In the professional or career world, a gap year is a year before going to college and after finishing high school. It is also known as a sabbatical year. However, today gap year refers mostly to a year taken before starting University or College. During this gap year, American students engage in advanced academic courses, extra-academic courses and non-academic courses, such as yearlong pre-college math courses, language studies, learning a trade, art studies, volunteer work, travel, internships, sports and more, all for the purpose of improving themselves in knowledge, maturity, decision-making, leadership, independence, self-sufficiency and more, thus improving their resumes before going to college. These gap years are also called pathways, prep-years, bridge-years, and studying abroad.
British and European students, however, take a much more holiday style approach to the "Gap Year" by generally working for 3-6 months and then travelling throughout the globe for the remaining time before college begins. This is intended to expand the mind, personal confidence, experiences, and interests prior college. It is a much less structured approach than taken in America, and is generally viewed by parents as a formative year for young adults to become independent and learn a great deal of responsibility prior to engaging in University life.
