To make the most of a gap year, Sellingo recommends taking part in "meaningful work experience, academic preparation for college, or travel that opens up the horizon to the rest of the world". He added that "students who delay college to work odd jobs for a while to try to ‘find themselves’ don’t do as well as everyone else when they get to college."

Sellingo also recommends thinking of a gap year as part of your life-long education.

"We still think of an education as this thing you get, at this one place, once in your life,” he said. “That’s not the way it works anymore.”

And it's not just students who benefit from taking time out: adults can be at an advantage if they take a grown-up gap year, too.

So whether you make up one of the 30% of gappers travelling independently across the globe (the Foreign Office brilliantly calls these people the 'Invincibles') or join a group trip, there are plenty of reasons for you to head off and explore.

Taking a gap year could benefit you for the rest of your life