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Should I risk a gap year?

I've received offers from all the unis I've applied for but tbh I'm not too sure if I even wanna go there. I feel like I have lowered my expectations, I had predicted my grades lower, out of purely not believing in myself, and ended up with a lot higher marks. Now I fear that I could have done a lot better and go to a much more prestigious university. I'm an international student so it's gonna be expensive regardless. I'm afraid of wasting my money and forever being unsatisfied and left with a feeling that I could have done so much better... I'd appreciate any help, I'm very desperate for any opinion since I'm a teenager with zero help from family or friends, I'm taking care of the application process all alone :frown:

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You could either:
-decline all your offers and use extra to apply to 1 more uni
- defer a year and give yourself more time to decide (you won’t have to decline all offers with this option)
- decline all your offers and reapply next year
Reply 2
Avatar for AlexAna
AlexAna
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Original post by WantBeAnonymous
You could either:
-decline all your offers and use extra to apply to 1 more uni
- defer a year and give yourself more time to decide (you won’t have to decline all offers with this option)
- decline all your offers and reapply next year

thank you sm! do you think that taking a gap year and reapplying can lower my chances of getting in ?
Reply 3
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Tres04
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Original post by AlexAna
thank you sm! do you think that taking a gap year and reapplying can lower my chances of getting in ?


Hi ! Congratulations on the offers you have got so far, to be honest with you if you are applying to a competitive subject such as medicine/dentistry etc.. I would recommend against a gap year as unis look lowly on this bus for anything else you should be fine and you shouldn’t have a problem with reapplying !
Original post by AlexAna
thank you sm! do you think that taking a gap year and reapplying can lower my chances of getting in ?

I think I heard people saying that it depends on what you do in the gap year. Because if you weren't doing anything relevant to your degree in this gap year, this could mean you're out of practice, so you would have to provide enough evidence to show that you were using the year resourcefully. Not sure on this though :biggrin:
Original post by AlexAna
thank you sm! do you think that taking a gap year and reapplying can lower my chances of getting in ?

What subject are you applying to study?
Reply 6
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AlexAna
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Original post by PQ
What subject are you applying to study?

physics and astronomy
Original post by Tres04
Hi ! Congratulations on the offers you have got so far, to be honest with you if you are applying to a competitive subject such as medicine/dentistry etc.. I would recommend against a gap year as unis look lowly on this bus for anything else you should be fine and you shouldn’t have a problem with reapplying !

Loads of medicine and dentistry applicants reapply during a gap year. It’s a great way to gain more relevant work experience and improve an application. It’s not something that universities have a problem with (with the sole exception of a few universities that dislike gap years from maths applicants)
Reply 8
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AlexAna
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Original post by cleveranimal56
I think I heard people saying that it depends on what you do in the gap year. Because if you weren't doing anything relevant to your degree in this gap year, this could mean you're out of practice, so you would have to provide enough evidence to show that you were using the year resourcefully. Not sure on this though :biggrin:

Oh no no, I'm planning to do the most out of the gap year for sure, definitely moving to UK and do things that could make my application better, even resitting finals/taking additional ones ! Idk I really feel like I will live with the regret of never trying, but what if i fail and I'll be left next year with zero offers ...
Original post by AlexAna
physics and astronomy

A gap year isn’t a problem. Especially if you use it well and take some moocs etc to stay engaged with your subject

But it’s worth exploring your options in extra and clearing this year first
(edited 3 years ago)
I'm planning on doing a gap year next year because I changed my mind what course I want to apply to..

Not only do I feel like im not mature enough yet but technically there has never been a better time with all the stupid restrictions which are likley to come back

And the masks and ****...
Reply 11
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AlexAna
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Original post by Tres04
Hi ! Congratulations on the offers you have got so far, to be honest with you if you are applying to a competitive subject such as medicine/dentistry etc.. I would recommend against a gap year as unis look lowly on this bus for anything else you should be fine and you shouldn’t have a problem with reapplying !

Thank you sm ! I'm applying for physics and astronomy. I have offers from uni of nottingham, southampton, newcastle, lancaster and i originally had ucl and ICL (my dream uni) in my choices but then I had a terrible moment of "theres no way my finals will go well"... but they did... i regret switching my choices so much but I fear that the gap year will ruin my chances of getting any offer next year
Reply 12
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AlexAna
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Original post by WantBeAnonymous
You could either:
-decline all your offers and use extra to apply to 1 more uni
- defer a year and give yourself more time to decide (you won’t have to decline all offers with this option)
- decline all your offers and reapply next year

Thank you!
Reply 13
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AlexAna
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Original post by Jonathanツ
I'm planning on doing a gap year next year because I changed my mind what course I want to apply to..

Not only do I feel like im not mature enough yet but technically there has never been a better time with all the stupid restrictions which are likley to come back

And the masks and ****...

I'm honestly thinking that too, in 2022 everything will probably be more sorted out than it is now, making me lean toward a gap year... where did you apply/ what for?
Reply 14
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AlexAna
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Original post by PQ
A gap year isn’t a problem. Especially if you use it well and take some moocs etc to stay engaged with your subject

But it’s worth exploring your options in extra and clearing this year first

Thank you! I'll look into it more!
Original post by AlexAna
I'm honestly thinking that too, in 2022 everything will probably be more sorted out than it is now, making me lean toward a gap year... where did you apply/ what for?


I applied to foundation years for physics so technically a gap year is even more of a delay to me getting a job (+2 years on top of the 3 it takes to get a degree)

But yeah this year it is not just internal push factors but also external ones (the global pandemic which is 100% going to still somehow effect our studies next year)
Original post by AlexAna
Thank you sm ! I'm applying for physics and astronomy. I have offers from uni of nottingham, southampton, newcastle, lancaster and i originally had ucl and ICL (my dream uni) in my choices but then I had a terrible moment of "theres no way my finals will go well"... but they did... i regret switching my choices so much but I fear that the gap year will ruin my chances of getting any offer next year

A gap year in itself is no problem but UCL and ICL won't view your application as competitive unless you achieve the A level grades they want in one sitting - A*A*A in the case of ICL or AAA for UCL.

Therefore, I would keep with the offers you have for now (they are good unis also) and see what grades you do achieve in the summer. If, for example, you achieve A*A*A you could withdraw from UCAS for this year at that stage, with a view to reapplying next year to Imperial and UCL.
(edited 3 years ago)
Reply 17
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AlexAna
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Original post by harrysbar
A gap year in itself is no problem but UCL and ICL won't view your application as competitive unless you achieve the A level grades they want in one sitting - A*A*A in the case of ICL or AAA for UCL.

Therefore, I would keep with the offers you have for now (they are good unis also) and see what grades you do achieve in the summer. If, for example, you achieve A*A*A you could withdraw from UCAS for this year at that stage, with a view to reapplying next year to Imperial and UCL.

Thank you! I'm not from UK so that's why if I want to go, I really want to be satisfied with the uni, since all of them cost £25k+ per year anyways... I guess I'll just wait for official grades and then see how it goes, thanks again!
Reply 18
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AlexAna
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Original post by PQ
A gap year isn’t a problem. Especially if you use it well and take some moocs etc to stay engaged with your subject

But it’s worth exploring your options in extra and clearing this year first

if I could ask one more question, how does deferring an offer work? ik I should contact uni about it, but does the offer just stay there in UCAS and the rest is declined, and I could for example keep this one and apply to 4 more unis next year? I can find enough info on that
If you do better than your expected you can apply to adjustment to apply to better unis without losing your current offers. You just have to be fast on the UK a level results day to talk to these unis

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