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regret takin a gap year

anyone? it seems like every1 is having fun though! But they must be some1 who regreted not goin to uni earlier?

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It would be easy for me to regret taking a gap year but i dont. My plan was to work till march then travel for rest of year but as its happened my travelling fell through due to political issues in the country and cant be relocated as my dads ill. Im stuck working now for the rest of the year with all my friends at uni or travelling. But still, I've earned money to make my life easier at uni and have met new people. I've also matured alot more as a person despite not actually having a 'life changing experience' abroad you know. So in answer- no I dont regret it heheh :biggrin:

Reply 2

Flicker

i honestly do not know anybody who has regretted taking a year out. why would you? you're still going to university, so you're not missing out, but you get there with a year's maturity, experience and generally a bit of money under your belt.

there's been a couple of times when i've felt a bit lonely with all my friends away...but i really have never wished i went straight from school. i know i'll be there next year and that's enough for me :smile:

Reply 3

Sooz

I simply could not imagine having gone to uni this year. I've loved having a gap year and believe that I'll get a lot more out of uni for having done it.

Reply 4

Latayah

do u fink u will be a whole lot mature than probably the other people that didnt take a gap year~? N will u not feel alot older than every1 except the mature students?

Reply 5

SophistiCat

I totally agree with everything people have said- I feel far more confident and about university and life in general- at least I know I can get and hold down a full-time job!
Although, in a way being more mature than other undergraduate school leavers may be a disadvantage- there's nothing worse than having to socialise with complete idiots!

Reply 6

Sooz

I think I'll be more mature in some ways i.e. I do think that I'll be able to work harder cos I'm used to doing a full time 9-5 but I would guess I'd probably be like that anyway. But about feeling older, I am quite young for my year anyway (birthday at the end of July) so I won't be that much older than most people. Also I didn't really feel like I was ready for uni anyway after A-levels but this year has allowed me to (sounds corny I know) 'find myself'. I've become much more confident in myself and in my abilities outside just academic things.

Reply 7

Flicker

Latayah

do u fink u will be a whole lot mature than probably the other people that didnt take a gap year~? N will u not feel alot older than every1 except the mature students?

everyone seems to have this preconception that it's a very small minority that don't go to uni straight from school, when this really isn't the case. many people have a year out - to travel, to work, to resit, or just because they hadn't decided what they wanted to do.

many people don't even intend to go to uni when they leave school but decide to a couple of years later when they're early 20s but still not classed as a "mature" student.

what i'm trying to get at is that i know there is no way i'll be the only 19 year old starting. i imagine i'll probably be of average age. my boyfriend was 20 when he started, and the youngest on his course!

so no, that doesn't bother me. the only thing that does is that yes, i am less tolerant of immaturity, having worked full time in a professional atmosphere for a year. but then there will be other people there who feel the same...

so i still maintain taking a gap year is the best thing to do! you get more out of it if you'er a bit more mature - you know how to handle deadlines and working if you've had a job and can get on better with lecturers.

Reply 8

Hutz

I am currently on a gap year. I have spent most of it working full time and saved up quite a lot of money. However, my job was getting me down so i quit a few weeks back and i'm having trouble finding a new one.

Luckily i have a group of friends who haven't gone to uni so i'm not on my own. I do get a bit jealous when my friends at uni come home and tell stories of what a fantastic time their having but i know i have that still to come.

One thing this year out has done is made me appreciate is how much i want to go to uni, there used to be a time when i was unsure. If i had the money to travel i may have done but at least my financial situation will be reasonable when september comes around.

Reply 9

SoulSecrets

I am currently on my gap year, and I'm having a great time. I am recently back from China, where I worked for 6 months teaching english, then I travelled around for a while afterwards. It was hands-down the most rewarding thing I could have imagined myself doing. It also gave me a better grasp of the importance of organisation and responsibilty, and increased my comfort with my own independance. I also know that I made an impact in the lives of many people, it is something I will never forget. I feel more assertive, open minded and ready for university life and pressure, and I'm glad I gave myself a break after the 13 years of education I endured prior to my constructive vacation!

Reply 10

dobbs

I agree with everything that has been said in this thread. I couldn't imagine NOT having taken a Gap Year! I mean, it was kinda forced upon me in that I didn't get the grades for neither my Firm or Insurance choices lol, but I re-sat my A-levels in January, worked full-time for a bit, then did Camp America.

At University now, there is probably about a 60-40 split between people who took gap years to people who didn't. Maybe even closer to 50-50! And the weird thing is is that you don't necessarily feel "older" or "more mature" than the people who DIDN'T take gap years. BUT you do form these special connections with the people who DID. For example, if I hear a song that we used to sing on camp back in America, I'll be like "OHMYGOD!!!", and the only people who would really understand that reaction are the people who, like me, had been on Gap Years and done some sort of similar project.

I don't know anyone who has regretted taking Gap Years. And I certainly don't myself! :smile:

Reply 11

Onearmedbandit

I don't think I necessarily regret taking one, but I wish I had more money already so I didn't have to spend all my time working.

Reply 12

Onearmedbandit

See most people here have been on trips and special gap year programmes... I went on a 4-day holiday to New York which I now feel bad about because it cost me abnout £1,000 in total. £400 for the flgiht & accommodation, £200 spending stuff and £400 for the days of work I missed :frown:

I was thinking of going to Prague sometime because it's great there and cheap but I'd still be losing a LOT of money.

Is there anything in the summer I can still apply to do? Is there a programme where I could actually make a profit?

Reply 13

Onearmedbandit

Latayah

do u fink u will be a whole lot mature than probably the other people that didnt take a gap year~? N will u not feel alot older than every1 except the mature students?

lol of course not :p:

What about 2nd, 3rd and 4th year students?

Reply 14

dobbs

Onearmedbandit

Is there a programme where I could actually make a profit?

Hahahahah! NO!!! Gap Year projects aren't there for you to make a profit...those are called JOBS! Gap Year projects are for you to mature and gain knowledge about the world in a variety of different ways, to build up confidence and responsibility.

It would be amazing if you could make a profit, but it seems like theres an inverse relationship between the enjoyment from something and how much money you get from it.

Ie. much enjoyment = low money (Gap year project)
Or not much enjoyment = high money (working in an office job for a year)

Also...there will be places you can still apply for. I'm sure BUNAC will still have places open, and I think that CCUSA will still be OK if you want to work with kids on summer camps in America :smile:

There'll also be plenty of UK-based things available I'm sure! But again - don't go looking for money, cos you ain't gonna find it!

Reply 15

undiscovered

You could work for full-time for 8 months or so, do a gap year project and still have loads of money left at the end. :smile:

Reply 16

dobbs

Don't count on it - I worked full time from the September until May of my gap year, but wasn't too wise with saving lol and since I was in America over the summer I spent absolutely loads on travelling and stuff

Ended up starting university with a bank account at MINUS £200 whoospie! :rolleyes:

hehe

Reply 17

Sooz

dobbs

Ie. much enjoyment = low money (Gap year project)
Or not much enjoyment = high money (working in an office job for a year)

Well I'm working for a year and I'm getting lots of enjoyment out of it

Reply 18

dobbs

Sooz

Well I'm working for a year and I'm getting lots of enjoyment out of it

There's always one isn't there :rolleyes:

Where do you work?

In my experience, which true is only specific to my personal experience, when you get a job in a gap year, it doesn't tend to be the best job in the world. And even if you "enjoy" a job, it usually doesn't come anywhere near to the kind of enjoyment you get from doing a "Gap Year" kind of thing - being paid less for doing something like teaching kids or providing healthcare in a developing country gives you a massive amount of enjoyment. I was paid very poor wages for doing Camp America but I've never felt better about doing ANYTHING else!!

Again....it's not the same for everyone....I tend to believe the saying "It's not what you know, it's who you know" - if I knew the right people then I could've had an amazing job during my Gap Year. Unfortunately, I know no-one! lol :frown:

Reply 19

Sooz

I'm doing a Year in Industry job so it's not just an office job type thing. I really like the people I work with and where I work so that helps as well. I know these "gap year projects" do bring a lot of enjoyment also but I wouldn't have actually been able to afford most of them anyway. Also they may not suit everyone in enjoyment terms (i.e. they may not enjoy being away from home or things like that). I think that a combination of travelling and working is really the best thing to do.