The Student Room Group

Are you glad you took a gap year?

The 'gap year' has always been a bit of a sticky issue. Frowned upon by parents and teachers wondering whether you'll ever get back into the 'learning' mentality, or conversely, seen as what could be the best year of your life so far.

I'm currently planning mine for this summer until uni in September in 2013 and really hope my choice will make me believe the latter by that time.:crossedf:
Would love to hear from people that have already taken one/people that are currently on one to see the pros and cons of your year out.

Thanks if you can help! :biggrin:

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Dunno why your teachers are so down on them - so long as you're doing something productive (i.e. not getting drunk in your hometown for 14 months straight) then they're good for you, your uni application (if you haven't already got a place) and your career.

I'm definitely glad I did mine - I had a fantastic time, have enough work experience that I will never struggle for a student / holiday job, and the unexpected twists and turns have got me interested in a potential career path for after uni!
Original post by dulciemae
The 'gap year' has always been a bit of a sticky issue. Frowned upon by parents and teachers wondering whether you'll ever get back into the 'learning' mentality, or conversely, seen as what could be the best year of your life so far.

I'm currently planning mine for this summer until uni in September in 2013 and really hope my choice will make me believe the latter by that time.:crossedf:
Would love to hear from people that have already taken one/people that are currently on one to see the pros and cons of your year out.

Thanks if you can help! :biggrin:


I really enjoyed mine, saved up money for uni which has been a real blessing as overdraft go quite quickly.
I think they are good for improving maturity and independence. I got kicked out the house while I was trying to get a job as a chalet host and ended up working in the UK for 4 months which was probably a better bet. Working abroad was fun and meant I was spending any of the money I had earnt so I could save it for Uni.
I found it a little challenging to go back to learning but not that bad.
Yes. I've hardly done anything productive but I feel I would have sort of burnt out if I'd gone straight to university after fourteen consecutive years of education.
Reply 4
Original post by dulciemae
The 'gap year' has always been a bit of a sticky issue. Frowned upon by parents and teachers wondering whether you'll ever get back into the 'learning' mentality, or conversely, seen as what could be the best year of your life so far.

I'm currently planning mine for this summer until uni in September in 2013 and really hope my choice will make me believe the latter by that time.:crossedf:
Would love to hear from people that have already taken one/people that are currently on one to see the pros and cons of your year out.

Thanks if you can help! :biggrin:


I'm on my gap year, I'm loving it. I've experience a lot of stuff and learnt alot too! It's only useful if a person does something productive

Whether its volunteering for a whole year or placement at a company, etc.
Reply 5
Original post by fourdigit
I'm on my gap year, I'm loving it. I've experience a lot of stuff and learnt alot too! It's only useful if a person does something productive

Whether its volunteering for a whole year or placement at a company, etc.


Ah great, that's good to hear! What have you been doing? :biggrin:
Reply 6
I'm on a gap year.

At first I was unsure but I definitely don't regret it and so far I'm really enjoying the experience. It's not amazing and a party everyday though. Surprisingly I'm quite busy. I'm working so getting proper experience as well as a fair bit of money that I can both spend and save. I wouldn't be in such a good position otherwise. I've met some really great people as well and gotten plenty of advice a d stories which have helped me decide on the Uni I'm choosing to go to as well.

I recieved all my offers even from great Unis which I doubted would really take notice of me. So all in all I think so far this has really worked out for me.

That being said you have to have a plan and stick to it. I think I was pretty lucky as after results day and after I decided on a gap year I found another job pretty quickly so I've been employed for the entirety of my gap year so far. It could be a bit of a downer if that's your plan but then struggle to find a job but the next best thing is volunteer work. You may not be getting paid but you get experience and most likely a bit of admiration. That stuff is priceless.

You could also travel too. I haven't done it personally so can't really comment. Friends have done it and really enjoyed it. Personally I didn't want to travel. Mainly due to expense (so me being broke before Uni) but also I didn't think it would be useful for me and I'd rather do it when I'm a bit older. But it really depends on what you want out of it.

Whatever you do have a plan though
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 7
Yeah, I'm glad I did mine (waaay back in 2008). I worked for the first time, and travelled independently.
I'm very glad I am on a gap year. Although I haven't been traveling the world or anything I have learnt so much about myself and others in this year, as well as working which will be very beneficial for me. Plus, it gives you a year to set your head straight and I think I will be more focused when I get to uni than if I had gone straight into it...my motivation in year 13 was not so great...but thats just me.
Reply 9
Original post by dulciemae
Ah great, that's good to hear! What have you been doing? :biggrin:


The list is so BIG, it will blow your mind but I'm travelling abroad but of course I'm being productive.

The effects of gap year, knowing what you want to do and a DRIVE is to have a plan.

Once you know your plan, execute it without any regret and try to be flexible throughout too.

So yeah, I do emphasis on having a plan, if you don't, you may regret it. You can do a lot in a year and when your enjoying it, it does fly by. Worrying, I know. If you double your age, you'd think years does fly by, so make the most of it whatever you plan to do.

It doesn't have to be travelling for you but it can be anything you want it to be. :smile:

I know most people think their time is too precious, for those workacholic people out there, but for those who are businessmen, or businesswomen, successful people, yes successful are those who I believe, have experienced it, seen it, felt it, lived it and be a part of it.
There's things I regret, but overall I love having this gap year. It's given me a new perspective on life, I've got a great voluntary job, met some great people, and it's given me more time to think about what I want from life. Thanks to this gap year, I ended up changing the course I wanted to do. I haven't travelled or anything because I can't afford it, but it's still been a good year.
Reply 11
I worked for two years before attending Uni as I only receive the bare minimum loan and was worried about money. I'm more financially stable and happier having had the space from education, I made so many friends, grew in confidence and most importantly I discovered I loved to teach!
I have so many happy memories, the only negative is I really miss the working world- something very alien to my fellow students!
Mine was an unplanned gap year but I don't regret it at all. It sounds like the most rubbish gap year in the history of gap years - I went on the dole and did volutary jobs during the 08'-09' recession - BUT it made me realise the realities of life and it made me more determined to get a better education so that I don't spend huge parts of my life like that again. So yeah, I grew up very quickly, learned to stand on my own to feet and to work hard.

I wouldn't want to do it again, but it's not something I regret/wish didn't happen, because it made me stronger and more determined.
Reply 13
Definitely the best thing I ever did.

Totally changed the way I thought about uni, I matured as a person, I didn't compromise on my uni choices by going through clearing and I have money.

Plus, I met my amazing boyfriend (ok, so this isn't guaranteed, but it may happen to you!)
Reply 14
Looking back ... are you kidding me?! What a question :biggrin: Changed my life, that's it :smile: Loved it (and in contrary to how people use the word "love" nowadays, I really, genuinely l-o-v-e-d it :smile:).
Reply 15
Original post by Sir Fox
Looking back ... are you kidding me?! What a question :biggrin: Changed my life, that's it :smile: Loved it (and in contrary to how people use the word "love" nowadays, I really, genuinely l-o-v-e-d it :smile:).


Wow well that's a good repsonse :biggrin: What did you do?
Reply 16
Original post by skunky x
Definitely the best thing I ever did.

Totally changed the way I thought about uni, I matured as a person, I didn't compromise on my uni choices by going through clearing and I have money.

Plus, I met my amazing boyfriend (ok, so this isn't guaranteed, but it may happen to you!)


Yeah, everytime I tell someone that one of the reasons i want to take a gap year is to earn a bit of money they're like, but "student loan" or "parents" but I hate relying on people for things, so I think getting a full-time job will confim how much I'll always want to be earning my own living.

Aha well that is lucky! How did you meet him?
Reply 17
Original post by fourdigit
The list is so BIG, it will blow your mind but I'm travelling abroad but of course I'm being productive.

The effects of gap year, knowing what you want to do and a DRIVE is to have a plan.

Once you know your plan, execute it without any regret and try to be flexible throughout too.

So yeah, I do emphasis on having a plan, if you don't, you may regret it. You can do a lot in a year and when your enjoying it, it does fly by. Worrying, I know. If you double your age, you'd think years does fly by, so make the most of it whatever you plan to do.

It doesn't have to be travelling for you but it can be anything you want it to be. :smile:

I know most people think their time is too precious, for those workacholic people out there, but for those who are businessmen, or businesswomen, successful people, yes successful are those who I believe, have experienced it, seen it, felt it, lived it and be a part of it.


Wow... so what did you do?! :biggrin: I know I need a plan, but it's thinking about what the plan consists of that is the difficult part.
I don't regret them overall (on my 2nd gap year), just wish I'd made more use of the time that's gone by. But my first gap year I don't think I could have done without, my Year 13 was a mess and I needed the space in a lot of ways, the most obvious one being to sort out my UCAS application in the way I wanted to. I worked part time and spent most of my time hanging out with my boyfriend - sounds boring, and I do wish I could've done more (if I had the money) but I know I'm going to remember that time fondly forever. I retook bits of my A levels but didn't study hard enough and though uni wanted me, they deferred me to 2012 entry because there wasn't enough space to fit in someone who'd missed their offer for 2011. So this gap year was unplanned. I've spent it so far working part time still, and visiting my boyfriend regularly at uni... I do really wish I'd done more but I didn't really have enough money to do some things I had in mind a few months ago, and pussied out of applying to things I wanted to do. I try not to be too hard on myself though, because it has been really difficult sometimes still being at home and at least I've worked hard and made the time and money to see my boyfriend regularly, which might seem lame but I can't ever regret working for my relationship. I'm planning to go away for a couple of months before uni in September. Hopefully will be good :smile: it does get me down sometimes to think of other people at uni/ people working with their friends around them/ people going on gap years that are packed with amazing experiences, but it's my life and I'm trying to make the best of it. I honestly couldn't've made it to uni if it weren't for my first gap year.
Reply 19
Original post by somethingbeautiful
Mine was an unplanned gap year but I don't regret it at all. It sounds like the most rubbish gap year in the history of gap years - I went on the dole and did volutary jobs during the 08'-09' recession - BUT it made me realise the realities of life and it made me more determined to get a better education so that I don't spend huge parts of my life like that again. So yeah, I grew up very quickly, learned to stand on my own to feet and to work hard.

I wouldn't want to do it again, but it's not something I regret/wish didn't happen, because it made me stronger and more determined.


You've pretty munched summed up my gap year. It's almost at It's end now but the suffering has made me stronger and more independent. I only done it because I wanted a second shot at applying for med school and being successful is just great, but I wasn't expecting such a change in my self. I've had a taste of the real world and its made me tougher.

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