Is taking a gap year something that should be considered?

[Mada438]

So I'm curious as to what everyone's opinions on taking gap years are.
Should i take a gap year at the end of the year?
Why should i? Why shouldn't I?

[Joseph41]

I think the title of the thread and the poll question are different things.

"Is taking a gap year something that should be considered?" Yeah, absolutely - it works for a lot of people!
"Do you reckon taking a gap year is a good thing?" I find this harder to answer, because I think it depends so much on the situation at hand.

This thread may be of interest to you.

[Calebark]

It should most definitely be considered. I completed my VCE in 2017, and am currently taking a gap year. Not only is it giving my brain a bit of a rest and allowing me to try to pursue more non-academic interests, but it's giving me a less-stressful year so I can tackle some mental health issues. Another nice bonus is that I've got a lot more time to make some ca$h dolla bill$, so I can save and have a bit of an easier financial time at uni.

[Bri MT]

Definitely consider it. Whether or not you actually take one is a highly personal decision.   The course I'm doing can't be deffered and I'm finding it really useful to have my subject knowledge fresh in my head - I made the right choice for me, which was not to take a gap year. Some people swear by them and others see them as a waste of time. See what's available and the weighted pros and cons of each option.

There's also significant difference between taking a gap year to holiday, to figure what you want to do with your life, to work etc. I'd consider each of these options separately rather than as a lump.

[K888]

When I was in high school, I was really firmly on the "no gap year" team. Then I started uni, and my opinions really changed. In the end, it's completely up to you - do you want a break? Do you feel ready to start uni? Do you need (or want) to save up money by working for a year? Are you not really sure what you want to do?

Like, in the end, I'm still glad I decided to not take a gap year because I'm really keen to actually qualify as a physio, but taking one year off isn't a big thing - it's tiny in the grand scheme of things. What's an extra year? Like, so many people chop and change between degrees that they might as well have just taken a gap year or something. Plus, uni's still gonna be there in a year's time, and the workforce is still gonna be there in a few years' time, but maybe those travel plans you were making won't be possible in a year or a few year's time.
I think taking a year off would be great to revitalise yourself a bit and all that - by the middle of last year I really regretted not taking a gap year and thought that my mental health would be a lot better and I'd be a more chill person if I had taken one.

All the people I know who have taken gap years have found them to be really good. One of my high school friends didn't know what she wanted to do post high school so deferred a uni offer and started working full time at a real estate agent and she's found that it's her dream job - maybe she wouldn't have found it if she had have just jumped straight into uni.

[zofromuxo]

To consider? Yes.
A good thing? It depends.

I for one wanted a gap year because I had a very chaotic final 3 years of of high school. I was burnt out, unmotivated and my mental health was looking like it was going to die. However I took my mum's ultimantium: "Do your first year of your degree and if you don't like it. Defer and take a gap year". In the end, I didn't take my gap year, but I rather used my breaks to travel overseas and pursue non-academic related interests like reading books.

The point I'm making is that you don't necessarily need to take a "gap year" to get the benefits from it, you can certainly use the semester breaks as like "mini gap-years" as I did.

My only advice I've gleaned from others who took gap years from people who enjoyed theirs and others who loathed theirs: Be realistic and practical.
Don't do x, y, z thing because everyone does it, looks good and assume it suits you as well. It might not. Don't go in with rose-tinted lens on everything, step back and apply some critical thinking on it.

[Yertle the Turtle]

The thing with a gap year is that it is useful if you don't know what you want to do, but otherwise I would advise against it. If you are intending to go to uni, and know what you want to do, then my advice is to just go ahead and do it. Sure, you could get a job for that year, but it would also mean that you would start professional work a year later, and it is unlikely that you would earn more in a gap year than in a year of professional work. Therefore, monetarily it is inadvisable, so long as you know what you want to do. If not, then a gap year is probably the best option you have, just to give you some time to look around and think about what you really want to do.

[strawberries]

I took one and I do not regret it at all
I personally felt that I wasn't ready for uni and if I went to uni straight away I probably wouldn't have survived.

The only thing is that like many of my classmates from high school are like graduating uni this year already and I'm older than most of my classmates.
(But if I went to uni straight away I wouldn't have been 18 yet which makes things difficult if you're moving away from home )