Exploring the Benefits of Taking a Gap Year
A gap year is a valuable opportunity to step out of formal education or work to travel, gain new experiences, and prepare for the future. Discover the reasons to consider a gap year, how it can enhance personal growth and readiness for university, and what universities have to say about its advantages. Understand how a gap year can empower you to earn money, mature, and make informed decisions while engaging in activities like volunteering and traveling. Learn how universities support and value students who take a structured break before pursuing higher education.
- Gap Year Benefits
- University Readiness
- Travel Experiences
- Personal Growth
- Volunteering Opportunities
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Presentation Transcript
So What is this Gap Year thing all about?
The basics A gap year is . Time taken out of formal education or employment by choice in order to travel, gain new experiences or prepare for future commitments. Gap years are most commonly taken between College and University, but can also be taken between college and employment or after university.
Why would you want to take a Gap Year? Earn/ save money Why Gain Life Time to Experience/skills mature Have time to decide
But wont it make it more difficult for me to apply for university? You can apply at the same time as everyone else, but choose the deferred entry option, which tells the universities you are applying to, that you want to take a year out first. OR You can apply from the September of your gap year.
Wont universities mind? NO Most universities approve of gap years here s what some of them say
What Universities say: Queens College, Cambridge University We think that time away from study between school and university offers students the chance to develop, mature and see something of the world
What Universities say: University of Leeds We find that most students who come to university after a Gap Year are much better prepared to concentrate on their studies and also have useful life experiences to bring to bear on the subject they are taking
What Universities say: University of London: Queen Mary college Research shows that students who take a well-planned, structured year out are more likely to be satisfied with their choice of course and, even better, more likely to complete it
What can you do on a gap year? Volunteering Work Travel Many students do a combination of these activities
So what could you do in terms of work? What's in for me: Add experiences to your C.V Part-time work some or all of the year Short term Temping through an agency Earn/save money Learn new skills Long term Temping through an agency A chance to try different work environments Full time some or all of the year
So what could you do in terms of volunteering? What s in for me: You get so do something completely different Can be in or outside UK Teaching English Abroad Develop new skills Organisation and management Aid Projects See somewhere new Conservation projects Good for your CV
So what could you do on a Gap Year Scheme? These are organised by a company/charity Expeditions world wide Expands your horizons Placements- Year in Industry, IBM pre- university experience, PriceWaterhouseCooper Gap year programme, BBC pre-university Experience scheme, Deloitte Scholarship scheme Meet new people Understand different cultures Learn new skills Projects e.g. Radio Journalism project in Ghana, Healthcare project in Mexico, Independence Work placements: Chalet Hosts, Dinghy Instructor with Mark Warner, au pair, to name but a few Adds an interesting story to your C.V
Sounds Good? But dont know where to start? Your Gap Year should be a productive year, you should get something out of it, but what that something is, is up to you. Deciding on your objectives can help you to plan what you want to do! Finding out what s out there, what you could do that appeals to you and how realistic it is. At the end of the day, if you don t plan it, you won t do it!!
Step 1 THINK OF YOUR OBJECTIVES This is really down to you, but some things to think about might be: Do I want to earn/save any money and if so how much? Is there a skill or ability I want to gain or get better at? How can I do that? Is there a place I want to see? where, and why do I want to see it What do I want, to be different about me, by the end of my gap year? Is there something that would be useful to me in the future, at university or in my career, that I should do What would that be?
Step 2 RESEARCH Internet Books/Library Word of mouth
Step 3 PLAN o Finances o Application deadlines o Logistics o Talking it through with the responsible adults in your life
Finally Only YOU can know if you want to take a Gap Year, and what you want to achieve in it! Decide on your objectives- what you want to do and DO the RESEARCH Not thinking, researching or planning, is likely to lead to an unremarkable year that you don t feel proud of. But if your objective is to earn money to make university easier and give yourself some breathing space, then it is perfectly acceptable to work for the year and get involved in stuff you love!
