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How to spend gap year before applying for international relations?

Hello all,
I decided to take a year out before applying for international relations (not sure where depending on grades, AAA-ABB). If I don't find something better then I'll likely spend a year working in retail, but that's not great for the PS.
Any advice?
(PS I live in Liverpool)

Reply 1

pattyrobinss

Original post by kyledean99

Hi there, I am currently on my gap year and have the same issue you did. I was wondering what the outcome was and if you took a gap year, what did you do?

Reply 2

kyledean99

Hi Patty,

I did end up working a fair few hours at McDonald's in the gap year. Wouldn't recommend doing exactly that, but it had some benefits.

I made a decent sum of money (working somewhere between 24-48 hours per week) while paying nominal rent at home. The plan was to save for university, but I spent a lot on travelling, drinking, shopping, and a laptop (which I did actually need for university). It was a good year in that regard, and travelling (for the first time in my life) made it worthwhile.

Because I had the time, and no other studying to do, I also spent a lot of time reading in preparation for university, which as an IR student meant consuming a few years' worth of Foreign Affairs, The Economist every week, and a decent number of IR books. I also did some language learning which I've continued (on-and-off) to this day.

Doing UCAS applications was easier after getting my grades, as I didn't need to guess my grades and therefore didn't need 'insurance' choices in case results day surprised me. A lot of what I'd read in the year off fed into and probably improved my personal statement. I applied to four universities, and started at LSE the following September.

I went to university a lot more confident, both academically because I'd gotten so much reading done (in comparison to what I could while still doing A-levels), and personally as I'd had a year of full-ish-time work dealing with the general public.

If you can find work that relates to your interests, or just offers some more professional skills development even if it's not terribly relevant, then that'd be better than spending the year at McDonald's. You might be able to find something short-term or possibly voluntary that relates to what you're studying. That being said, taking a year where you have a good deal of free time to learn things that you wouldn't otherwise bother with is beneficial before university (when it's difficult to make time for anything besides your courses), and it's a good opportunity to travel (internationally, or perhaps to any university towns where you now have friends living) if you can set the cash aside to do so.

Original post by pattyrobinss

Hi there, I am currently on my gap year and have the same issue you did. I was wondering what the outcome was and if you took a gap year, what did you do?