The idea of a gap year is for someone to have experiential learning and growth outside of the classroom. Life is not a race.
Frequently on college confidential, people throw around the gap year term for regrouping after being disappointed with their college admissions. That’s fine and an option if well thought out. But don’t forget, there are other reasons to do a gap year which hit more at the original target of the concept of what a gap year is intended to be.