Gap Years - Talk to one of our reps: How a gap year impacted their career/future.

Find advice and guidance about taking gap years from one of our reps. Our reps have first hand experience with gap years and working with people on a gap year.

I myself ended up taking a gap year for 3 years and this has very much forged the start of my career path. Gap years can be a logical next step after your A-Levels and before starting University.

What are the benefits of taking a gap year?
What skills can I learn through work experience?
Does a gap year help my Uni application if I defer a year?

Drop any questions on your mind about gap years here and we will help you through your queries so we can attempt to help you arrive at the best decision for your next steps.

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 1

wanga_wanga

@helpp pls

Reply 2

Yipiyap_EthanP

Original post by wanga_wanga

@helpp pls

Hi Wanga,

I will do my best! What's your situation and hopefully I can provide some insights for you.

Reply 3

wanga_wanga

Original post by Yipiyap_EthanP

Hi Wanga,
I will do my best! What's your situation and hopefully I can provide some insights for you.

I can see the confusion but it was an attempt at a tag from someone elses username

Reply 4

Yipiyap_EthanP

Original post by wanga_wanga

I can see the confusion but it was an attempt at a tag from someone elses username

No problem at all - feel free to drop any questions if you do have any!

Reply 5

emrma

I’m currently thinking of taking a gap year! Mostly because I think I want to weigh out my options so having a full year to work, gather experience and understand what route I want to take would help🤷*♀️

For me, the cons that I can think of are; friends moving away, may be quite lonely, not sure what my family will think & still feel like there’s a taboo behind taking a gap year!

Any guidance/advice would be really appreciated :smile:

Reply 6

Yipiyap_EthanP

Original post by emrma

I’m currently thinking of taking a gap year! Mostly because I think I want to weigh out my options so having a full year to work, gather experience and understand what route I want to take would help🤷*♀️
For me, the cons that I can think of are; friends moving away, may be quite lonely, not sure what my family will think & still feel like there’s a taboo behind taking a gap year!
Any guidance/advice would be really appreciated :smile:

Hi there!

I can absolutely understand why you want to take a gap year and the implications of this. This was why I started my gap year too, amongst other reasons, but I wanted to gain real world experience and work out exactly what I want to do if I was to commit to University.

If anything, the cons aren't necessarily cons. I've met so many new people who I now consider friends whilst being on my gap year, and with the wonders of social media you can always keep in touch with friends who do move away. If you can find a job to work as well you won't feel lonely!

There is still a bit of a stigmatism around the world of gap years. Obviously, everyone's circumstances are different when it comes to parental acceptance - they only want the best for us. A Gap Year can normally help build independence and initiative if done correctly, as you're managing your own time and getting the most out of it that you can. If you were to do nothing during your year out this will look significantly worse than volunteering, working or travelling and gaining experiences you can take with you to Uni or into a workplace.

If I were you I'd have a conversation with your parents. They know you better than me and so will be able to advise you better. Do a bit of research about how to get the most out of your gap year and if you really want to take one run it past them.

For me, I worked as a tutor (and ended up doing 3 gap years in the end!) this had such a big impact on me and my future. Now I manage a team of tutors who support the region I grew up in and can take pride in the fact students benefit from what I do. If you can follow your passion then go for it.

Hopefully, some of this helps and gives you a few insights about what you can do.

Reply 7

Blehblah17171

Original post by Yipiyap_EthanP

Find advice and guidance about taking gap years from one of our reps. Our reps have first hand experience with gap years and working with people on a gap year.
I myself ended up taking a gap year for 3 years and this has very much forged the start of my career path. Gap years can be a logical next step after your A-Levels and before starting University.
What are the benefits of taking a gap year?
What skills can I learn through work experience?
Does a gap year help my Uni application if I defer a year?
Drop any questions on your mind about gap years here and we will help you through your queries so we can attempt to help you arrive at the best decision for your next steps.

Heya thanks for your help. here is my question:

I am an international applicant currently residing in the UK. My ucat did not go as planned last year so I am taking a gap year and rewriting it this year. Currently my A level exams are going on. After the exams I'm going to start preparing for ucat and do the ucat around august final week. After that I'm thinking about going back to my country (India) around september for 2 months-ish and spend some time there because I would not be able to go after my uni starts next year.So I will be submitting my ucas application while being in India andi am thinking of doing work experience and volunteering after I comeback (which would be after submitting my ucas application in India).I have done my share of my work experience and volunteering for the previous application cycle last year but for the new application I have only done 3 days of NHS work experience back in November 2023.However, I will be doing the required work experience and volunteering after sending in the ucas application tho probably around december-ish but I would not be able to add it onto my personal statement coz I have not done it yet.Would that be a problem coz at the time of submitting the ucas application I have done only 3 days of work experience to put on my personal statement? Would it seem like I have wasted my gap year without doing anything? Should I push my plans to visit for later?I will definitely be doing work experience and volunteering but it would be after I have sent in the application.