It really depends on my student. For my middle child, it was absolutely the right decision. He actually took 2 1/2 gap years and it changed his life. He volunteered one year in Jordan and the next year in Lebanon, and discovered that his passion is helping refugees. After those experiences, he took one semester of classes at our local school and then enrolled in the American University of Beirut, where he is currently a second-semester sophomore.
I hate to think what would have happened if we had pushed him to start college right out of high school. It would have been a disaster.