Exploring the Variety of Options During a Gap Year: An Overview and Guidelines for Decision-Making
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A gap year, a break taken between two educational cycles, can offer a unique opportunity for personal growth, skill development, and cultural exploration. Here's a look at how you can finance a gap year, the experiences it can provide, and the benefits it offers.
Financing a Gap Year
Financing a gap year can be approached in various ways. Scholarships specifically designed for gap year students are available, offering financial support based on financial need, merit, leadership qualities, or specific interests. For instance, the ARCC's Voyagers Scholarship and the Freeman Awards for Study in Asia provide financial awards to students who demonstrate need and plan to participate in structured gap year programs [1].
Besides scholarships, students can also look for grants related to study abroad or semester programs, such as those offered by IFSA-Butler, which automatically grant funds to eligible students attending certain schools or programs without requiring a separate application [3]. Additionally, for students pursuing specific fields such as medicine, scholarship options exist to reduce educational costs and subsequent student debt [2].
For women, targeted scholarships that address gender disparities in education costs and encourage participation in certain fields can be beneficial [4].
Experiences During a Gap Year
A gap year can provide an opportunity to think about one's future path, offering a range of experiences that cater to various interests. Volunteering can be a charitable way to spend a gap year, improve foreign language skills, and refine intercultural competencies. Work & Travel provides temporary jobs, such as harvest help, waiters, guest care, or flyer distributors, in exchange for accommodation, meals, and sometimes pocket money [5].
Language trips are ideal for deepening foreign language skills and understanding a culture. Language skills improve quickly due to daily immersion in the language. An internship can provide an opportunity to gain professional experience, make professional contacts, and reorient oneself [6].
Benefits of a Gap Year
The benefits of a gap year are manifold. A gap year can offer self-reflection, deepening language skills, gaining intercultural competencies, and professional experience. However, it's essential to consider that a gap year can also have potential disadvantages, such as a delayed start of training/career, financial challenges, difficulty reintegrating into student life, and a lack of recognition/gap in resume [7].
Organising a Gap Year
Organising a gap year requires planning and time effort. Providers like EF, ESL, AIFS, or SFA offer language trip packages. The requirements for Work & Travel include being between 18 and 30 years old, having a valid passport, proof of health insurance, a work permit visa (if necessary), and proof of financial means (depending on the destination country) [8].
Volunteer work abroad can be funded and financially supported by international organizations such as the International Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, WWF, or Amnesty International [9]. These types of gap years come with more organizational effort and financial investments.
In summary, a gap year can be an enriching experience, offering opportunities for personal growth, skill development, and cultural exploration. By researching and applying to gap year scholarships, grants linked to study or work abroad programs, and general educational scholarships relevant to your field of study, you can finance your gap year effectively. Complementary measures might include part-time work, internships, or savings, but scholarships and grants are a primary financial aid source to consider when planning a gap year around the Matura or Bachelor's degree timeline [1][3][4].
A gap year, particularly one financed through scholarships such as the ARCC's Voyagers Scholarship or Freeman Awards for Study in Asia, can provide an opportunity for education-and-self-development, travel, and lifestyle experiences like language improvement, cultural exploration, and professional development. During a gap year, one may venture into travel, volunteering, work & travel, or a language trip, contributing to personal growth and skill development.
