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Gap Year - What to do?

Seem to of placed myself in a pickle here...

Back in January, I was uncertain whether I actually wanted to go to uni, which uni I wanted to go to and even the course. By doing a little bit research, I did place in an offer and have been accepted into my firm choice for 2017. Looking into more details etc after I accepted my offer, I have now come to the conclusion that I really want to go to uni: for the course, for the experience etc.

Unfortunately, however, last week I seemed to have become isolated. Nearly all my friends have left for university and the pictures of them out and about meeting new people are starting to make me feel what I am missing out on. Furthermore, I feel in a really outgoing meet new people mood and am really up for socializing. My plan for the gap year is really just to get as much work as possible to enable me to sort out my finances. However, I feel this year will involve me being socially isolated most of the time and well, I really don't want to become a hermit and find in 2017 when I am off I don't know how to talk to people.

So, now for the questions. The above may just seem like rambling to you, but I just want to know the following:
1) Is anyone else regretting deferring their entry, if so why?
2) What are your plans for your gap year?
3) Anywhere you can go (abroad perhaps) which gets out out and about doing something for fairly cheap price? This could either be working abroad or a holiday out to somewhere.
4) Do you plan on meeting new people?

I only want to know because I don't just want this to be a gap year full of work, but then again I don't want to blow the sum of money I have saved for university onto an expensive holiday.
(edited 7 years ago)
I'm in the process of taking a gap year!

Advantages:
It's nice to take a break from education.
It's a very good way to get work experience (whether voluntary or paid), especially if it relates to your degree.
Also a good way to save money and learn how to budget yourself with your wages.
You have the advantage of knowing exactly where you are going to university (assuming you will have your A-levels) and will therefore have longer to prepare.

Disadvantages:
It's hard to get back into the routine of education.
Possibly difficult to apply through UCAS by yourself.

It does get very boring. The novelty of work and no college wears off very quickly!!

In my experience, I'm a little bored but it was definitely the best decision for me. I got a job in Sainsbury's, which pays very well, and I have been able to secure a transfer so I will have a job when I go to university. I feel a little left out that my friends have gone but I'll have my time!!
Reply 2
Avatar for elenaxxx
elenaxxx
7
Hey :smile:
Yeah I'm kinda in the same boat as u and totally get what u mean. I started working 2 weeks ago and haven't really made friends at work yet (everyone's nice but haven't really found time to get to know people very much) and I am started to feel quite isolated and bored. Also as you said seeing pics of friends at uni etc doesn't help. So in a way I do regret defering entry but I'm trying not to be negative about this as it was my choice and in my opinion you can only make thee best of an experience if you have a positive mindset :wink:
My plans: work till after christmas or smth then volunteer/travel/visit friends.
so far work is the only thing sorted as I have a volunteering placement however now not so sure about it so idk if i'll go or not. I would like to do conservation work abroad and visit whatever country I do that in, but still trying to find smth which will not eat up all my wages...
If you want to work abroad I think that can be a good idea and I know Bunac can help with that for a couple hundred pounds. If I find anything cheap for travelling I'll let u know :smile:
As far as meeting new people goes, I do definitely want to tho not sure exactly how/where. I was thinking of starting martial art classes and get to know people there. when looking at activities/classes i'm always a bit worried i be either with much younger or older people than myself - do you know how to pick classes of your age group (when age not specified)?

What course will you be doing at uni?

hope this helped a bit :h:
Have you thought about doing something like ICS or working on NCS? Or you could look for a position with a gap year company like Frontier. They would all be great ways to do something adventurous and get out and about.

They would look great on your CV and if you get a paid position then all the better. Just a thought :smile:
Original post by Khanthebrit
So, now for the questions. The above may just seem like rambling to you, but I just want to know the following:
1) Is anyone else regretting deferring their entry, if so why?
2) What are your plans for your gap year?
3) Anywhere you can go (abroad perhaps) which gets out out and about doing something for fairly cheap price? This could either be working abroad or a holiday out to somewhere.
4) Do you plan on meeting new people?

I just finished my gap year and now I'm at uni!

1) 100% do not regret it. September and October was really hard to deal with though, so I know what you're going through. I did slightly regret it during those two months, especially when it feels like your friends are moving on and don't want to speak to you any more. I can guarantee they will come back to you, in a sense, when they settle down with making new friends and start to have a slightly more stable life. If you can get through September and October of the year, you'll sail through the rest of your year and have a great time.
2) I mostly worked (like you!). My plan was to work for the most part, but go to visit my family in Los Angeles and go on a dream trip to Japan. After Japan in March, I really wanted to travel more, so went to six more countries by the start of July.
3) With hostels, it can actually be really cheap to travel! Working abroad is an option but can be a big commitment, but short holidays can have great rewards without being too financially taxing. I went to a lot of expensive places, so my holidays weren't the cheapest, but it's certainly doable if you wanted to tour Eastern Europe or similar. I did two 3-day breaks (Paris and Berlin) where I probably didn't spend more than £200 on everything for it. Even 12 days in Scandinavia cost me around £800 in total, and when you start working it doesn't seem like so much.
4) I didn't go out of my way to meet new people, but I did meet a lot of people I'm very friendly with through work, and when I started working full time interacting with them did help combat the isolation I felt.

I don't know how much you need to sort out your finances, but I worked a little under full time at a low paid job (36 hour weeks at £5.34/hr for the most part). I started the year with around £600, and I ended with holidays to eight countries totalling around 60 days of holiday and over £3,500 in savings. I wasn't actively saving money, but if I was I could've probably still done all eight countries and ended up with around £4,500 instead.

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