Advantages
Why take a gap year?
To Gain Greater Focus. It’s easy to waste a lot of time in college, getting caught up in the partying or paralyzed by indecision in choosing a major. And it’s hard to figure out what you want to do with your future. Don’t spend that time figuring it out on a $30,000 tuition bill. A gap year gives you an experience where you really get to know yourself and what you want out of life. You’ll learn how to be self-reliant. You’ll come back to college with a sense of what your goals are and how to achieve them. So not only can a gap year give you some needed direction, it’ll save you some money in the long run.
To Man Up. Even when you go off to school, mom and dad are often just a short drive or a phone call away. Whenever you have a dilemma, you can call them up and let them tell you how to figure it out. Really breaking away from your old life will force you to make decisions entirely on your own.
To Build Your Resume. Showing your potential employer that you spent a year building wells in Uganda will set your apart from those whose only work experience was waitering at Applebee’s.
To Learn a Foreign Language. A year is sufficient time to become fluent in many foreign languages. It’s a skill you’ll have for the rest of you life and one that employers find very attractive.
You’ll return to a (hopefully) stronger economy. If you’re graduating from college or graduate school right now, you know the job market stinks a big one. Why not duck out for a year, gain some valuable skills, and return with an expanded resume to a (hopefully) improved economy?
Take a break: Many students feel that after so many years of schooling they need a break before they launch into their tertiary studies. But this doesn’t necessarily mean a year of hanging around the house in your pajamas (although that might be nice at first). Many students use their gap year to work, travel or volunteer, which gives them a great chance to gain some life experience.
Take advantage of university gap year programs: A number of institutions recognise the value of a gap year. The University of Canberra’s Gap Year Plusprogram, for example, allows students who develop a journal and portfolio over the course of their gap year and present a seminar on their experience to earn credit towards their degree. Similarly, Deakin University’s Gap Year Program allows students to keep in contact through social networking sites, use university resources and begin studying subjects on or off campus to get a head start on their degree.
Experience the world of work: Many students choose to take a year off to work and build up a buffer for the financially straining years ahead, but this isn’t the only advantage. You can also add real value to your résumé and develop invaluable first-hand industry knowledge by working in an area that relates to your course. This kind of employment experience will give you a real edge over other students, both during the course of your degree and after graduation when you hit the jobs market.
Qualify for Youth Allowance: Students from regional or remote areas who earn a designated amount of money during their gap year are able to qualify as independent and receive Youth Allowance during their studies. Deferring and working is the only way that many students can qualify for Youth Allowance. This is a really worthwhile way to spend your gap year, because the knowledge that you will be supported financially throughout your degree is a great reward at the end of a year of work.
To Man Up. Even when you go off to school, mom and dad are often just a short drive or a phone call away. Whenever you have a dilemma, you can call them up and let them tell you how to figure it out. Really breaking away from your old life will force you to make decisions entirely on your own.
To Build Your Resume. Showing your potential employer that you spent a year building wells in Uganda will set your apart from those whose only work experience was waitering at Applebee’s.
To Learn a Foreign Language. A year is sufficient time to become fluent in many foreign languages. It’s a skill you’ll have for the rest of you life and one that employers find very attractive.
You’ll return to a (hopefully) stronger economy. If you’re graduating from college or graduate school right now, you know the job market stinks a big one. Why not duck out for a year, gain some valuable skills, and return with an expanded resume to a (hopefully) improved economy?
Take a break: Many students feel that after so many years of schooling they need a break before they launch into their tertiary studies. But this doesn’t necessarily mean a year of hanging around the house in your pajamas (although that might be nice at first). Many students use their gap year to work, travel or volunteer, which gives them a great chance to gain some life experience.
Take advantage of university gap year programs: A number of institutions recognise the value of a gap year. The University of Canberra’s Gap Year Plusprogram, for example, allows students who develop a journal and portfolio over the course of their gap year and present a seminar on their experience to earn credit towards their degree. Similarly, Deakin University’s Gap Year Program allows students to keep in contact through social networking sites, use university resources and begin studying subjects on or off campus to get a head start on their degree.
Experience the world of work: Many students choose to take a year off to work and build up a buffer for the financially straining years ahead, but this isn’t the only advantage. You can also add real value to your résumé and develop invaluable first-hand industry knowledge by working in an area that relates to your course. This kind of employment experience will give you a real edge over other students, both during the course of your degree and after graduation when you hit the jobs market.
Qualify for Youth Allowance: Students from regional or remote areas who earn a designated amount of money during their gap year are able to qualify as independent and receive Youth Allowance during their studies. Deferring and working is the only way that many students can qualify for Youth Allowance. This is a really worthwhile way to spend your gap year, because the knowledge that you will be supported financially throughout your degree is a great reward at the end of a year of work.
Disadvantages
Why not take a gap year?
Lose touch with friends - This may not actually happen, especially if your friends take a Gap Year too, but many of the people you know from school will have gone to University. Once (or if) you join them there, you will be in the year below.
You may not get into Uni - This can be devastating if your plan was always Uni. This should be seriously considered when taking a Gap Year.
Studying skills may decrease - Without studying for a whole year, starting in Uni again may be a shock to the system.
Expense - If you plan on travelling for the majority of the time, this may prove to be very expensive unless you take a job abroad too.
Health - You may become injured, or ill. Travelling alone to other countries may not always be safe even if you take the necessary precautions.
You may not get into Uni - This can be devastating if your plan was always Uni. This should be seriously considered when taking a Gap Year.
Studying skills may decrease - Without studying for a whole year, starting in Uni again may be a shock to the system.
Expense - If you plan on travelling for the majority of the time, this may prove to be very expensive unless you take a job abroad too.
Health - You may become injured, or ill. Travelling alone to other countries may not always be safe even if you take the necessary precautions.
Links
home page: /index.html Advantages and disadvantages: /advantages-and-disadvantages.html
Testimonials: /testimonials.html Tips: /tips.html
How to plan a gap year: /plan-a-gap-year.html Other organizations: /gap-year-organizations.html
Pictures and Videos: /pictures-and-videos.html Contact us: /contact-us.html
Testimonials: /testimonials.html Tips: /tips.html
How to plan a gap year: /plan-a-gap-year.html Other organizations: /gap-year-organizations.html
Pictures and Videos: /pictures-and-videos.html Contact us: /contact-us.html