Gap year.Answered
Hello,
I'm an international student and I want to try taking a gap year before applying to universities. Will it affect my application in the future or are there any disadvantages of it?
Thank you.
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3 answers
It strongly depends on what are you planning to do during this gap year. The exact fact of taking a gap year is neutral and doesn't affect your application.
Do you want to take a gap year, because you want to play video games and eat popcorn the whole year? Well, it may sound good, but the admission committee would definitely have questions about "Why did they spend the whole year doing nothing?".
However, if you have some interesting plans (traveling, working, learning a new language, volunteering) it may even enhance your application.
So, basically, the exact fact of taking gap year doesn't affect your chances in a good or bad way. But the context and your achievements during this gap year strongly affect your chances.
Anyway, the gap year is an excellent opportunity to show yourself in a new context, where you are free from school rules. You just need to use this opportunity the right way.
It really depends on the type of activities you're planning to do during that year, but I can tell you that during my gap year, I wasn't studying or working 24/7, I also had some time to relax, hang out with my friends, even save some money by placing bets with these tips https://takebet.co.za/betting-tips/btts-both-teams-to-score, so I took the most out of it, and you should do the same.
Hi @Mk34! Great question. A gap year, if used wisely, will look great on your application. You can use that time to travel, explore a hobby you haven't had the chance to explore before, work on personal development, etc. It really is up to you how you want to use your gap year, but make sure that it is something you can talk about if asked.
Here are two great articles on our blog about gap years: https://blog.collegevine.com/gap-year-covid-19/ & https://blog.collegevine.com/what-are-the-pros-of-taking-a-gap-year/
You can also check out this livestream about gap years for more info: https://www.collegevine.com/livestreams/4068/what-it-s-like-taking-a-gap-year
Hope that helps, and good luck!
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Thank you, I am planning to do the same.