{"id":2132,"date":"2019-10-08T13:00:30","date_gmt":"2019-10-08T02:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/?p=2132"},"modified":"2019-10-08T13:20:12","modified_gmt":"2019-10-08T02:20:12","slug":"should-i-take-a-gap-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/blog\/2019\/10\/should-i-take-a-gap-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Should you take a Gap Year?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Taking a gap year can be\u00a0a refreshing, fulfilling and rewarding experience and a great opportunity to develop as a person, but only if you have the right expectations of yourself and what\u00a0the\u00a0experience is (realistically) going to be like.<\/p>\n

This blog post will take you through the four most important things to consider when deciding whether to take a gap year or go straight to university.<\/p>\n

\n

1. How smart are your plans?<\/b><\/h3>\n
\n

If you are wondering whether to take a gap\u00a0year before starting university, you’ve probably dreamed of adventuring around the world, exploring country after country, and immersing yourself in different cultures.<\/p>\n

Or you might have planned to take a break from study simply to save up a truckload of cash and gain industry experience. Maybe you have thought of doing a full-time course in dance or drama for a year before starting your ‘serious’ degree.<\/p>\n

\n

Q: Will taking a gap year ultimately help you, or hinder you?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

Or maybe you have thought about volunteering in a third world country, caring for rescued elephants …<\/p>\n

Now is the time to think about which of your gap year dreams is actually possible, and which will help you achieve any of your future goals.<\/p>\n

\n

2. How will it affect your studies?<\/b><\/h3>\n
\n

It is important to consider whether a gap year will make you lose or gain momentum.\u00a0 For some people,\u00a0taking a long break can mean getting out of practice and forgetting things\u00a0you learned in high school. This is especially true about complex mathematical and scientific concepts which you may\u00a0need as assumed knowledge for your degree.<\/p>\n

\"2435726030_77a2569bfd_o.jpg\"<\/p>\n

As well as\u00a0getting out of practice, some people who return from\u00a0a long holiday or big trip\u00a0develop a case of post-travel depression with symptoms such as prolonged\u00a0sadness, nostalgia, reverse culture shock and anxiety. These symptoms are not exactly a recipe for a promising start at university.\u00a0If you think you may suffer from these post-trip symptoms, then it is important that you plan ahead and arrive back from your travels with about a month to spare before you begin university. This will allow you to recover from jetlag,\u00a0get into the right headspace,\u00a0organise\u00a0your school supplies and textbooks and refocus yourself\u00a0for university life.<\/p>\n

You also want to make sure you are back and ready\u00a0to attend O-Week!<\/p>\n

\"35252577472_79f5a7d7b7_o\"<\/p>\n

\n

Q: Have you got a plan to get back into the swing of studying,
\nwell before you start at university?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

On the other hand, taking a\u00a0structured gap year may really help you to gain momentum for your studies, leaving you feeling fresh and ready to learn. The HSC can be a highly stressful time. It is normal for you to feel as though you aren’t\u00a0ready to start school again after only\u00a0a\u00a03 month break.<\/p>\n

\"3786268069_36de5c6d6b_o.jpg\"<\/p>\n

If high school has exhausted you mentally and physically, then taking a gap year\u00a0could be really\u00a0beneficial for you. Having a long break outside your comfort zone will help you\u00a0mature,\u00a0give you increased levels of motivation to study, and can give you the chance to develop a broader perspective and world view.<\/p>\n

If you plan your gap year right, you can develop skills that will help you succeed in your degree or extra curricular opportunities at UNSW.<\/p>\n

\n

3.\u00a0Don\u2019t\u00a0let it become a ‘Gap Life’<\/b><\/h3>\n
\n

The term ‘Gap Year’ refers to\u00a0one<\/b> year where a student takes a break from studying, typically between school and university or tertiary education. It is called a\u00a0‘gap year’ for a reason. It is\u00a0not a ‘gap two-years’\u00a0and nor is it\u00a0a ‘gap life’. It is important when choosing to\u00a0take\u00a0a gap year that you are clear on what it should entail. Some people who decide to take a gap year end up enjoying it so much that they\u00a0never end up coming back and getting their degree. We all know someone who took a gap year and ended up\u00a0staying in India or became a skiing instructor in Canada.<\/p>\n

\"5780749652_cfac237148_o.jpg\"<\/p>\n

This might\u00a0sound like a wonderful plan, but after working so hard to get a place at university, you really don’t want to look back in 10 years and regret not getting a degree when you had the chance. It is important that you make a commitment to yourself that you will get back on track with your studies once the year is over so that you are able to achieve your long-term goals.<\/p>\n

So, if you are still stuck trying to make a decision, set out a plan for yourself and commit to it so that you don’t end up taking\u00a0a\u00a0never-ending\u00a0gap life.<\/p>\n

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4. Is your<\/b>\u00a0plan economical?<\/b><\/h3>\n
\n

Travelling is a very expensive activity, involving lots of hidden costs that you may not initially\u00a0expect. You have probably done some research on flights and accommodation, but have you budgeted for things like visas, travel insurance, airport transfers, currency exchange, international sim cards &\u00a0wifi,\u00a0car hire, food, baggage and spending money?<\/p>\n

\"3103931640_1169c7b8f8_o.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Additionally, many countries have charges we are not used to such as the US custom of tipping servers and the price of using European public bathrooms.<\/p>\n

You should also\u00a0consider whether\u00a0you will\u00a0receive\u00a0any financial support from your\u00a0parents, or if you are venturing out completely independently. Do you have emergency savings? Do your research and work out what all your costs will be, whether you can actually afford it, and whether it is the right way for you to invest your money.<\/p>\n

\n

Q: Will your parents send you money to help out in an emergency?
\nOr are you paying for absolutely everything yourself?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Alternatively, if you plan to take a year off to work and save up money, try to be realistic about whether you really want to be doing that kind of job full-time or whether you would prefer the exciting life of a student and working part-time.<\/p>\n

A lot of UNSW students would tell you that they’d rather be studying than working full time in a 9-5 job.\u00a0Furthermore, how much money are you really going to save? Is this amount\u00a0going to set you up for future wealth or are you going to end up spending it all on stuff you don\u2019t really need? Taking a gap year is a major decision so it’s important to think about these things.<\/p>\n

\"4488946680_b6167cf8e6_o.jpg\"<\/p>\n

UNSW does encourage students to take\u00a0gap years, as long as you have really thought about it and asked yourself the important questions.\u00a0You can still apply for university now, get accepted and defer for your Gap Year.<\/p>\n

The staff and students in our Future Students team are always happy to answer your questions and give you advice.\u00a0Give them a call on 1300 UNI NSW (1300 864 679) or contact them online via https:\/\/www.futurestudents.unsw.edu.au\/ask-question<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Taking a gap year can be\u00a0a refreshing, fulfilling and rewarding experience and a great opportunity to develop as a person, but only if you have the right expectations of yourself and what\u00a0the\u00a0experience is (realistically) going to be like. This blog post will take you through the four most important things to consider when deciding whether […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100996,"featured_media":2174,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[50748,50291],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-future-students","category-student-blogs"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/files\/2017\/10\/3194396189_306eb0a77a_o-30552817-1508814054677.jpg?fit=3001%2C1763&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8PON4-yo","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100996"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2132"}],"version-history":[{"count":65,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2407,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2132\/revisions\/2407"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}