Drop year or gap year, the word sounds simple, but its meaning is deep.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
When the results of competitive exams are declared, some students are jubilant. But there are many others with tears in their eyes, and this gloom forces them to take a decision that is crucial for their academic lives: a drop year.
Drop year or gap year, the word sounds simple, but its meaning is deep. It is a year of hard work, financial problems, self-doubt, and fear of missing out. A year-long struggle awaits the student. Every day of the year, he asks himself many questions: Was the decision to take a gap year right? What if I do not clear this time too? How long will I remain a burden on the family?
And God knows how many such questions are in his mind.
After deciding to take a drop year, life changes for the student. As soon as he wakes up in the morning, he has to study, give mock exams, analyse them; there is mental tension to score more marks in the mock exams. While all the friends from school are enjoying college events and festivals, droppers are studying hard inside their rooms, their life confined to coaching centres and home.
It is not that these students are weak in studies or they did not work hard; they did work hard but still did not get selected because the path to the destination they want to reach is full of thorns. They have to bear the burden of parental expectations, financial responsibilities, self-doubt and many more.
But sadly, society does not understand the problems such students face. When a dropper goes to a family event, then a question pierces his heart like an arrow: “Son, what are you doing?” The student does not have a proper answer, he gets into thinking what to say. And when a student musters up the courage to say that he is preparing for an exam, then these relatives start giving their suggestions: “What will he do by doing this course; it is better to prepare for civil service exam.” Troubled by all this, the child stops going to family gatherings or sits alone in a corner.
After working hard, studying every day, missing family events, seeing his peers surpass him, the student sits for the competitive exam again with hope in his eyes that this time he will definitely get selected. The dream of many students comes true, they get their desired college but the dream of many students is shattered this time too.
Published – July 13, 2025 03:24 am IST