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Should I take a gap year? I need to decide ASAP! :S

Hi so I achieved my predicted grades of AAAB ( in Maths, English Literature, Japanese and Chemistry) and therefore I exceeded my firm offer to study BA Economics and Japanese at the University of Leeds. I received my accommodation offer yesterday so I need to make a decision by the end of tomorrow.

I have been agonising over whether or not I should take a gap year because I have a lot of doubts about my course and Uni. Some of the reasons:
- I'll come out with a BA and not a BSc which apparently is looked more highly upon for economics.
- My course is based around beginners of Japanese so I feel like I may not be catered for well enough as a post-a level student as I am pretty fluent and did the A-level with minimal studying and few lessons (I had to negotiate these as my school did not run the course for my year) and got A's. I also came 3rd in a national speech contest last year etc.
- As my course offer is AAB and they also are lenient with people who miss their grades, I don't think i'll find anyone with a similar case to me
- I feel like i'm wasting all my achievements by not trying to get into a better Uni which is what I originally aimed for but then just got lazy lol (I have a lot of extra curricular achievements, I did 5 As levels last year and got AAABB, I got 7A*s and 4As at GCSE and I don't think I even put in a lot of effort - as in I could have worked a lot harder as I was and am very lazy)

Some reasons why I'm not sure about a gap year:
- I have nothing planned... I also feel like it could be a wasted year (this is a BIG worry for me) as pretty much everyone I know is going to University this year.
- I'm interested in pretty much all subjects which is why I found applying and writing a personal statement difficult last year! I feel like I'll just repeat that this year... (the course I really wanted to do this year was BASc Arts and Science at UCL but I didn't get an offer).
-AAAB is good but its not A*A*etc. So if I did take a gap year, do you think I should retake any exams and aim for A*s to get into better Uni's?
-If I take a gap year I won't want to do a 4 year course with study abroad which is what I originally wanted.

Okay sorry this is soooooo long but what do you think? Do you think I should ask the Uni to release me and think about applying somewhere better for next year (At the moment i'm interested in exeter's flexible combined honours, UCL's BASc etc)? Would a gap year be worth me trying to get into a top 10 Uni? Or do you think I'm being silly and that I should just stay at the University of Leeds on a course that requires lower grades than I have?

Thank you SO SO SO much for any advice/comments etc. :smile:
(edited 8 years ago)
Wow, I'm just sitting here with the ABB I got in complete awe. OK.

I don't want to turn this into a long reply, so I'll focus on replying to your main questions:
1. Should you reject your offer and apply somewhere better for next year?
You mentioned that you applied to UCL but didn't get the offer, which means that if you do reject Leed's offer and decide to re-apply to UCL, you'll have to retake your exams (which you asked about doing as well). If you ask me, there's nothing wrong with aspiring for the best. I'll also be going to the University of Leeds, and although it's not a top 10 university, it's still an amazing school and a degree from there will definitely not go to waste. However, as I said before, there's nothing wrong with aspiring for the best, so if you feel that you want to apply to a more competitive school, then that's your decision to make. That might mean re-taking your exams, which won't be easy, especially if you're "lazy" as you put it, so if you decide to take this route you need to make sure you motivate yourself to put in the work required to get into these schools. I like to think that a university degree, no matter where you got it, can take you places, it's just up to you and the opportunities you look for and the connections you make while studying. You could graduate with a degree from UCL but somehow find yourself with no employment prospects! This is unlikely to happen, but going to the best school does not guarantee a great future these days, you have to work hard to ensure that by the time you graduate, you have a plan in motion.

2. Would a gap year be worth you trying to get into a top 10 uni?
I did a gap year and there are so many ways you can make it worthwhile. The best part about a gap year is that you build your CV, there are a wealth of opportunities available to apply for, and it is amazing how much experience you can gain in one year. However, it's once again up to you to look for those opportunities. If you decide to take a gap year, I would first think of what you like to do and what field you want to gain experience in, if you begin your gap year opportunities search blind, you'll spend days researching what to do. There is just so much information available, you need to narrow it down by deciding what you want to spend the next couple of months doing (volunteering, an internship, traveling, etc).

On a final note, I don't think (and I might be biased but this is my opinion) you will be wasting anything going to the University of Leeds; it's not where you go that determines your success, it's how you use the experience and knowledge you gained in uni that determines your success! If you have any more questions, please ask :smile:

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