SoFi Blog

It seems like millennials and student debt go together like avocados and toast. The millennial generation is cash-strapped , facing high amounts of student debt and high housing costs. The result is a generation that is constantly worried about money.

A majority of millennials are dealing with significant amounts of debt—and it’s keeping them up at night. A SoFi survey of its members found that 83% felt like their student loan debt kept them from relaxing.

Whether you’re waking up in a cold sweat after dreaming about your monthly balance or feeling wracked with guilt every time you swipe your credit card, looming loan payments can feel overwhelming.

After years in school, taking exams and spending countless hours studying, your residency is when you can put all the knowledge and skills you’ve accumulated to the test. A medical residency offers an amazing learning opportunity for a young doctor.

Deciding you’d like to pursue a graduate degree is a monumental decision, and not one to be taken lightly. If you’re determined to advance your current skills or learn something completely new, it can be a great option.

But, there are a few key questions you should ask yourself and an academic advisor before applying to graduate school. Here are a few things to ponder before obtaining an advanced degree.

When Malia Obama took a gap year before starting at Harvard in 2017, her plan created a lot of controversy on the internet, especially here in the U.S. But students taking a gap year—before, during, or after college—isn’t new, and the trend is widespread in other countries.

The oldest gap year organization in the U.S., the Center for Interim Programs , has been around for nearly 40 years. While there are limited stats on how many students take gap years here, almost 25% of students in Australia take a gap year and American numbers, which used to be estimated at closer to 1% or 2%, appear to be rising.

Also known as a bridge year, a gap year or gap semester can come between high school and college, after college before starting grad school or a career, or even in between semesters while at college. The idea is to refresh yourself after all those years of head-to-the-books learning, explore potential career interests, and get some new experiences while the risks are low—and when you have no kids and no mortgage.

The idea is you then return to school—or start your job search—with newfound focus and intention. What you do while taking off a gap year depends on you. You can volunteer, travel, work, or some combination. Malia Obama almost 25% of students joined a cross-cultural exchange program to Bolivia and Peru, did an internship with a film and TV production company in New York, and traveled with her parents to Indonesia.

Now, you may not be able to pull off the same itinerary as Malia, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a great experience of your own. If you’re asking yourself, “Should I take a gap year?” then here are some of the options and logistics to consider.

Housewives. CEOs. Titans of industry. Your favorite aunt.

It seems like just about everyone these days is trying to get their kids into elite colleges—by any means necessary. And certain elements of the wealthy and well connected don’t seem to mind going through the back door—or side door—as long as their child gets accepted.

You’ve probably seen a news story or two about admissions tactics that have gotten some high-profile parents in hot water recently. These approaches, the “side doors” as they were pitched, went well beyond traditional means of giving students a leg up in the college process.

For the rest of us, who can’t fund a building or get a coach to admit our son on the basis of a photoshopped water polo player, we have one option: the front door. And that just means helping your child get accepted the normal way—sans bribes.