r/gapyear

I recently got my A level results and was happy to get A*s in maths and further maths but was disappointed with a B in physics. I wanted to do straight maths or maths with stats at uni and I have a place at Warwick to do maths and physics. I really don’t want to do physics at uni, I was so bad at physics in A level and i feel like I would hate doing it at university. I want to take a gap year and reapply to top unis like Imperial, LSE , Warwick again but the only thing holding me back is the B in physics. Im so stuck on whether its worth taking a gap year and resitting physics because those unis look negatively on resits. If i get a good TMUA score could this make up for the fact I’m resitting and if so whats the type of score I would need?

I’ve just got AAA (Politics, Business, History) and have a place at York for Politics & IR.
I’m considering a gap year to reapply to places like KCL, UCL, Warwick, since I now have achieved grades. Not sure if it’s worth taking a year out just for a chance at a “higher ranked” uni, or if York is already a strong enough option.
Should I stick with York or reapply after a gap year? Is the difference worth delaying a year?

I completed my A2 privately all by myself…. It was almost like a gap year as i didnt socialise whole year and stayed home…got 3Cs.

I got admission in iobm but my family is insisting me to take a gap year and retake one subject in oct nov so that i meet iba grade requirement and then apply for iba 2027.

I dont know what to do all i know is that i dont want to stay home for another year.

I'm taking a gap year after school to prepare for an entrance exam, but I'm not hardcore studying yet. I've only recently started getting back into studying, and most of my day is still spent at home with not much going on.

My friends/cousins are in school or college, so they have somewhere to go, people around them, routines and things happening. I don't really have that right now. I'm basically stuck at home — I don't have anywhere I can realistically go, and there aren't really people around for me to interact with either.

My days can feel like I wake up, eat, sit around while time passes, study for a bit, eat, study at night, and sleep. There's very little variation from one day to the next 🥲

I actually didn't realise how much I'd miss having somewhere to go until I finished school. I didn't even particularly love school when I was there, but now I kind of wish I had that routine again.

There's also some difficult family stuff at home, especially with my father, so being at home all the time isn't always particularly comfortable either. I don't really want to go into the details, but it makes feeling stuck at home harder.

Sometimes I also get emotional and cry seemingly out of nowhere, and lately I've occasionally had thoughts about not wanting to be alive anymore. I don't have a plan or intention to act on them, but it's worrying me because I don't really understand where they're coming from.

For anyone who's had a similar gap year or period of being mostly stuck at home: how did you deal with the loneliness and the feeling that your life had become repetitive? What actually helped?

I genuinely want to hear from people who've been through something similar 🥲

Hello,

I am currently in a difficult situation. I’m an au pair in Australia right now and looking for my next host family.

I found a great family in Miami in the US but at the same time my plan originally was to go to Spain and then to France as an au pair to perfect my Spanish (I studied Spanish in school for a long time) and better my French.

I really want to use my gap year to work on myself and make new experiences, so being an au pair in Spain and France would help me learn the languages and make me fluent in four languages total. However I also really want to go to Miami since I believe it’s kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity to live there since otherwise I don’t think I will ever have the chance to.

But also important to note is that going to the us I going to cost me a lot of money for the agency and in Europe I could do it for free without agency since I’m a member of the European Union.

Edit: Probably should have mentioned but another important aspect is that the Miami family pays significantly more than Spanish family’s and I would only have one older girl there instead of multiple younger ones

What should I do? What would you all do in my situation?

Thank you for the advice 🤗

I am planning on taking a gap year. I just graduated high school and have no clue what to do with my life. I have no clear career goals, so I figured a gap year would be nice to keep the pressure off of me. I heard from other people that taking a gap year can be difficult because when it’s over, you’ll be 1 year behind in everyone, you might not be as motivated to go to college, etc. I am curious to know if you had any mental challenges after a gap year and how it affected you.

I genuinely have no clue what I'm supposed to do now, all I have is a trip to Japan during winter break but LITTERALLY nothing else.

I basically ended high school with no friends and my girlfriend breaking up with me and im just feeling like super directionless I guess? im still planning on upgrading my classes and going to uni in the spring or fall of 27 but like, what do I do in the meantime?? how do I not go insane and how in the hell do I make friends when I'm not even going to uni anymore. sorry if this is a jumbled mess but I'm desperate for some guidance, Thanks!

Warwick MMath or gap year for Cambridge Maths?
I’m trying to decide whether to go straight to Warwick MMath Maths or take a gap year and apply to Cambridge Maths (2027 entry).
My grades:
A* Maths
A* Further Maths
A Physics
I currently have a Warwick MMath offer. I applied to Oxford Maths last year but was rejected, and I’ve never applied to Cambridge.
I also sat the TMUA (5.3) and MAT (44) last year with basically no preparation.
Would you take the gap year and properly prepare for the TMUA to have a shot at Cambridge, or just go to Warwick?
Is Cambridge worth sacrificing a year for, given that Warwick MMath is already a very strong options?

For context, I am a (22F) first gen Nigerian-American eldest daughter of high achieving Nigerian immigrants. I graduated university in 3 years and moved back home. I am officially one year into my gap year(s) and am mentally drained, having to deal with my father’s rules and scrutiny, although I do not have any expenses as he covers everything. He’s a great supportive dad, just a typical controlling Nigerian father who questions my every move. I got a 508 on my MCAT and decided not to apply this cycle as I wanted to strengthen other areas and potentially retake. Thankfully, I am a couple months into a full-time clinical assistant job, and am making enough money that I could probably move out. I have a decent savings but would most likely also need to purchase my own vehicle. If I plan to move out/get a car by the beginning of 2027, apply that cycle, and enjoy life independently before (hopefully) being accepted and matriculating in 2028, would it be worth it for me to take the chance and move out? Most people have said my mental health is the same cost as moving out, but I am still worried about the financial aspect. Thanks to anyone who takes the time to read this!

I missed my lse law offer today of AAB and i got ACC instead, im thinking of taking a gap year and resitting my alevels. Could anyone let me know if this would be worth it as i have some extenuating circumstances i.e. mental health issues but i never told my school so i have nothing in writing so if i applied without extenuating circumstances and lets say i changed my 2 C’s into an A and an A* do i still have a shot? Also to follow on i was thinking of doing this whilst at first year in uni would my application be even more competitive if i achieved an A* and an A and was on track to get a 2:1 at the end of first year or will lse not know about that at all?

any help or advice is appreciated!!

my offer got revoked due to not reaching my conditions. it happened about a week ago and i need some opinions on how to convince my dad to take a gap year. or any advice on building a reliable plan for a gap year

im not sure what information i would have to provide but i do want to become some sort of detective or csi, or work within humanitarian aid. he's someone who would want a reliable, well-thought out plan for the gap year and some really good convincing points that aren't emotionally driven. he's be willing to financially support anything i do as long as i show him that i have a reliable and realistic plan. please help, if you have any questions, please ask, ill respond within like point two seconds because im desperate for a solution, if i tell him about my offer he's genuinely going to perform some tusk level mutilation on me.

I got rejected pre-interview for law this year at Oxford, but I had a really strong application, and it was because my LNAT was so bad and I had panicked the day of.

I really loved Oxford, I’d done very competitive programs there, and done well in essay competitions multiple times.

Anyways, I have booked my LNAT this year in case I did well in a levels.

I got one a star in English and two As. I’m going to a normal Russel group uni for law so I was happy. However I got full marks in many essays in my English paper, and I really started liking English this year- I have been reading a lot and enjoyed studying it for a level. It didn’t even feel like studying, even when I was writing practice essays, reading pages of critical review.

Also one of my parents just lost their job acouple months ago, and there’s not much funding for my uni. Realistically if I got a job during the gap year I may be able to save and they could get a job again rather than me getting the max loan. I was initially signed on to the minimum loan. (Sorry I’m still unsure how this process works)

So now I’m wondering if I should take a gap year and reapply, and maybe even for English instead?

i decided to take a gap because wasn’t really sure about which course to take so didnt want to blidly choose something i will regret parents was ok with it decided to build some skills as i didnt have much to do so joined a digital marketing course (6 months) took it online cause parents said not to do it offline and well i feel stuck till now it was ok wasnt hearing anything about any of my friends going to college and shi but now that that is near im getting HUGE HUGE HUGE FOMO and its fucking eating at me im happy for them but i cant seem to want to talk to any of my friends anymore hearing them talk bout their colleges and events and shit is like exhausting while i js sit at home do nothing isnt allowed to go anywhere unless its with my parents i just feel like because of my indecisiveness i just made my own personal hell atp i shouldve just took any course in any random college that wouldve been better than this im so tired from literally bawling out my eyes thinking about what i did but needed to get it out cause honestly now even my friends are busy getting ready for college surviving there and even when we call i dont think they have the time to hear to my sob story that they all warned me about well yea

Life's a mess, i dont know wtf im doing with my life, i just graduated highschool. Now im looking into completing my bachelors but idk what the heck to pick? i decided to do datascience cus it gives me a wider area to explore further into, its a lot of thinking and math going behind my degree+im dumb asf especially when it comes to subjects like stats and math!

The thing is that i decided to pursue this in my hometown which icl is a explensive area, my family we're broke asf, but my parents agreed theyd support me through the college, but ik its SO MUCH BURDEN ON THEM, we'll have to struggle through to make ends meet for the next 4 years! now im thinking whether i shuld accept the offer and proceed or check up somehing cheaper which i know there is, but times ruinning out, with 2 indian parents on my back nagging me telling me i dont have much time left i need to make a decision asap! i cant even take a gap year, cus to their eyes its FAILURE. I cant take odd jobs here either BECAUSE I LIVE IN FUCKING DUBAI. I cant make money myself. I wish i was ambitious enough to have the heart to fully dive in knowing im doing something i love and im passionate about it.

hi guys some advice on this would be great!

i got A*AA today, bio chem maths respectively and im not sure if i should accept my ucl offer or reapply. i had my heart set on a different uni (better ranking) but not sure what to pick.

hope this doesn’t come across badly, im aware ucl is a great uni, but im not 100% i want to go. would it be better to take a gap year and reapply? i know confirmed grades hold a bit more weight than predicted so that could give me a leg up. let me know what your thoughts are!

Hi, this results day I didn't meet my grade requirements and when I looked at clearing I realised that I didn't actually want to do Electronic and Electrical Engineering. I have a bad habit of always picking subjects I do the best in because I can never find a subject that I truly like doing. I know that results day is a really bad time to realise that you don't know what course you want to do.

My results were an A in maths, an A in physics and a C in computer science which caused me to not meet my firm offer from UCL or even my insurance offer from Bath. I'm unsure if I should retake computer science next year because by the end of my two years at sixth form I grew to hate the subject and the thought of doing it again makes me want to claw my own eyes out.

I'd like advice on what to do over this gap year especially since this is the first time in my life I've ever felt completely lost. I know I should get a job so I don't end up becoming a burden on my family but besides that I haven got a clue. Is there still hope for me if I don't go to university at all? Thank you for reading

Results came out and I got A\*A\*AB. Really happy with Maths and FM, Physics A was fine, CS B was a bit disappointing but it is what it is.

I have a place at Warwick for Physics with Maths which I could take now. But I’ve been going back and forth on whether to take a gap year and apply for straight Maths at Oxbridge (undecided which one) and other unis instead.

A bit of background on why I’m considering it: I qualified for BMO this year, got a silver in BPhO, and a Diamond in Isaac Physics SPC, so I feel like my competition background is reasonably solid. I also did a scholarship research project over summer on mathematics in medical screening which I enjoyed a lot. The issue is I sat the TMUA, ESAT and TARA last year and got 4.5 in the TMUA, which I know is too low — I’m putting that down to format unfamiliarity and not having done proper Paper 2 preparation, since I had two other admissions tests to prepare for, but I’d obviously need to do a lot better in October.

Reasons I’m leaning toward the gap year: I genuinely want to do straight Maths more than Physics with Maths, I know the Maths content is better for what I want to do long-term, and I feel like my TMUA score doesn’t reflect where I actually am mathematically. I’d also potentially apply to some US universities (Harvard/Princeton REA + a few others regular decision).

Reasons I’m hesitant: Warwick is a good offer and it’s in my hand right now. The TMUA is genuinely hard and going from 4.5 to a competitive score in the time I have is not guaranteed. And I’m aware that even with a strong TMUA, Oxbridge is still very competitive.

Has anyone been in a similar position? Did anyone take a gap year specifically to reapply for a more competitive course? And does anyone have experience with UK to US applications with A-levels?

Would appreciate any honest opinions, especially if they’re not just “go for it, you’ve got nothing to lose”, I’m trying to make an actual decision here

i have known i wanted to take a gap year since i was 14. At first my family was on board but now they've all become really unsupportive and keep telling me I'll just be a burden in that time period (i even told them I'll get a job but they are still against it) So now im kinda double minded because as bad as i want a gap year its not worth destroying my relationship with them and damaging my self worth. I weighed my situation out and here a couple of pros and cons

Pros:

1. i wanted to learn a lot of new stuff like coding, painting, cooking and horse riding (i planned to pay for it myself)

2. high school was a rough patch. I wanted to take a break from academics because im really tired

Cons:

1. might damage my relationship with my family

2. their taunts may damage my self worth

3. i want to go to a reputable university 6 hours from my house so it will be a new start in a new city with new ppl so might not be half as bad

If anyone has been in a situation similar to me, please help me out. What should i do?

Also after my bachelors i want to go to any ivy League or any other university with equal value for my masters degree. Will my gap year give me a disadvantage there? (they university i plan to go to for my bachelors doesn't care about gap years)

I recently got accepted to college and have to accept my offer by the end of this week, but I genuinely don’t feel ready. If I don’t go, it would be my second gap year, and I’m feeling a lot of pressure from my family because they compare me to my cousins.

If I don’t accept my offer this year, is there a chance I could apply to the same program or something similar next year and get accepted it’s a ultrasound program it’s kinda competitive but my grades are high 80s? Has anyone taken a second gap year and gone to college afterward

Hi, guys. I am a Chinese university student who has successfully applied for a master's degree at a school in Russia. However, I am hesitating about whether to take a gap year because I also want to participate in an internship and trainee program in the United States.

After completing my master's degree in Russia, I will have to return to China unless I can apply for a PhD program.That’s what I was concerned about.

And I'm worried that my Russian background might get me blacklisted by U.S. Customs. I'm not a spy.😂