To defer or not defer?

If you are sure you want to take a Gap Year then that is great. If you have a plan to do something meaningful and earn some money and enjoy a break between School and University it can breathe a real renewed enthusiasm for your studies when you pick them back up the following year. However, if you are not sure what you would like to do during a Gap Year, or not sure what to study. Then time spent researching and applying for a Uni place post school need not be a waste of time, rather an experience where you learn about the UCAS process and have school on hand to guide you throughout.

It is a busy time currently in Lower 6 and the thought of applying to Uni when you know you want a year out seems like another thing to do that’s not even worth it. What I would say if you are thinking along these lines is that there is so much to be gained from going through the motions whilst in the school environment. You will have expert advice on hand from your head of sixth form and careers advisors. They are experienced in each stage of the process and will be able to steer you through university choices, the benefits of joint or combined honours and which subjects would be the best option for you. They know you well. You have options then when you are offered a place. You can ask to defer, which is not always a given and is at the discretion of each University, but then if your firm choice says no to deferring, you will have the opportunity to apply again the following year. Still you might be thinking all this effort and I might not even get to defer….well of course then, the only benefit is if you happen to change your mind later in the U6 and you decide you do want to apply for a Uni place straight after school, and you have missed deadlines. Whilst applying after deadlines is not unheard of, you are further on in your studies with your A’ Level exams looming and it’s a time where you don’t need to put yourself under added pressure.

All in all, I think, apply for after school, defer if you can and if not apply during your Gap Year when you will have had the experience of doing it once already.