The Gap Year
What is a gap year ?
Who is it for ?
How long does it last ?
Advantages of taking a GAP year
Disadvantages of taking a GAP year
A Post Grad GAP ?
What can you do ?
Planning for a GAP year
Obtaining more Information
Financing a GAP year
GAP year experiences
Useful Links
What
is a Gap Year?
A Gap year is a year’s break from studies normally interspersed between the end of
Y13 and the first year of Higher Education i.e. saying at the end of Y13 exams in June
that you want a break until September of the following year.
A gap year, or year off, is increasingly popular among sixth
formers who want a break from the pressures of A-levels.
Approximately 35% from independent schools + 15% from
maintained school make this choice.
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Who is it for?
Anybody!
A gap year is:-
- Not dependent on whether going into H.E. or the world of work
- Not dependent on whether aiming for high grades in Y13 or not
finding the going easy – i.e. not dependent on ability.
- Not dependant on financial background
- Not dependant on linguistic ability
- Not dependent on whether you are male or female
Indeed in more than one independent school, all their leavers
apply for a gap year before university!
In 1999, there were 26,000 deferred places (6.6% of those
accepted in 1999) out of 432,553 applications for H.E. starting in September 1999. This
percentage is increasing every year.
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Is it really a
year?
You may be having a year’s break but many of the schemes available are
short-term - a few weeks, most a few months, not very often a year – the problem
being for many raising the money if you are thinking of going a long way from home.
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For and against a Gap year
Some parents encourage the year out. Others are not sure whether it is a good
choice. What are the arguments for and against?
Advantages
1 Self-reliance.
Unless you spend the entire year commuting from home to a workplace you will
experience living away from home or school, learning to look after yourself and coping
with situations on your own – an excellent preparation for college and working life
N.B. This does not mean that if you do work for the whole
year from home, you will not get self-reliance – it means that if you do experience
life, you will!
2 Maturity
This will almost certainly result from getting out in the world and working in a
different environment, meeting people from lots of different backgrounds and perhaps
learning from at first hand about problems experienced by those less fortunate than
yourselves
3 Teamwork
Whether working for pay, volunteering or travelling with a small group, you will
learn to work as part of a team and to make your own contribution – surely a useful
experience for working life
However no-one is saying that Gap year students are better
than any other student – sixth form tutors in this school have been reading personal
statements and writing references for students who have no intention of doing a gap year
but who we know have had and will continue to have enriching and profitable times in
Higher Education. They have good teamwork skills, skills of leadership, self-confidence,
communication and it is rewarding to see the same sorts of skill that doing a gap year
brings already in students here.
4 Managing money and making
plans
Deciding what to do with your year, working out a budget for travel, organising
your own itinerary, trying to make sure that you don’t run out of money – all
these activities develop useful skills
5 Thinking time
Away from school and exam pressures, you have time to think about your future and
to be sure about your university choice. It is less of a problem to change your mind
before you have committed yourself than to decide you’re on the wrong track when
you’ve already started. Your experience in the few months after leaving school might
prompt an interest in a vocational course, travel might lead to an interest in a
particular language or culture, you might decide to switch from a full-time course to a
sandwich course – whatever you decide, you will return to academic life refreshed and
well-motivated.
Also, taking a year out does not depend on qualifications
– ability is only one aspect of the C.V. you will have to fill in – (unlike H.E.
application forms!)
6 Course-related experience
You might be able to do something that gives you an insight into your chosen
subject – language skills or knowledge of a country are obvious examples, but you
might for example learn about architecture, art history, hospital or social work,
environmental sciences, engineering or other aspects of industry or commerce
7 Money to study
Increasingly students use part of their gap year to earn money to help them through
their courses
8 Other people
Used positively, a year out can greatly impress an employer or admissions tutors.
Anything which provides experience of the working environment
in general or of working in a chosen field will impress future employers who are always
interested in candidates who have spent some time usefully outside the academic world.
Indeed, many national and international organisations recognise the transferable
life-skills and attributes which graduates need for new careers and which a Gap year
experience can bring. GAP Activity Projects has a Business Partnership scheme which
encourages past GAP volunteers to contact them when they come to make career choices or
enter the world of work.
Many university admissions tutors attach importance to
predicted grades, the school reference and the personal statement but also to the
maturity, self-confidence and motivation of students who have taken a year out.
How would an admissions tutor react to the following extracts
from personal statements?
"Next year I intend to take a year out in Zimbabwe
to do voluntary work as an assistant teacher. I believe it will be a wonderful opportunity
for me to experience another country and make new friends whilst helping the
community" – Future medic
"During my gap year I would like to travel and work
abroad. I am hoping to spend 6 months in France to improve my fluency in the language and
I am also seriously considering the BUNAC Work Australia scheme" – Future
lawyer
"I am taking a gap year to teach English in Namibia
for eight months. This will not only give me the opportunity to experience a new culture
whilst developing my interest in the study of English, but it also offers the chance to
continue my interest in languages. I will have to learn the basic Afrikaans in order to be
able to teach the students" – future
English teacher
9 A break
You have probably worked hard for four years from Y10 to Y13 for examinations - 4
solid years of pressure, accountability and study. You will have ahead of you at least 3
more, possibly living away from home. Do you need a break?
After H.E, you will probably want to go straight into the
world of work (security of employment, income to splash out after years of austerity,
paying off those student loans and overdraft, possible further vocational qualifications
and study, family commitments, marriage, mortgages). Will you ever realistically be in the
same position again to take a year out later on in life? Almost certainly not! So why
waste an opportunity which many people older than you had wished they had taken!
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Disadvantages
1 Time
A gap year adds to the length of an already long higher education and training
route – for this reason it is not attractive to some students of medicine, dentistry,
architecture, veterinary science and law, for example, although many students in these
subjects have benefited from a year out.
2 Continuity
Some maths and science tutors advise against a break for their students, believing
that their study should not be interrupted and that they might go "off the
boil". Not all share this view. – e.g. Birmingham and at least 15 other
universities have accepted maths undergraduates who have done a gap year.
3 Distraction
Parents feel that students might be distracted and lose interest in higher
education – in fact, only a few decide against going into higher education at the end
of a gap year ( the disappointment rate / drop-out rate combined runs at less than 3% with
the GAP Activity Projects scheme). It could be argued that these students are likely to
have dropped out anyway during their courses through no real motivation – some of
these will take up their studies at a later date, especially if they don’t find
satisfying work on the strength of their A levels
4 Recession
During a recession parents and students might feel that it is better to go to
higher education and get qualified as soon as possible. Furthermore one of the effects in
a recession is that there are fewer good temporary jobs to come by anyway to help with the
gap year financing
5 Time to plan
You need to think early about how to use the year profitably or it could be time
wasted. There are many, many opportunities for a gap year and they need thinking through.
You have to plan ahead as some of the more popular schemes in popular places get filled up
early - you may not be able to think about this if your priority is your school-work.
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Should I do a
Post-grad gap year?
This can work well with all the advantages mentioned above but there are real
dangers especially if there are scarce graduate vacancies:-
- You are "away from base" during the employers’
main recruitment periods – the ‘milk round’
- You are up against next year’s graduates, making it even
more imperative that you can points to real benefits gained in terms of maturity and
motivation in choosing a career.
You could apply for jobs at the normal time and ask for a
deferment for six months / a year. This is not common but can happen – enlightened
employers who are really keen on a particular candidate will sometimes accept convincing
arguments for a well-planned break before ‘serious’ work begins.
- You may have to pay off debts accrued as a student. You might
need the money to go straight into the world of work and not pay for a gap year.
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What can you do?
There are a host of opportunities available so, broadly
speaking, what can you do?
1 Paid work to help out with studying costs e.g. Year in
Industry scheme with the John Moores Foundation (paid work experience in engineering,
business science or computing for one year)
2 Working for a sponsoring company if you are being sponsored
3. Specific skills – word processing, computing,
learning a foreign language, gaining practical experience in industry or commerce
4.Include a working holiday at home or abroad
- environmental or conservation project
- assisting with activities with children or disabled adults
- kibbutzim
- community work
- workcamps and summer projects (e.g. Camp America, BUNAC)
- an academic year abroad (e.g. the USA)
- voluntary work (e.g. work in children’s homes, hospitals
decorating for the elderly, running a playscheme, clearing out a pond, clearing woodland)
- au pair
- adventure or outward-bound type experience (e.g. Raleigh
International, Frontiers)
- travel – some organisations combine getting you work with
your desire to travel (e,g, WorkAustralia)
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Time to plan
Careful planning in advance pays dividends – many sixth-formers feel that
hours spent on planning gap year enquiries when they are busy revising for A levels or
doing personal statements is time-wasting and a distraction – it is worth thinking
seriously about the gap year in Y12 .
There are early closing dates for some of the more popular schemes – it can in
its own way be as competitive a business as applying for HE or a job – probably the
most satisfying gap years are those which combine more than one element – work +
study course, travel + volunteering
Some countries have work restrictions, visa requirements
which need checking out.
Age limits are normally 18 years and above
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How do I find out?
- Parents / friends / people you know who have done the gap year
- School - there are plenty of books in the LRC and the red GAP
Year file
Use the indexes carefully and you will find what you want
quite easily.
- Mr Wells (AGS) will be happy to help you, answer questions and
take you around the material available – he will also be passing on information
received in assemblies so listen out for Gap year announcements. But please make a contact
with him if you want to hear more.
- If there is sufficient interest, talks can be arranged for
those hoping to take part in a particular scheme.
- Websites – there is a list of websites available in the
LRC of addresses of some of the more popular schemes but it is better to contact them
directly.
Let your college / institute of HE know you are doing a gap
year.
If you postpone your HE application, you will then be able to
show actual rather than predicted grades – however, many people tend to apply along
with everybody else and then ask for a deferred entry – in most cases, HE will hold
the place open, some might ask you to reapply the following year – attitudes about
this vary between university but also between departments – so check out –
admission staff do need to know however your plans.
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Finance
Costs depend on the activity
Volunteer in work camps are likely to cover their own costs
but food and accommodation will be provided. In addition, you may have to pay a
registration fee although students working for career experience will normally receive the
going rate for the job. There are certain projects where school leavers may go almost
anywhere in the world on a variety of course / work experience. Candidates will be
expected to pay for their own air fares, insurance and charges to cover the cost of
organising the project.
In the red Gap Year file, there is information on getting
finance. Look at the GAP Activity Projects "Guide to fundraising for you GAP Activity
Projects overseas travel".
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Gap Year Experiences
Past Alcester Grammar School students who have done a GAP
year
Wanted to study Geography at university, got a deferred place
as she wanted to do some voluntary service. Applied to Community Service Volunteers –
founded by the same man who founded Voluntary Service Overseas – for a placement. All
CSV placements are in the UK, volunteers are guaranteed a placement (subject to
reference/interview) for a period of 2 weeks up to 12 months.
She went off to Birmingham to look after a man who had MS and
who was wheel-chair bound in a flat at the top of a tower block without a lift.
As a result of taking on this responsibility, she turned down
her Geography place and re-applied for Social Work, which is what she is currently doing.
After finishing her A levels, she deferred her place to do
English at university, feeling that she wanted to experience a very different way of life
before resuming her studies. She is now in Zimbabwe on a six-month placement and intends
to travel around Africa afterwards. She is in Mozambique at present, being trained for her
post – teaching English.
For the same reasons as above, this student was accepted by
the GAP organisation to work in Asia, where she is at present – teaching English in
Singapore
To end with, a quote from the mother of three Gap-year
volunteers!
"When our eldest son Sam decided to spend part of
his year out teaching in Nepal, we were, like most parents, rather anxious and
apprehensive.
On his return, however, he was more mature, more
confident and also more appreciative of home. Added to this, he’s had wonderful
experiences and made lasting friendships. We felt confident that with GAP he would be safe
in Nepal and our final worry was resolved when we saw that he did indeed settle back into
his university studies. Sam’s younger brother Ben and sister Olivia followed in his
footsteps and although we did encourage them, I’m sure we would have had more trouble
in trying to stop them"
Mari Jary, mother of Sam, Ben and Olivia Jary, GAP volunteers
to Nepal
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Author - Mr. G. R Wells (Alcester Grammar School ) - Feb
2000 |
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