Don’t Waste Your Gap Year

Feb 2, 2015 | Australian College

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Reports indicate that students who take a gap year after their HSC perform better than their peers when they enroll in University courses. This advantage is strictly for those students who use this time out to learn new skills, volunteer their time, take part time jobs or take the time to prepare themselves for University life by taking on shorter vocational courses.

A recent study conducted at Sydney University revealed that not only did taking the year off create a positive effect for the students motivation but also translated in into a significant improvement in their performance in their first year of study.

While a significant number of students did very well after the gap year other students who used it as a one year extended holiday generally faired poorly when they started university. The message is for those who are going to take the gap year use it productively to develop skills that will assist them when they begin their studies.

Some students use the gap year to not only learn new skills that will help with their further study but to learn new learn skills that will help them find part time work while studying as well as trialling their intended vocations before they begin studying it. Some students enrol in vocational education courses as these courses can be used to gain employment when they do commence their study and also give them industry and real life experiences.

The most popular courses are Certificate III and Certificate IV courses that can be completed online in their own time, at their own pace and in any location.

More and more students are traveling the world in their gap year while still studying online when they have the time. So make the most of the gap year, don’t waste it being idle, prepare for something big…

Dr Paul Batman
Director of Education
Australian College

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