SAN ANTONIO – High school and college are usually separated by a summer, but some people take a little extra time for what's known as a "gap year."
Sitting in Cafe College with her boyfriend, Kristal Rivera is looking at going back to school.
Rivera tried a semester studying animation but it didn't feel right. After a year away, she's looking at something else. It's not the first break she's had. She also took a "gap year" after high school.
"My original plan was to work and try to save up money for a car," Rivera said. "That way I could get to school."
The "gap year" became a national discussion after it was reported President Barack Obama's daughter Malia would be taking a year off before heading to Harvard. But is it really an option for students whose parents aren't the leader of the free world?
It would seem that depends. Students take gap years for a lot of reasons, and some aren't feasible for everyone.
"I'm not sure the travel abroad, you know, philanthropy gap year, is realistic for a lot of people in America," said Dr. Kimberly Ridgley, guidance and counseling director at the Northside Independent School District.
But students may also be saving money for school, or trying out internships or jobs in the field they want to pursue.
Ridgely said if you're going to take a gap year, have a plan and know what you're trying to accomplish. Aimlessly playing video games might make a great Saturday, but it might not make a great gap year.
It's a decision for each family, Ridgley said. While a gap year can have benefits such as a better sense of direction, there are drawbacks: reapplying for financial aid, possibly reapplying for college and possible lost scholarship opportunities, not to mention getting back into school mode.
"I thought about just backpacking for a little bit, but I just realized if I left I wouldn't be able to come back," UTSA sophomore Ana Hernandez said. "I wouldn't want to."
While Rivera did drop out the first time she went to college, she credits her gap year with that choice. If she hadn't taken it, Rivera believes she might have ended up staying with her original course of study simply because she felt she was already on that path.
Having already deviated from the normal path, she knew she didn't have to stay with something that wasn't working.
"I knew that I had a decision. I didn't have to go to college. I didn't have to continue doing something I didn't love to do," Rivera said.
Instead, she had the choice to look for something she did love.
