Gap year

Taking a gap year (also known as year abroad, year out, year off, deferred year, bridging year, time off and time out) refers to taking a year out of studying to do something else. Many people take a gap year before starting college or university, but it can be taken at any time.^[1]

Activities

Some students spend the time traveling, others spend the time working, and many combine these into an international working holiday. A popular option for gap year students, also known as "gappers", is international volunteering. In the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, a great number of the volunteers who helped in South Asia were on a gap year.^[2]

Many gap year students also earn money while overseas by working cash in hand, often in the hospitality industry. Another growing trend for gappers is to enroll in global education programs that combine language study, homestays, cultural immersion, community service, and independent study. Such experiential opportunities exist in countries from India to China and Morocco to Brazil.

Gap years by country

Australia

Australia currently has 19 reciprocal working holiday programs with countries, which include: Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

Typically, restrictions for the working holiday visas include: being 18-30 yrs, proof of access to funds, and holding a valid passport. Work restrictions also apply to ensure that the purpose of the holiday is not to further an individual's career. The Australian Defence Force also runs a Gap Year program, where enlistees are only required to serve for up to a year.^[3]

The UK and Canada remain two of the most popular destinations for Australians to visit every year, with 35,061 UK and 6,517 Canadian working holiday visas issued in 2003/4.

Youthworks run a gap year option in Sydney for Christian school leavers called Year 13 Gospel Gap Year. It has a continuous option for students living in Sydney, and an intensive option for regional NSW, Australia-wide and international students.

Gap Downunder^[4] is a WEBTV series about British gap year travellers. Many travel the East Coast of Australia. Locations such as Sydney, Byron Bay, Nimbin, Gold Coast, Fraser Island, Airlie Beach, the Whitsundays, Cairns and Cape Tribulation are featured in this series.

Denmark

In the recent years the government have tried to limit the number of students who take a gap year. The need to get students sooner into the work space and a wish to preserve the unique Danish culture have meant the students are punished if they complete their education too slowly by traveling abroad or working full time for a period, limiting the possibility of taking a gap year.^[5] In 2006, it was announced that fewer students than before had taken a gap year.^[6] In April 2009, the government proposed a new law which gives a bonus to students who refrain from a gap year.^[7]

Israel

In Israel, gap-years are mostly used for travel. A 3-year army service is compulsory - after which it is customary to travel. For the majority of Israelis, the first few months after dismissal are spent working and saving money for the trip. In order to spend as little time as possible working (rather than traveling) and as much time as possible on vacation, Israelis prefer traveling to the Far East, India or Indo-China due to the low cost of living there. Some who are drafted late use the time between high-school graduation and army service to travel.

Working holidays are also common practice, especially to Western countries such as the USA, Canada and Australia. Former combative infantrymen sometimes find jobs as weapons instructors or security personnel in various places around the globe, which can also be considered a sort of working holiday.

In Jewish summer camps in the diaspora (particularly in the USA and UK), there is a tendency to hire Israeli staff in hope that through the interaction with them the camper's connection with Israel would strengthen. This is considered Zionist, and is often arranged via the Jewish Agency.

Netherlands

The most common form of gap year is work-holiday travel to another country, preferentially on another continent if the person taking it can afford the tickets. Australia and other English-speaking countries are among the most popular due to the high standard of Dutch high school courses in English, but culture/language immersion programmes in Spanish-speaking countries are increasingly popular, and are sometimes offered on all-in basis. Most will leave the Netherlands for only half the year, spending the other six months working to finance the trip.^{[original research?]} The Growth in popularity of the gap year concept in the Netherlands is evident by the formation of the first Dutch registered gap year company Xtreme Gap Year

The liberal arts college Academia Vitae offers a preacademic gap year in Deventer for young students to study liberal arts. This is not a common form of the gap year in the Netherlands. The Dutch gap year is also referred to as a tussenjaar.

United Kingdom

British citizens are able to take advantage of the European Union as well as the reciprocal arrangements that exist and live and work in an overseas country for an extended period of time. Australia, New Zealand and Canada remain popular destinations due to the cultural similarities and Commonwealth ties due to the British Empire.

Prince Harry popularised Africa as a Gap Year destination when he volunteered in South Africa in 2004. Other opportunities available include working in ski resorts in Canada, camp roles in America and working in the Australian Outback.

There are many gap year providers in the U.K. that provide opportunities for people of all ages. Many providers are listed on gap year directory sites.

Popular gap year projects include Project Trust based on the Isle of Coll, Think Pacific based in Leeds, Lattitude based in Reading, and Quest Overseas based in Hove.

United States of America

In the United States, the practice of taking a "gap year" or "year off" before entering college remains relatively rare. This can be partially traced to American cultural values, which stress economic independence, as well as the considerably higher cost of post-secondary education in the U.S. Many American students cannot afford to take a year off. In 2008, more than 65.6% of all undergraduate students relied on loans to finance their education, with an average debt of roughly US$23,186 (excluding PLUS Loans but including Stafford, Perkins, state, college and private loans). Among graduate students in 2008, 56.4% relied on loans, with an average debt totaling roughly US$40,297.^[8]

Some organizations have offered young Americans structured gap year programs. These include Dynamy, with sites in Worcester, Massachusetts and Santa Rosa, California. Another American gap year option is City Year, with locations in urban centers around the U.S.. Other companies also offer cultural immersion and community service travel programs around the world, including semester programs, residential community living and education in specific areas.

See also

• Career break
• Overseas experience
• Sabbatical year
• Work-life balance

References

External links

• Gap Years at the Open Directory Project