I got in, but is the course suitable for me? 

To be honest, there wasn’t really a motivation for me to take a gap year per se. I just wasn’t sure whether or not the course I was offered was something I could see myself doing in the long-term, even though I had put it as my first choice. While the contents of the course were something I was interested in, it was extremely niche and some considerations kicked in.

 1) what were the career prospects of the course;

 2) would my interest in this course and its affiliated industries be sustained in the next few decades, given its nicheness and possible limited job mobility? 

Passion wasn’t a factor as I still feel like I’m too young to openly speak about them, given my lack of life experience. 

 

I eventually appealed to my second choice course and got in, but withdrew my offer afterwards because I didn’t know what to major in given the broadness of the faculty, and I had my concerns about career prospects, as I’d witnessed close friends and family around me struggling in this area. I suppose I am quite a pragmatic person, and there’s nothing wrong with that. 

 

On top of all this, the COVID-19 pandemic had just started and orientations, hall activities, in-person classes were all being cancelled. There was a lot of uncertainty and I didn’t find paying full fees for a half-filled university experience worth it. We’re not out of the pandemic, and class structures have more or less stayed online - but at least we’re more certain about the future now! A gap year also bought me time to apply for overseas universities, which I didn’t hadn’t done in JC due to lack of knowledge about the process. Also, I had a rough (then crazy, looking back) idea of what to do in my gap year: internships, rest, volunteer work - I was quite determined to stick to it. 

 

My gap year was a super welcomed break from the linear progression of my life up till then (pri, sec, JC non-stop), almost like a cultural shock haha. I suddenly had all the time in the world to do literally anything I wanted; no timetables to follow, no homework to do, no exams to study for, no deadlines to meet. It was liberating, but at the same time scary as I now had complete free reign over how I spent my time - and I didn’t have to be accountable for things like my grades, or school conduct. I loved being able to craft my own time, plans, and above all having ample rest in between my internships to indulge in my hobbies like reading, sewing or baking. My thought process was (and still is) honestly quite shallow: I’m probably never going to get a whole year off after university ever again since I’ll be busy with life stuff like work or marriage or starting a family, so I might as well rest as much as I can right now!

 

On the contrary, I also grew a lot closer to many friends from JC and secondary school, not drifted as many might expect. The gap year gave me a lot more time to meet up/text them as and when, and subsequently form closer connections than even before. They are also excellent support groups and I am so, so grateful for them. Despite the pandemic, I also managed to make closer friends from my various internships and volunteering work which I never would have met if I never took a gap year. Quite certain we’ll be friends for life! 

Throughout my gap year, there was a heavy air of uncertainty about what was going to come next - not only with regards to the pandemic, but also my personal life. I was aiming for government scholarships for yet another niche course in an overseas university, and that was what motivated me to press on; but I also knew that there was no guarantee that I’d be able to get one despite all I the work I had been putting in, so there were a lot of personal stresses and deliberations over what were my plans if I failed - would I self-fund for the overseas university? Would I suck it up and move on to that other course in a local university? But then, would my gap year have been worth it? Basically, I was afraid that all I’d done would have been for naught. 

 

And yes, my fears did come true. I wasn’t even shortlisted for scholarship interviews and I was pretty down over that since I’d already gotten an offer from my desired course; my relationship was concurrently breaking down; work was getting stressful; I was in the midst of moving houses. I felt like a failure. It wasn’t fun, but it was a trying time that, in hindsight, I’d say was necessary for personal growth. I was simply where I needed to be at that time. It got better though! 

To avoid doxxing myself, I did a total of four internships: 1 at non-profit, and 3 in the government sector. They covered a pretty diverse range of industries from the built environment to society to the legal sector, and I was BEYOND lucky to have scored in the midst of the pandemic, when job openings were becoming increasingly rare. I didn’t use any personal connections to get them either; 2 were recommended by my JC before I graduated (albeit indirectly; interviews were all individually arranged with the organisations), 1 was through cold emailing and 1 was via the organisation’s website. 

 

Even though what I’ll be studying at university is at best distantly related to my internships, they taught me a ton of stuff that you’d never be able to learn from the classroom: people skills, organisational skills, how to write proper emails, whether I could tolerate a 9-5 in an office (I don’t mind), insights into different sectors and more. These are really intangible things that short two, three-week internships will not be able to uncover - you need to take the time to immerse yourself into the organisation to see how they work. You’d be surprised. Schools would never teach you these. 

 

I also volunteered for several long-term projects with some government-related entities - in part to build my portfolio, but also because I was genuinely interested in those causes. I’ve stayed on with these teams after my gap year and I intend on staying for the long-term. CIP hours aside, volunteering is incredibly meaningful and fulfilling. I urge everyone to do so as long as you have the time! You’ll meet such a diverse and amazing group of people, and step out of your comfort zone in doing so. I had immense fun volunteering (be it individually, or with my friends) and, as cheesy as it sounds, it gives you a sense of purpose and drive to really help out the community or even the wider, global population. 

 

The gap year also gave me time to pick up new hobbies and to brush up on old ones. I also read quite a bit of books (finally got the time to after JC, no excuses) and got my driving license! Overall, it was pretty fulfilling. 

My friends were supportive. No question about that, but it could be because I only told them I was taking a gap year when I withdrew my university offer. They really checked in on me regularly and effort was made from both sides to catch up with one another whenever possible :) Having a strong support network is so good for mental health during one’s gap year and I was so blessed to have just that. 

 

My parents have always been pretty chill but even they were surprised and skeptical when I first suggested a gap year. They thought I was joking but I convinced them that I was serious by laying out a plan with them: which means I intended to do an internship, which universities I intended on applying to, which organisations I’d volunteer with. I also gave a pitch about how unsure I was of my course offers and how that might lead to disaster in the near/far future given my indecisiveness. They only truly gave in after I received a very-long-term internship offer which would have covered a full semester at university -- their main conditions were:

1) I should not be relying on them financially, and 

2) I should never be jobless for more than a month or so; if I couldn’t get an internship then I’d have to get a job in the service sector.

 

Despite not taking any allowance from my parents and relying on my internship pay/savings during my gap year, I’d still say taking one is a privilege. My family is quite financially stable at the moment, so even if I couldn’t get a job due to lockdowns or whatever, they were still able to provide for one non-contributing, non-studying member in the household. There was also no rush for a child to quickly graduate and start contributing financially to the household. These are aspects you should consider when taking a gap year, as the opportunity cost of it - one full year’s lag and loss of salary - is quite big, although we could argue that it is negligible in your next 40 years or so of working.

Hmm… I’d recommend taking a gap year if:

1. You’re unsure about which course you want and wish to mull over it for a year through internships or something; 

2. You want to retake A Levels to improve your chances of getting into your desired course;

3. You need a mental break from SG’s linear educational progression

 

Gap years aren’t for everybody. You need to be disciplined, independent and learn not to rely too much on the people around you - your life should and would be entirely in your hands. 

To sum it up (from a non-religious perspective): 

Always be true to yourself in your efforts and intentions. Whatever happens during your gap year, as long as you know for yourself that you’ve genuinely done your best, is meant to be. Everything will come and happen at the right time when needed, and some things will be beyond your control. But everything will be okay :) 

 

Nope! Even during my downest of downs, I knew that I had extremely invaluable takeaways from my internships and volunteering experiences which, even without achieving what I wanted, would still be useful and memorable for future me. 

 

In the end, I got into my desired course in a local university. I never expected myself to be studying it, but here I am. I genuinely believed I’d failed the interview and test too as they were beyond terrible, but yet I got in so I took it as fate. I also believe my experiences during my gap year were what managed to get me a local, non-bonded university scholarship; I had been rejected from the very same scholarship before I took a gap year, when I first applied post-JC. Was it all worth it? Yes.

DO NOT TAKE A GAP YEAR WITHOUT A PLAN. 

 

I cannot stress this enough. Please craft up a rough plan of what you’re gonna do during your gap year before blindly embarking on one; take a look at the calendar for the next one year and highlight which months you’d be working, studying, taking exams, nua-ing or whatever. I personally know people who took a gap year with no concrete plans, and ended up back at square one this year. Of course not everything will go according to plan and we will more than likely deviate, but a plan gives you motivation to press on during your gap year and you should be sticking to it as much as possible to achieve your desired end goal. 

 

Consult your friends and family. They know you best - your attitudes, temperament, tendency to procrastinate, go with the flow etc. etc. all make a world of difference in determining how your gap year turns out. Parental approval (at least for me) is extremely important as they are the ones who might have to finance you if you run out of money or run into trouble. If they are funding your university education thereafter, please make sure your gap year is worth it. After all, the opportunity costs are honestly not low. 

 

Have a solid support network. Stay disciplined and on-task. Talk to someone if you need to - it gets quite isolating at times, with FOMO, your friends living the university/hall life and making new friends. Don’t forget to take breaks and indulge in self-care too - this might be the last long stretch in your life where you’ll get to do so. 

 

Be brave and go in with an open mind and many, many Plan Bs.