For most undergraduates, spring is a time for the return of shorts and flip-flops, acceptance letters and the musical renderings of Healy Beach. But for graduating seniors, it’s also a time for tough life choices.

The harsh economic reality that waits beyond the gates raises the stakes of their choices. While some students have forged a clear path to Wall Street, graduate or professional school, many are still struggling to figure out what to do after they leave the Hilltop. For these students, a gap year may be the perfect solution to any uncertainty.

According to the Career Center’s 2010 senior survey, 22 percent of last year’s graduates reported going straight into graduate or professional schools, while 59 percent reported being employed full-time. Another three percent opted for a “service activity” such as the Peace Corps or the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.

For many seniors who are still unsure of their future career plans, graduate school or law school often represents a way to delay the inevitable reality of life after college. While more education is certainly not a bad thing, this approach is in some ways a flawed one. Undecided students shouldn’t jump into expensive, time-consuming programs simply because they appear to be a viable option during a period of ambiguity. Such a hasty and uncommitted decision could be a waste of money and time and may very well result in more questions than answers.

This isn’t to say that all seniors are better off taking a year to go “find themselves” in Bali. But time spent working, utilizing a post-grad internship or traveling can give valuable insight and life experience to students still figuring where they want to go in life, at least in the foreseeable future. The key is to make sure that the year counts and will be beneficial to future job or admissions applications.

Graduation marks the end of one chapter of life and the beginning of the next. As students write their own stories, it’s important to recognize this time as an opportunity to take chances and trips they may never be able to again. By all means, students intent on going to graduate school or rushing into the job market should do so. But seniors should not make that decision simply because there seems to be nothing else to do. In reality, the whole world is at their fingertips.

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