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<p>Actually this is a big difference I observe too, being at college in England. If someone posts on this board they are thinking of taking a gap year then many people reply to say it’s a really bad idea and a huge waste of money. It’s seen as something which costs the parents a lot to keep their unfocused kid from being a drop out. Yet if you posted the same thing on a UK board you would get 5 pages of people telling you how wonderful their gap year had been and how it changed their life. A really high percentage of undergrads here have taken a gap year or do so after they graduate from university. It is considered a very positive thing. Most people don’t take part in really expensive organised programmes (though some do) but get a job/work experience which universities and future employers look favourably on. It is common for people to make “deferred” applications for university, and even some jobs, so they are accepted but can delay admission/employment for a year to have a gap.</p>
<p>I definitely don’t think that Europeans think of universities as being the place to teach students essential life skills. People would think that’s what high school is for! Not to mention your parents/family. But most people in Europe go to college close to home so it’s not such a huge life-style change that it can be in the US, such as a Californian student choosing to go to college in Boston for example (obviously not everyone has such an extreme experience but you see what I mean). College is seen as a rite of passage in the US, but as a means of getting a job everywhere else.</p>
<p>edited to add I left the US just before High School so I can’t really comment on that.</p>