The Gap Year - Should I Or Should I Not?

Every student with thoughts of an undergraduate education abroad has most likely asked themselves this mind-boggling question. For those of you who have decided to apply abroad, if you are still unclear about the mysterious gap year by the beginning of A2, then for better or worse, you are well on your way towards embarking on one.

Now let's start by asking a simple question:

What Exactly Is A Gap Year? To understand this you'll need to brush up on your knowledge of some important admission deadlines. Since the US is the most popular target for undergraduate study, I've focused on the Common Application deadlines as a guide.

• Common Application submission deadlines (for the majority of universities): November 1st (early decision), January 1st (regular decision)

• Date of decision release: late March to early April (the following year)

• Term starts: Fall of that year (probably in August or September)

Make note of deadlines

• You don't put too much pressure on yourself with the extra work for exams and essays. If you are confident of being able to manage it all, then go for it. The year gap is no longer necessary.

• You will have time to pursue your other interests or take up a part time job and gain work experience.

• You'll need to be patient. Not all students opt for a year loss, so don't be alarmed when some of your friends are enrolled in university before you.

• You will need to plan. Divide your time, decide when you will sit for exams, when you will prepare for them and think about ways to utilize the time you will receive.

Use your time - participate!

However, as stressful as combined college applications and schoolwork is, you should also know that unless you find activities to keep yourself busy once school ends, the vast amount of time a gap year offers tends to become quite tedious. Opting for a gap year means that you have time left to do something else  - think about the things you love to do and how they can be used to positively impact others. Volunteer for community service, brush up on your coding skills, learn a new language and you'll find yourself an amazing extracurricular activity for your app. A gap year gives you the time to do this.

So for those of you who will take a gap year, after completing your A2 exams in May, you must sit for your SATs and IELTS/TOEFL preferably before December. Now it's perfectly okay to give an exam in December, but from my experience finishing them as soon as possible and then using the rest of your time to focus on essays and your application as a whole pays off really well. You will apply by December and hopefully be enrolled by next year's September - the time between completing your A Levels to your enrollment is called the gap year. Now all that remains is the real question: should you take it?

The answer varies from person to person. Personally, I took a gap year and I also know people who didn't and are also doing well. Here I've written down some things from my own experience which will help you to make the right decision for yourself.

Are you facing difficulty with your school work? Remember that your high school grades are an extremely important part of your education. If you already faced difficulty with your work during AS you now have a general idea of how you will cope during A2. So from June to December are you prepared to manage your school work alongside your preparation for SAT, IELTS, college essays etc. making sure that you're giving enough effort to each of them?

To sum up taking a gap year means:

When making such a big decision it is crucial that you inform your family. Listen to their opinions and then express your own; since your parents play a big role in your education it is their right to be a part of your decision.

In the end, don't stress too much about this :P Think about yourself and what is the right choice for you - in time, the right answer will come.