Lets talk about... Gap Years

So today is the first post in my series of 'Let's talk about...'

I wanted to do a few, fairly long interviews, talking to people I know that have taken a different path in life. For some people, the process of going straight from school to university is pushed on them, without anyone explaining the other options. In my first post I have talked to my boyfriend, who took 2 gap years and is now doing a foundation year, to explain a bit more. But stay tuned because I am going to be posting some more, with people in apprenticeships, performing arts and people that have dropped out of university. 

These are slightly longer posts but I wanted to share as much of what they say as possible, I hope it's helpful for some of you out there that might be feeling a bit stuck!

So for my first interview, I want to introduce Sam. I have mentioned him before, but he is my boyfriend who I met on a ski season in 2018. He then did a second ski season and has finally committed to a foundation (and university course), starting that at 20 years old! 

So firstly Sam, what made you decide to take a gap year?

So, I wanted to take a gap year from a fairly early point, I think mid GCSEs I knew I wanted to do one. I loved the thought of travelling and going on. Obviously, my mum knew the reality of life so from the start was very against the idea, that disheartened me. I thought it was the best idea but after getting my first job and doing stuff out of the cost of my own bank account I did begin to realise it wouldn't be as easy as just flying off to a cool sounding country and having a good time. 

Fast forward to A-levels and my desire to take a gap year reignited, I had gone through different jobs and gotten a more realistic outlook on what I could do. However, a gap year became more of a necessity. About half way through A- levels I started the routine of university applications, although I knew that I wasn't ready to actually go to uni. My parents were still very against the idea of a gap year. Looking back they said it was because I didn't have a plan and that they didn't want me to waste a year I could be going to uni and I fully understand now. But a lot of my friends started talking about taking gap years and this only added to my desire to do one, who wouldn't want to go adventuring with their best mates? So, making a plan was the next step which goes onto the next question.

Right, so you've decide on going to take a gap year *yay*, what made you chose to do a ski season?

As I mentioned before, I knew I wanted to do a gap year before I really had a plan.

I was originally thinking of just working to get money to travel so I started getting more hours at work, but soon realised that's not how I really wanted to spend my gap year. My mates however were set on a ski season, it was the first time I had even heard of one. My family had never skied, I’d never even seen more than a few inches of snow so it was the last thing I’d have thought about doing. Having said that, the more I looked into it and the more I read the more I was getting interested in the idea of doing a season. The absolute deciding factor ended up being pretty simple though. My friends pulled out a USB stick and showed me their go pro footage of the ski trip they went on together. And that's when I knew it was exactly what I wanted to do.

What would you say were the biggest pros and cons of a gap year?

Thinking of the pros and cons of a gap year is tough, everyone wants different things out of them and everyone has different experiences. These are the pros and cons that I experienced through my gap year. 

Firstly and, I’d say, maybe the biggest pro of taking a gap year is the time it gives you time to think about what you want to do. Whether its university, an apprenticeship or something else, they usually involve quite a large commitment in terms of money and time. The idea of choosing one thing became very daunting to me. In my gap year, I had a real look at my options to try and figure out which was best. As a result, I dedicated a few weeks just researching and looking into the benefits of each path. This was something I hadn't done because up until this point, I was very much on the university track and felt like it was the only option. I eventually realised that university was actually my best option and from that point on I was ready to start and actually looked forward to going to university instead of being intimidated by it. 

The second pro is obviously the experiences you can get out of a gap year. In my gap year I spent 5 months in France doing a ski season and then went travelling across Vietnam and Thailand for 6 weeks. I met new friends, gained so much experience and made memories that will last a lifetime. It sounds very cliché but the value of a gap year from experiences alone is unparalleled in my mind.

I feel like I could go on for ages listing all the pros so I’ll just go onto a couple of cons before I get carried away. 

The first con I experienced was that it could be a bit lonely. Gap years seem to be becoming more and more popular however you may still be one of the only ones to be taking one out of your friends. As a result, I sometimes found myself with all of new free time to do what I wanted, without anyone free to do anything with. It was bit isolating at times.

This shouldn't put people off however, especially from travelling, its possibly the easiest and most sociable things you can do, so don't be put off if you’re going it alone.

A second con which isn't really a con, but can set you back is that they are addictive. After my first gap year I realised I couldn't go to uni without doing another. This was mainly because my family don't ski so I knew if I didn't do another season the likelihood of me going skiing soon was very slim. In other aspects, though the thought of going from a gap year to then committing a few years of your life to something is kinda scary. As I said before though, this does wear off when you realise what you want to do. The bug for travelling is harder to budge though but if you're off to uni and you budget well you can usually afford a getaway when the long summers come around so it's not as much of a worry.

Yeah, I definitely had the same feeling after I had my first year out! Why did you eventually decide to go to university?

After spending a few weeks looking into all the options, I realised that for my future and the way I wanted to live, uni was the best option for me. I was eager to start and actually loved the feeling of wanting to go and became very excited to start the next chapter of my life. This was when I knew I was ready and decided to go to university. 

And I know that you are doing a foundation year, would you mind just explaining what that is and what the process is like for applying to one?

For most courses or subjects there will often be a foundation year associated with it. This is usually for people who, for whatever reason, didn’t meet the requirements to start the course they wanted to straight into the first year. This can be for any reason, whether it’s that you took the wrong A levels for the course you want to do or if you took the right ones, but didn't get the right grades for whatever reason.

Foundation courses are there to set you up and get you ready for the course you do want to do. I am currently doing a foundation in engineering so that I can go into the design engineering, but there are people on my exact same foundation that are going into mechanical, automotive and even computer engineering. This shows the variation one foundation year can offer, and what's great is they teach you what you need to know much more specifically that A levels do. They are there to get you ready for the course you want to do so they don't need to teach you everything under the sun.

The process of applying to them is exactly the same as any other course at uni, whether it's through UCAS from the start or through clearing. The only difference I’d say is that they measure your application requirements in UCAS points instead of by grade. This is just because they are courses for people who could have done a completely different set of subjects. This is really easy to work out though, with a quick google search of UCAS points calculator you'll find a site where you choose your grades and it’ll show you how many points you have, it's really simple.

And finally, because you've been at uni a few months now, how have you found it coming from two gap years? I know you were a bit worried about the age gap. 

I've been loving it, the age gap hasn't really been a thing. We've all been going out a lot, which I am acclimatised to after season. One of my best mates is 20 and I am by far one of the youngest on my course, the oldest is 35 I think! No one really mentions it. 

The foundation year has been so much better than A levels so far, you get a lot more time and more detailed explanations which has made it easier to grasp new concepts than A levels. After 2 years out, everything feels new, so that's been useful. 



After talking to Sam, it really opened my eyes to the options you have if you don't want, or can't go to university straight away. I know more and more, people are taking years out, but there's still a bit of a stigma, especially from my parents' generation. 

I really really appreciate the support my parents gave to me when I decided to take a gap year, but I know it's not an easy decision for everyone! I hope today's conversation has helped someone out there, if you've got any advice or questions, make sure to leave a comment below! 

And remember to check back for my next post, I'm talking to my best friend who dropped out of sixth form to pursue a career in performing arts!

Thanks so much for reading, 

Laura x