[sofren]

Hi, I'm really interested in applying to university of edinburgh later this year, but I am just embarking on a gap year- was just wondering if this is at all commonplace? Considering the fact that courses are all 4 years in length and people in Scotland go to uni earlier? Would this affect me socially in that I might feel older? I'd love some feedback from any current students or just anyone in the know! Please help!

[oxymoronic]

(Original post by sofren)
Hi, I'm really interested in applying to university of edinburgh later this year, but I am just embarking on a gap year- was just wondering if this is at all commonplace? Considering the fact that courses are all 4 years in length and people in Scotland go to uni earlier? Would this affect me socially in that I might feel older? I'd love some feedback from any current students or just anyone in the know! Please help!

Yes, it's common place for people to have one or more gap years, no it doesn't affect these people socially. The only reason you'd feel older is because you put that as a barrier in your way. Once you get to university and beyond into the world of work you'll realise that age means nothing at all. I know some very mature 18 year olds and I also know some very immature 25 year olds where given the option I'd much prefer to live with the mature 18 year old than I would with the immature person who is technically my own age.

Also, people in Scotland don't "go to uni a year earlier". They have the option of going straight after Highers but a lot of people stay at school for 6th year and do AH so they're pretty much the same age as students from the rest of the UK when they start uni. I only knew of one Scot in my entire time at Edinburgh who hadn't done 6th year and this person had taken a gap year after their Highers, so they'd started at the same time as if they'd done 6th year anyway. The big thing is that some people aren't quite 18 once they start uni simply because the oldest people in the school year are born at the start of actual year (eg: Jan, but more often March) unlike in England where the oldest people are born in September. This means that there are still people who are turning 18 during the first semester of university, rather than having turned 18 the month before going to university.

[Carl Sagan]

Yeah I did the same. Just finished second year. Sucks that all my friends at English unis have graduated now though.

[limabean]

I took 2 gap years before starting at Edinburgh Uni. From my experience I have found that a lot of English students had taken a gap year, but have met only a few Scots who had taken gap years. I lived in a 12 person flat entirely of Scots and was almost 2 years older than most of them, but was the same age as most English students (from my course, other flats etc). I barely noticed the age difference - some of the boys of 17/18 were noticeably immature at times but mainly I was glad to have avoided the issue of being 17 at university! Considering that the majority of the uni is composed of English students you are more likely to meet people of the same age rather than finding yourself being older - my 12 person Scottish flat was quite unusual. I wouldn't let that put you off taking a gap year.