A question that many incoming college freshmen may ask themselves is “should I take a gap year?” or “are gap years really worth it?”

There are no official statistics that track participation in gap year programs, but the Associated Press reports that in 2015 30,000 to 40,000 students take advantage of the break each year.

Senior Sara Wheeler, who will be taking a gap year this upcoming year, claims that she wants to “take a deep breath” during her gap year.

“It seems to me that there will be very few times in my life where I’ll be able to genuinely able to stop and reflect and consider where I want to go from that point, and this is one of them,” said Wheeler.

Wheeler is not quite sure what she wants to do while abroad. She has considered becoming an au pair for a family in Amsterdam and travel in Europe. Another option for her would be to volunteer for a presidential campaign.

Gap years are known to give people better performance, high adaptability, a better idea of future careers, and more global understanding. If this sounds interesting to you, you may want to consider taking a gap year.

Many people who have taken gap years have explained them as one of the best experiences of their life and definitely something that they don’t regret. Senior Kate Kneafsey claimed that “it is all about experiencing life without worrying about school and giving myself a well deserved break.”