DD Y13..a bit lost. Gap year, then what?

[MonkeyTennis34]

DD17 is certain that she’d like to do a gap year next September but doesn’t have any motivation to secure a uni place first.
So I guess it may not be a “gap” year!
She’s studying Sport, Psychology and Biology and has spoken about pursuing a degree in Sports Psychology but this has gone off the boil.
Deep down, I’m worrying that she’ll get back from her year away and have nothing planned.
Her 2 older brothers have gone/currently at uni so I’m finding it hard to navigate a different route.
Any advice?

I thubjnit would be useful to get her to apply to university for a deferred place now, as much as anything to focus her mind a little. She can always change her mind about course etc and re apply in a year’s time

I'd suggest she applies for a deferred place but also look at apprenticeships or what she might like to secure a job in. Uni isn't for everyone, my ds crashed out of uni, went on to get a job which is absolutely brilliant for him, he's still living away from home, being independent etc. Conversely, my step son is 30, hasn't worked at all since uni, has no intention of working and has only just thought about moving out, so it doesn't need to define their futures

Thanks @Lightuptheroomand @SlenderRations
I totally agree but if she’s not 100% sure on what to study then I don’t know what she’ll do.

The important thing is she doesn't have to take any uni place. Do make sure that she's applying for jobs if she's not intending to go travelling etc because otherwise she'll miss out when everyone finishes college

Yes, we’ve made it clear that if she doesn’t go to uni she will definitely be expected to work and contribute to the household financially.

Is it going to be a gap year, as in travelling, working a ski season etc etc

or is it going to be a gap year sat at home?

It's easier to apply now while she's still at school because school will sort a lot of it out. I would apply now, she doesn't have to go. DS applied to uni, got offered an apprenticeship, deferred his entry in case he didn't enjoy the apprenticeship and then pulled out of the deferred place when he was happy with his apprenticeship.

She can apply to university at any point but it is much easier to do so when she is in college and has some support around her.

Those are great A Levels. She might be interested in a health related degree/career, especially if she wants to travel as the qualifications are in demand across the world.

Sports science is a really enjoyable degree but best undertaken by people who have reasonably clear career paths after graduation.

Just tell her worth applying now as she not only has the support of school to pull together the paperwork but unis often accept kids with lower grades then cut off and still let them defer for a year. If she applies later will need exact or higher grades in hand
Choose a liberal arts course more flexibility once she starts ie could do business with liberal arts .... could do science! these courses are flexible for kids not knowing what to do

does she have a job at the moment? I'd be pushing her towards getting a weekend job or some volunteering experience (maybe help out at a kids sports team)? anything that gives an idea of what the real world is like and how to earn money.

that will be valuable to contribute to a CV and might motivate her to study and get a better job.

@noidea69
It will be a gap year travelling..Asia, South America. She’s been saving for it for over a year now.

@parietal
Yes she has a weekend job at a local cafe. TBH she has a pretty good work ethic.

Yes I totally agree with the idea that applying now is preferable re school sorting stuff etc.
Even though we went through UCAS last year due DS2, I can’t remember the timings…when is the deadline re 2026 places?

yeah, its that Australian boy she meets whilst travelling which is going to be the real stopper on going to uni.

@noidea69
🤣🤣

Make securing a job or further education part of the deal for going travelling. If she doesn't have something to come back to she doesn't go.

I’m a bit surprised by all these comments saying she has to commit now to a job/uni in 2 yrs time otherwise she doesn’t go. Wow!

1. she has a good work ethic
2. has already saved to go travelling
3. isn’t sure what she wants to do
4. no workplace will save a full time job whilst she travels for a year so securing one now won’t work
5. what’s the point of deferring a uni place if it’s the wrong course?

What exactly are your concerns OP? There doesn’t seem to be any evidence that she’s not motivated or is a shirker or likely sponge from you. So what if she goes travelling for a year? Lots of ppl do this and secure a uni place / job when they return. Does her school support students after a gap year in applying to uni? Most do, but double check. A year travelling will give her thinking time, perhaps maturity too. I actually wish mine had taken a gap year - they’ll probs retire in their 70’s so have 50+ years of working, a year out (that she’s paying for) really isn’t a bad idea. Also, uni will always be there, once she’s decided on a worthwhile course.

I agree with this. She's been saving, presumably from working. She's funding this. Why shouldn't she go. And she'll be an adult, so not sure how anyone would stop her.

My dd did a gap year but had a plan- full time work then some travelling.

I would be fine with gap year but there would have to be a plan like working to earn money for travel. I didn’t charge my dd rent during her gap year but she was expected to fund her car costs and pay for any new tech she wanted for uni. She thought that was very fair and bought a MacBook Air and IPad.

Getting a job is hard right now so she needs to start hunting for something at least part-time now and hoping that when other students leave for uni in the autumn then she can get their shifts too to get her hours closer to full time.

I think that there’s a lot of students doing A-levels who move to uni for the experience rather than feeling a drive to study their degree. Your dd is being fine taking a year or two out before committing to the high levels of student debt but she needs to do other stuff in the mean time.

My kids have benefitted from part time work in sixth form. They met people, heard their stories and looked into new things that they hadn’t considered. At school they hang out with people around their age but at work they meet younger and older people and often firmed up their ideas on how they saw their futures.

@MonkeyTennis34 ds had no idea what he really wanted to do at this stage of year 13, except that he definitely wasn’t going to uni (he’d been clear about that since about 13). He knew he wanted to do a gap year and he also had a good work ethic - worked at Tesco 12 hours a week through sixth form.

He worked solidly at Tesco from end of A Levels until he set off on his travels in the January- by which stage he’d decided he would apply for a uni place after all, along with apprenticeships. Over the course of the gap year, he realised he enjoyed Politics and Philosophy (he’d originally been going to apply for Real Estate). He really changed over his gap year.

He/we managed the application process fine (school did his reference) and he got four offers while he was away- which he then ditched to go through clearing 🤣 He’s really happy in year 1 now - very independent due to the gap year and enjoying his course, because he gave himself time to discover what he enjoyed (lots of podcasts while travelling!).

I don't think she necessarily has to have every i dotted and t crossed before she sets off on her travels but some kind of idea about what's next and the likely selection processes would be helpful. If she wants to apply to University for the following year she needs to plan her year so that she is at least somewhere with reliable internet around the time of application for example. Also a lot of degree apprenticeships seem to have some type of in person assessment so if that's something on her radar she needs to research things before she goes. I'm just thinking of a girl I know who took a gap year a couple years ago, gave no thought to what she was going to do next, missed the opportunity to apply to University for the next year and is now back living with her parents and working in a minimum wage job with no real plan as far as I can tell. It's a real shame as she is an able young woman with good A levels but she is now 2 years behind her school friends at University and just seems to be drifting. I can't help but think that if she had had a proper plan before she started her travels that probably wouldn't have happened.
I think a gap year can be very beneficial and I imagine your DD is very excited about it but I'd be encouraging her to think beyond it, rather than imagining she can do the trip and only start thinking about what to do next once she is home.

Honestly she sounds fantastic! A great combination of A levels, savings, a plan to travel … a few wobbles about the direction of her adult life are really understandable!

My dh did sports science at uni; he wanted to open a chain of gyms but it didn’t pan out… and is now a senior finance director. It just works out.

I agree with this to some extent. Mine had gap years doing an extra course/working. They didn’t even apply until the following year when they already had grades in hand, so knew exactly where would accept them, and also had an extra year to think carefully about what they wanted to do and where they wanted to go. Friends who applied and then deferred for a year changed their minds in that year on courses and unis, seemed pointless having applied the previous year then.