People that took a gap year before university
2. How did it help your application?
3. Do unis accept a deferred entry?
4. Why would you/would not recommend it?
5. Any advice?
2. How did it help your application?
3. Do unis accept a deferred entry?
4. Why would you/would not recommend it?
5. Ant advice?
I think we need an FAQ section for this.
1. What did you do in the year?
When I did my gap year (between undergrad and postgrad), I spent most of the year earning money because uni wasn't cheap. Looking back I kind of wished that I did something different.
2. How did it help your application?
No, because I didn't do anything related to what I was studying. Having said that, I didn't need to do anything specific for the degree.
3. Do unis accept a deferred entry?
Yes, but it will annoy a number of universities to my knowledge. If you deferred entry at a top end university in a competitive course, it's likely you will lose you place to my understanding. Having said that, I do not work in uni administration, so I can't say. It will also depend on the individual university and the person who decides on your application. You might want to get a second opinion on this.
4. Why would you/would not recommend it?
I recommend the gap year if you don't know what you want to do for your undergrad. You would need to do some soul searching to see if uni is right for you, and whether you really want to do the degree. A number of students who go into uni do it because:
•
It's what everybody is doing
•
Think they will get better job prospects because of it
•
Want to do something related to the degree even if it's not required for the field that they want to get into
•
Have a sense of accomplishment
•
Party for another 3 years before going into the world of work
Those who do a degree for the sake of it end up hating their degree by the time they get into their third year.
I recommend it for your postgrad if it's particularly expensive and you need financial assistance with the debt you have accumulated from your undergrad. You would also need to be sure if doing a postgrad in the subject is something you really want to do, since most of the jobs that postgrad allows you to get into tend to either for something completely different to your undergrad, something a lot more senior, or something academic.
5. Any advice?
I have a long list of things that I kind of wished I did during my gap year. These included:
•
Go and work/volunteer in the sector that you want to later get a job in after your degree
•
Get a qualification that would help with getting higher paying work beyond minimum wage (irrespective of whether it's related to your chosen career or not) or helps you further supplement your ability to get the job you want after your degree
•
Do extra A Levels
•
Write (book, play, novel, whatever)
•
Vlog your experiences - travel maybe?
•
Travel abroad (allowing for Covid restrictions)
•
Start a side business - check to see if your university would allow you to continue running your business during uni
•
Learn a language - particularly consider language immersion courses where you travel as well as learn
•
Travel abroad to volunteer (consider saving up £2k to do this)
•
Work abroad e.g. hospitality, construction, translation, etc.
•
See relatives and extended families
•
Anything on your bucket list
•
Go on an experience day
•
Pick up new skills - especially if it brings in a lot of income and is in high demand for the next 5-10 years
•
Paint/anything arty (especially if you need a portfolio of some sort)
•
Compose music
•
Go on a day experience - see Virgin, Red Letter Days, etc.
•
Take etiquette lessons - it's rare to see someone do this
•
Design a game, website, app, whatever IT related (especially if you need a portfolio of some sort)
•
Create a course
•
Learn to dance (in whatever style you want)
•
Eat particular types of foods (or a food bucket list) from all parts of the world
•
Learn to cook
•
Learn to sell and market
•
Learn how to get a job
•
Read certain books in literature and nonfiction that are highly prized/considered classics
•
Watch movies that are acclaimed and are in the top 100
•
Try to help turn a homeless person's life around (through a charity - it can be dangerous)
•
Volunteer at a theatre
•
Work on a cruiseliner (won't be able to leave the ship for X months, but you get quite a bit of money - don't waste it all)
•
Volunteer at the university that you want to study at as a research assistant
•
Become a life coach
•
Make a low budget film
•
Learn a sport
•
Learn public speaking
•
Learn data science/analysis
•
Learn an instrument - not necessarily master it; that will take years
•
Become the fittest that you ever been (not thinnest) - at least clean up your diet
•
Grow your own food - e.g. allotment if you don't have the space in your garden
•
Build a shed
•
Assemble a computer
•
Tutor people
•
Do X for charity e.g. marathon, cycle, walk, whatever
•
Make your own wine/cheese
•
Learn to manage your finances and investments
•
Confront any fears that you might have
Qualifications that you can look into getting:
•
Personal trainer qualifications
•
Sports coaching - I had friends who have certificates for football, basketball, etc. You will need to be at least level 2 in order to coach in a sport
•
Professional IT certificates
•
Start your professional accounting qualification (depending on the accounting body, you might get a standalone qualification after completing X number of papers) e.g. ACCA, CIMA, ACA; consider AAT Level 3 if you are not going to do an accounting degree or want a full on accounting qualification yet
•
SCAE, tea sommelier, cheese connoiseur, wine sommelier, beer sommelier/cicerone, sake sommelier, whiskey amabasador, mixology - anything else related to drinking and food
•
Chef qualification from a brand name institution e.g. Cordon Bleu
•
CILEx for law at Level 3
•
Marketing e.g. IDM, CIM, IPA at Level 3
•
CIPD Level 3 for HR
•
Licenses - fancy driving a motorcycle, lorry, forklift, bus?
•
Finance related qualifications e.g. Anything by CII, CISI, LIBF, CeMap up to level 4
•
Bartending certificates - some bartending schools will allow you to work with them upon completing their course e.g. European Bartending School (which also has bars across the world)
•
Something related to health and wellbeing e.g. reflexology
•
Anything in construction and trades at your local adult college (you should be able to start at Level 3)
•
Language Certificates - recognised by the country they originate from e.g. DALF or Frantastique if you have already done A Level French
•
Counselling Level 3
Having said that, a gap year only lasts for a year and you have the rest of your life to live, so I would have narrowed it down to 2-3 things.
If you're particularly set on a specific career path, then it would make a lot of sense to go on an internship or get some sort of job related to the role you want, especially if it's really competitive. For example, spend more time working in hospitals if you want to become a doctor, spend more time working in a vet practice if you want to become a vet, work as a junior bookkeeper at an accounting practice, work as a research asssitant in academia, or spend time working in investment banking if you want to later work there.
1. What did you do in the year?
When I did my gap year (between undergrad and postgrad), I spent most of the year earning money because uni wasn't cheap. Looking back I kind of wished that I did something different.
2. How did it help your application?
No, because I didn't do anything related to what I was studying. Having said that, I didn't need to do anything specific for the degree.
3. Do unis accept a deferred entry?
Yes, but it will annoy a number of universities to my knowledge. If you deferred entry at a top end university in a competitive course, it's likely you will lose you place to my understanding. Having said that, I do not work in uni administration, so I can't say. It will also depend on the individual university and the person who decides on your application. You might want to get a second opinion on this.
4. Why would you/would not recommend it?
I recommend the gap year if you don't know what you want to do for your undergrad. You would need to do some soul searching to see if uni is right for you, and whether you really want to do the degree. A number of students who go into uni do it because:
•
It's what everybody is doing
•
Think they will get better job prospects because of it
•
Want to do something related to the degree even if it's not required for the field that they want to get into
•
Have a sense of accomplishment
•
Party for another 3 years before going into the world of work
Those who do a degree for the sake of it end up hating their degree by the time they get into their third year.
I recommend it for your postgrad if it's particularly expensive and you need financial assistance with the debt you have accumulated from your undergrad. You would also need to be sure if doing a postgrad in the subject is something you really want to do, since most of the jobs that postgrad allows you to get into tend to either for something completely different to your undergrad, something a lot more senior, or something academic.
5. Any advice?
I have a long list of things that I kind of wished I did during my gap year. These included:
•
Go and work/volunteer in the sector that you want to later get a job in after your degree
•
Get a qualification that would help with getting higher paying work beyond minimum wage (irrespective of whether it's related to your chosen career or not) or helps you further supplement your ability to get the job you want after your degree
•
Do extra A Levels
•
Write (book, play, novel, whatever)
•
Vlog your experiences - travel maybe?
•
Travel abroad (allowing for Covid restrictions)
•
Start a side business - check to see if your university would allow you to continue running your business during uni
•
Learn a language - particularly consider language immersion courses where you travel as well as learn
•
Travel abroad to volunteer (consider saving up £2k to do this)
•
Work abroad e.g. hospitality, construction, translation, etc.
•
See relatives and extended families
•
Anything on your bucket list
•
Go on an experience day
•
Pick up new skills - especially if it brings in a lot of income and is in high demand for the next 5-10 years
•
Paint/anything arty (especially if you need a portfolio of some sort)
•
Compose music
•
Go on a day experience - see Virgin, Red Letter Days, etc.
•
Take etiquette lessons - it's rare to see someone do this
•
Design a game, website, app, whatever IT related (especially if you need a portfolio of some sort)
•
Create a course
•
Learn to dance (in whatever style you want)
•
Eat particular types of foods (or a food bucket list) from all parts of the world
•
Learn to cook
•
Learn to sell and market
•
Learn how to get a job
•
Read certain books in literature and nonfiction that are highly prized/considered classics
•
Watch movies that are acclaimed and are in the top 100
•
Try to help turn a homeless person's life around (through a charity - it can be dangerous)
•
Volunteer at a theatre
•
Work on a cruiseliner (won't be able to leave the ship for X months, but you get quite a bit of money - don't waste it all)
•
Volunteer at the university that you want to study at as a research assistant
•
Become a life coach
•
Make a low budget film
•
Learn a sport
•
Learn public speaking
•
Learn data science/analysis
•
Learn an instrument - not necessarily master it; that will take years
•
Become the fittest that you ever been (not thinnest) - at least clean up your diet
•
Grow your own food - e.g. allotment if you don't have the space in your garden
•
Build a shed
•
Assemble a computer
•
Tutor people
•
Do X for charity e.g. marathon, cycle, walk, whatever
•
Make your own wine/cheese
•
Learn to manage your finances and investments
•
Confront any fears that you might have
Qualifications that you can look into getting:
•
Personal trainer qualifications
•
Sports coaching - I had friends who have certificates for football, basketball, etc. You will need to be at least level 2 in order to coach in a sport
•
Professional IT certificates
•
Start your professional accounting qualification (depending on the accounting body, you might get a standalone qualification after completing X number of papers) e.g. ACCA, CIMA, ACA; consider AAT Level 3 if you are not going to do an accounting degree or want a full on accounting qualification yet
•
SCAE, tea sommelier, cheese connoiseur, wine sommelier, beer sommelier/cicerone, sake sommelier, whiskey amabasador, mixology - anything else related to drinking and food
•
Chef qualification from a brand name institution e.g. Cordon Bleu
•
CILEx for law at Level 3
•
Marketing e.g. IDM, CIM, IPA at Level 3
•
CIPD Level 3 for HR
•
Licenses - fancy driving a motorcycle, lorry, forklift, bus?
•
Finance related qualifications e.g. Anything by CII, CISI, LIBF, CeMap up to level 4
•
Bartending certificates - some bartending schools will allow you to work with them upon completing their course e.g. European Bartending School (which also has bars across the world)
•
Something related to health and wellbeing e.g. reflexology
•
Anything in construction and trades at your local adult college (you should be able to start at Level 3)
•
Language Certificates - recognised by the country they originate from e.g. DALF or Frantastique if you have already done A Level French
•
Counselling Level 3
Having said that, a gap year only lasts for a year and you have the rest of your life to live, so I would have narrowed it down to 2-3 things.
If you're particularly set on a specific career path, then it would make a lot of sense to go on an internship or get some sort of job related to the role you want, especially if it's really competitive. For example, spend more time working in hospitals if you want to become a doctor, spend more time working in a vet practice if you want to become a vet, work as a junior bookkeeper at an accounting practice, work as a research asssitant in academia, or spend time working in investment banking if you want to later work there.
Thank you so so much!!
1. What did you do in the year?
When I did my gap year (between undergrad and postgrad), I spent most of the year earning money because uni wasn't cheap. Looking back I kind of wished that I did something different.
2. How did it help your application?
No, because I didn't do anything related to what I was studying. Having said that, I didn't need to do anything specific for the degree.
3. Do unis accept a deferred entry?
Yes, but it will annoy a number of universities to my knowledge. If you deferred entry at a top end university in a competitive course, it's likely you will lose you place to my understanding. Having said that, I do not work in uni administration, so I can't say. It will also depend on the individual university and the person who decides on your application. You might want to get a second opinion on this.
4. Why would you/would not recommend it?
I recommend the gap year if you don't know what you want to do for your undergrad. You would need to do some soul searching to see if uni is right for you, and whether you really want to do the degree. A number of students who go into uni do it because:
•
It's what everybody is doing
•
Think they will get better job prospects because of it
•
Want to do something related to the degree even if it's not required for the field that they want to get into
•
Have a sense of accomplishment
•
Party for another 3 years before going into the world of work
Those who do a degree for the sake of it end up hating their degree by the time they get into their third year.
I recommend it for your postgrad if it's particularly expensive and you need financial assistance with the debt you have accumulated from your undergrad. You would also need to be sure if doing a postgrad in the subject is something you really want to do, since most of the jobs that postgrad allows you to get into tend to either for something completely different to your undergrad, something a lot more senior, or something academic.
5. Any advice?
I have a long list of things that I kind of wished I did during my gap year. These included:
•
Go and work/volunteer in the sector that you want to later get a job in after your degree
•
Get a qualification that would help with getting higher paying work beyond minimum wage (irrespective of whether it's related to your chosen career or not) or helps you further supplement your ability to get the job you want after your degree
•
Do extra A Levels
•
Write (book, play, novel, whatever)
•
Vlog your experiences - travel maybe?
•
Travel abroad (allowing for Covid restrictions)
•
Start a side business - check to see if your university would allow you to continue running your business during uni
•
Learn a language - particularly consider language immersion courses where you travel as well as learn
•
Travel abroad to volunteer (consider saving up £2k to do this)
•
Work abroad e.g. hospitality, construction, translation, etc.
•
See relatives and extended families
•
Anything on your bucket list
•
Go on an experience day
•
Pick up new skills - especially if it brings in a lot of income and is in high demand for the next 5-10 years
•
Paint/anything arty (especially if you need a portfolio of some sort)
•
Compose music
•
Go on a day experience - see Virgin, Red Letter Days, etc.
•
Take etiquette lessons - it's rare to see someone do this
•
Design a game, website, app, whatever IT related (especially if you need a portfolio of some sort)
•
Create a course
•
Learn to dance (in whatever style you want)
•
Eat particular types of foods (or a food bucket list) from all parts of the world
•
Learn to cook
•
Learn to sell and market
•
Learn how to get a job
•
Read certain books in literature and nonfiction that are highly prized/considered classics
•
Watch movies that are acclaimed and are in the top 100
•
Try to help turn a homeless person's life around (through a charity - it can be dangerous)
•
Volunteer at a theatre
•
Work on a cruiseliner (won't be able to leave the ship for X months, but you get quite a bit of money - don't waste it all)
•
Volunteer at the university that you want to study at as a research assistant
•
Become a life coach
•
Make a low budget film
•
Learn a sport
•
Learn public speaking
•
Learn data science/analysis
•
Learn an instrument - not necessarily master it; that will take years
•
Become the fittest that you ever been (not thinnest) - at least clean up your diet
•
Grow your own food - e.g. allotment if you don't have the space in your garden
•
Build a shed
•
Assemble a computer
•
Tutor people
•
Do X for charity e.g. marathon, cycle, walk, whatever
•
Make your own wine/cheese
•
Learn to manage your finances and investments
•
Confront any fears that you might have
Qualifications that you can look into getting:
•
Personal trainer qualifications
•
Sports coaching - I had friends who have certificates for football, basketball, etc. You will need to be at least level 2 in order to coach in a sport
•
Professional IT certificates
•
Start your professional accounting qualification (depending on the accounting body, you might get a standalone qualification after completing X number of papers) e.g. ACCA, CIMA, ACA; consider AAT Level 3 if you are not going to do an accounting degree or want a full on accounting qualification yet
•
SCAE, tea sommelier, cheese connoiseur, wine sommelier, beer sommelier/cicerone, sake sommelier, whiskey amabasador, mixology - anything else related to drinking and food
•
Chef qualification from a brand name institution e.g. Cordon Bleu
•
CILEx for law at Level 3
•
Marketing e.g. IDM, CIM, IPA at Level 3
•
CIPD Level 3 for HR
•
Licenses - fancy driving a motorcycle, lorry, forklift, bus?
•
Finance related qualifications e.g. Anything by CII, CISI, LIBF, CeMap up to level 4
•
Bartending certificates - some bartending schools will allow you to work with them upon completing their course e.g. European Bartending School (which also has bars across the world)
•
Something related to health and wellbeing e.g. reflexology
•
Anything in construction and trades at your local adult college (you should be able to start at Level 3)
•
Language Certificates - recognised by the country they originate from e.g. DALF or Frantastique if you have already done A Level French
•
Counselling Level 3
Having said that, a gap year only lasts for a year and you have the rest of your life to live, so I would have narrowed it down to 2-3 things.
If you're particularly set on a specific career path, then it would make a lot of sense to go on an internship or get some sort of job related to the role you want, especially if it's really competitive. For example, spend more time working in hospitals if you want to become a doctor, spend more time working in a vet practice if you want to become a vet, work as a junior bookkeeper at an accounting practice, work as a research asssitant in academia, or spend time working in investment banking if you want to later work there.
which subject are u studying for post grad?
I studied economics and finance related subjects.
However, I am going back to do an undergrad now.
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