Gap year - all ideas welcome!

[zamantha]

We want to plan a gap year for our DC - eventually Engineering is the goal. Want to know has anybody gone through UCAS process to defer for a year? Or do we wait another year? One option might be that they do some further exams/re-takes and works as an assistant in the school. Want to plan a volunteer trip abroad though - even in summer months. Have done and are doing Engineering Summer schools in uni's we are all interested in.

Worry a bit about all the open days - one friend says, wait for the offers and then they invite you for a look around day. How are uni's about deferring? What about if misses grades first time - do they keep it on table until grades achieved? Am looking at fairly competitive unis and they should achieve competitive grades - if not immediately - then eventually.
Finally, how did you help to plan a gap year? What did your DC do? Was it useful?

ds decided on a gap year just before midnight on the day before the A level results came out. When he got his firm offer through he had an email from the uni asking him if he wanted to accept reject or defer so he pressed defer which triggered an email from them saying congratulations on getting a place, see you next year. No need to explain a thing but it did leave us with a what are you going to do now then. other unis may well want a letter asking you why you want to defer and may not look at it so favourably. the Heap book (available in school libraries) gives you an idea of which unis are ok with deferred students

He spent a term at school as a learning mentor and taking a coursera course at Penn State Uni then for the second term he got a part time job in a pub which will hopefully give him the experience to work in the student union bar when he goes in September (easiest way to meet new people and have a good night with friends without spending money) he also did an internship at the Guardian and two stints with The Bookseller (a publishing trade magasine) This term he has gone off interrailing and volunteering at a couple of literary places in Europe.

I think as long as your ds gets a minimum of ABB there would be a good chance his uni will still take him if he slips on a grade as there is no quota for ABB and above now so dropping a grade but staying on or above the ABB wouldn't matter (unless he's doing science where they would need some sort of quota for lab space.)