To think this the most pointless, indulgent gap year possible

Indulgent, yes. Amazing, also yes.

Jealousy is pretty pointless though.

Sounds great to me.

I did a volunteering abroad trip in mine and tbh we were of zero use to the locals. I cringe about it now although it was good for me personally.

I also read Gone With the Wind and Jane Eyre before I was 16 so reading classical literature would have been lovely. Learning to cook certainly would have been valuable! As would speaking French and gaining ski qualifications if it enabled me to get future ski jobs.

Sounds like a v rich girl gap year and nobody will take her seriously when she goes out into the real world and tells them about this. It won’t be a year for building resilience, learning about culture or meeting interesting people. Actually she might meet interesting people but they won’t have anything in common with her.

Yep I’d be surprised if the daughter of two multi-millionaires went to a state school, but I’m also surprised that parents of a girl at Marlborough or wherever thinks it is worthy of comment that she’s read Anna Karenina, or that they are needing to curate her year out to keep her away from apparently “lowly” friends. Lots of this sounds normal for rich people, but other bits are a bit odd.

Multi millionaires fund a year long holiday for their child.

That's really it, isn’t it?

A quite unsurprising way to spend your pots of money I would have thought.

Dressing it up as something else is complete nonsense, but other than that there's no outrage here?

Regardless of money issues, I really would have thought that the trad backpacking type of gap year would be better at helping them to learn stand on their own feet, be resourceful, etc. And preferably with at least some time actually working at any job first.

But we don’t know they haven’t. As a pp said, it’s a not untypical wealthy kid gap year. I knew lots of people at Oxford who’d done a variant on what the OP describes before going up, and who thought I was mildly exotic because I’d been working as a relief milker.

After investing so much in their daughter of course these experiences are going to help her with networking, cultural chat & give her the basis for interesting conversation with like minded people!
I would love to be able to afford to give my dc an experience like that but we can't afford it. I we could I would in a heartbeat!
You sound very narrow minded if you cannot view the benefits of such a trip.

That sounds like a lovely year for her and like her parents are trying to be supportive and divert her away from drugs (and potentially people in her life involved with them). Surely most of us would want to do the best we could for our children and this is them trying to do that.

Why is it odd for an 18 year old to have read War and Peace or Anna Karenina? Aren't they fairly standard books for an older child or teenager to pick up at some point?

Jealousy is never a good look, and says more about the person feeling it. Maybe think about why this is bothering you and look to address that. If it's a financial thing, try to remember that you don't need lots of money to raise a strong, independent, successful child - their finances are a resource that they're using here, but you also have resources and skills you can use. If it's that you think it's important to get in volunteering or work experience, that's something you can encourage for your own child.

My 17-year-old was reading Anna Karenina and Russian literature. Not every teen is obsessed with social media.

Wish my parents had been mean enough to force me to go to New York, Thailand and Italy 🤣

"it’s a degree apprentice in the finance world".

How did she get that then? She was given it, because of her parents, without the tests and interviews? I don't believe you.

Finance degree apprenticeships are extremely competitive and sought after. One of the most prestigious things ever.

I was the same, but it’s well documented that young adults today don’t have the reading stamina we did 20 years ago. Even Oxford English Lit undergrads. Maybe this girl does 🤷‍♀️.

Aren't all gap years pointless and indulgent?

Why's it less indulgent if she's carrying a backpack?

It’s not meant to be enjoyable is it? It’s finishing school to help her fit in with other rich people.

Though most parents would just send their kids to public school for that.

I think it sounds great although all quite preplanned with an element of molly coddling. However it will definitely be enriching and foster some independence in a safe way. Lucky girl. Also at 18 I had a massive thing going on for Russian authors.

It does sound like a long luxury holiday, but what's wrong with that? Holidays are good for people. It's not like the gap year is taxpayer funded or anything and it sounds like her parents have the money to afford it, so good for them/her.

They’re clearly a wealthy family. I’m sure plenty of young people would rather do that than work as a chalet maid to fit in a bit of skiing/ au pair in New York and squeeze in a bit of the city experience when they can but they don’t have the option.

Same @crumpet,
Uylesses, Finnegan's Wake, Catcher in the Rye..
Now the most I read is on here! Although I'm not ashamed to say HUGELY jealous of the 17yo!!

Gap years are self-indulgent! She’s lucky her parents can afford to let her do it in luxury, that’s all.

I read those when I was teenager, are you so jealous of them that you think she is lying?

Good luck to her - I would love to be able to give my DD that kind of gap year. Let’s hope her parents aren’t on MN though as this is so identifying, from entire trip itinerary to what book she’s just read. I’d be dropping you as a friend for posting such a scathing critique of me and my child.

You just sound jealous

Sounds amazing! So much learning and enriching experiences.

I would have thought she would benefit from them more after uni than after school.

I too think it sounds like a lovely year.
I think being an adult is hard enough these days.
Let them have their fun years.