How to prepare for a Gap Year

With Corona still very present and affecting all facets of life, you may find yourself wanting to take a gap year from your education until it all calms down.

However, how can you make it happen? What is the best approach to take to get the most out of this time before you return to college or university?

Step One: Plan
Without a plan, you could very easily end up wasting your time and losing out on exciting opportunities which could work in your favour when you apply for a job or return to education.

To eliminate this risk, you need to consider the following:

• Where will you go? Do you want to stay local or travel? If you’re staying local, where will you live? Have you got the funding to not work or pay for your travels?
• Do you want to volunteer or take online courses to help upskill/improve your CV?

Step Two: Consider your options
To truly decide how you want to spend your gap year, you need to know your options. Only once you’ve got a clear list of ideas can you make an honest decision.

Now, if you’re struggling to decide, here are some common gap year ideas:

• Gain more skills and education – college and university are not your only options when it comes to gaining more skills. Apprenticeships, shadowing and enrolling onto online courses are all viable options which can boost your CV and make your university applications more appetising. Just make sure that whichever one you choose, it is something you want to do and will benefit you in the future;
• Travel the globe – travelling is the most popular route for a lot of gap year students as it is a fantastic opportunity to learn new languages and see other cultures. Now if funding isn’t a problem, we suggest creating a bucket list of places you’d like to visit. Just remember though – you should always be respectful of where you visit and of their culture;
• Volunteer – you’d be surprised by how many volunteering opportunities you’ve got close to home; however, volunteering abroad is an option too. The question is: why do you want to volunteer? Is it at a place that could help boost your experience for a potential job? Or do you want to volunteer to help make a difference? Depending on your reasons, you will find lots of options to help animals; get involved in housing projects; assist with agriculture, etc;
• Work – gap years don’t necessarily have to act as a break. You may find that you want to have a gap year because you want to work and earn money in order to afford university. That being said, where possible pick a job that will supply you with valuable skills that you can transfer into your studies or future job choices;
• Internships – similar to working, internships (most of which are unpaid) are a great chance to acquire new skills and make your CV more impressive, as you’ll gain hands on experience of the job (preferably in your chosen field).

Online courses, travelling, working or volunteering… you can use your gap year in a variety of beneficial ways.
So if you want a break before you take the next step on your educational journey, then why not check out our courses today?

For more information, visit our website.