No, but it's not for everyone, and not everyone who it's right for is ready for it yet once they decide to go.
That would certainly be more forgiving if not for the cost (speaking from and for a context where there is a great cost - that's not everywhere). But as it is today, you're paying a life-altering sum of money for several years of access to the extraordinary resources that characterize a college. It's quite possible to get your money's worth, but just as easy to not. Nobody will navigate it perfectly. But the more conscientious, self-aware, and aware of the world around us we are when we go into it, the better we're able to use our time, and our time there is limited and as valuable as it is expensive.
I personally don't feel I used it for all it was worth, and regret not taking a gap year first, for the following reasons:
If you're thinking of going to college, but living is already a struggle, consider a gap year for healing. Consider therapy, journal, find out more about who you are, root out issues like anxiety and low self-esteem that can cloud your perception of what's important to you. Face down any unhealthy external situation you might be in, claiming the time and space you need to think about the future.
If you're thinking of going to college (for younger people thn OP), but find the financial bits hard to understand, aren't feeling the gravity of debt yet, and maybe have never had a job before, try a gap year educating yourself before you take the plunge. Work a temporary job and live on your own if you can, learn about money from experience. Then look at those loan applications again.
Don't feel bad about needing the time - faster is not always better (believe me, I know so hard). And set a concrete endpoint for the gap, a precise date to start applying again.