative for Sharaf, but it set the stage for a fulfilling university experience away from home.
However, navigating his family’s reactions to his decision to take a gap semester was no easy feat.
“[If you take a gap semester], It’s like you’re not on the track to being who you’re supposed to be, therefore it isn’t productive,” Sharaf said. “If you’re not doing the thing you’re supposed to do, then what are you doing?”
Sharaf’s parents feared his decision to take a gap would jeopardize his future. Having moved to Canada partly for the educational opportunities, they placed high stakes on Sharaf’s academic career. Sharaf was the oldest of his siblings and would be the first to reap the educational benefits of his family’s migration to Canada. So, when Sharaf deviated from the conventional academic path, his parents grew concerned that his gap semester would “be the end of him.”
“To them, there’s no guarantees in life,” Sharaf said. “If you don’t get in now, what if you never get in?”
Sharaf believes the stigma surrounding gap years and semesters is prominent in many marginalized communities.
“For other marginalized groups, not just immigrants, there’s always a deep anxiety that you’re not
going to belong,” Sharaf said. “If you build some level of prestigiousness and wealth and respectability, maybe you won’t be so othered.”
Marginalized individuals have been framed as “the other” throughout history, looked down upon by dominant groups including white Canadians. Although this form of discrimination is less overt today, this “us vs. them” framing continues to alienate people of colour, religious and sexual minorities, and Indigenous people from mainstream society, driving this desire to belong.
According to Sharaf, pursuing an education at a reputable post-secondary institution is widely regarded as the key to this prestige, wealth, and respectability by both immigrants and non-immigrants alike. Straying from the conventional academic path is risking a vital opportunity to belong.
With time, Sharaf’s parents came to with his decision to take a semester off and attend university away from home. Sharaf’s unconventional academic journey ultimately allowed him to find the sense of belonging that he lacked in Ottawa.
“I would definitely say that I found myself in university,” Sharaf said.
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Gap years can serve as valuable opportunities for students to explore their interests and reconsider their plans for the future. For some, that entails applying to different programs or changing majors. For others, that may involve the realization that post-secondary education isn’t the right path
for them.
Shaun Williamson graduated high school in 2023 and decided to take a gap year before applying to post-secondary institutions. When the time came to submit applications, Williamson realized that she really had no desire to go to college or university. She enjoyed working part-time at her local ice rink and couldn’t imagine herself in a career that required a traditional post-secondary education.
“Getting a degree just for the sake of getting a degree doesn’t make sense for me,” Williamson said in an interview with The Journal. “If I had just tried to go to post-secondary [school] right away, that would have been a bad decision.”
However, Williamson didn’t always feel this way.
“First going into high school, I was someone who totally thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do,” Willamson said. “I was really interested in taking business courses because I wanted to start some kind of small business.”
After taking an introductory business course in Grade 9, Williamson found that she didn’t enjoy the discipline. Then, COVID-19 hit, and online learning made it difficult for Williamson
to remain engaged in her other classes. She struggled with mental health issues throughout high school, and her life goals shifted drastically.
“My goals have shifted from looking for some big achievement or big prize at the end—like getting a degree at the end of university—to just figuring out how to enjoy life,” Williamson said.
Williamson continues to work at her local ice rink and is now pursuing a SmartServe qualification to become a bartender. She’s happy with her lifestyle but warns it’s easy to lose track of your goals without the structure that school provides.
“It’s sort of a slippery slope because once you’re doing nothing for a while, it’s hard to do anything,” Williamson said. “Find some sort of ion project.”
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Ren Chalykoff, ArtSci ’27, decided to space out her post-secondary education for her mental health.
Chalykoff initially planned her university education the same way as many undergraduate students. In a given year, she would study during the fall and winter semesters and take the summer semester off.
After experiencing serious mental health issues during the second semester of her first year, Chalykoff realized this typical structure would not work for her. Midway through her second semester, Chalykoff decided to take time off from school to improve her overall well-being.
“I decided to take time off just to regroup and hopefully get better to a point where I could go to school full time again,” Chalykoff said in an interview with The Journal.
This wasn’t an easy decision for Chalykoff to make, but she remains optimistic about the remainder of her post-secondary education.
“It kind of made me feel a little bit sidetracked, like I wish I didn’t need to take time off,” Chalykoff said. “I still think my future looks relatively normal, it’s just gonna take me more time to get there than I think it will for most people.”
During her time off, Chalykoff has been able to prioritize her mental health, spending time with family, doing yoga, and searching for a job to keep her mind active.
“I think I really needed the time just for myself,” Chalykoff said. “Without it, I don’t know if I’d be able to actually complete the school year properly and do my best. Taking that time has
really helped.”
Spacing out her education has also enabled Chalykoff to explore different career pathways. Chalykoff entered Queen’s planning to major in biology, but after reflecting on her interests and aspirations during her time away from school, she realized this was not the right choice for her.
“I think I needed to take some time to understand myself better,” Chalykoff said. “I went to loads of art museums, and I think that really fostered a love for art. I don’t think I would have been able to do that if I were taking a full course load.”
Chalykoff is now pursuing a major in art history and has come to with her somewhat unconventional academic journey.
“I wanted to graduate in the typical four years, but I realize now that that’s a little ridiculous and everyone needs to have their own journey through school,” Chalykoff said. “I think that the standard four years shouldn’t be a pressure put on anybody, and everyone should just take the amount of time that they need in order to graduate.”
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