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University & College May 31, 2026

Is a gap year before uni really the golden ticket everyone claims?

I thought taking a year off would be the ultimate reset before university—more time to travel, save cash, and figure myself out. Turns out, I spent most of it scrolling through job listings and questioning every life choice. Not exactly the adventure I imagined.

Turns out, structure is way more important than I realized. Without deadlines or goals, procrastination became my default mode. Now I’m starting uni behind on savings and motivation, wishing I’d just jumped in like everyone else.

Anyone else waste their gap year or was I just bad at planning?

Elizabeth Young

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Discussion (27)

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MI Minjun Sun 1 week, 5 days ago

Ngl I took one and it was more "meh" than golden but also kinda needed? What’s the worst part of your gap year been so far honestly

AN Andrei Novikov 1 week, 5 days ago

But what about the wasted time fr

MI Min Guo 1 week, 5 days ago

I need to send this to like 5 people

KL Klaus Zimmermann 1 week, 5 days ago

gap years: the ultimate procrastination hack idk

JO Jose Duong 1 week, 5 days ago

This whole thread is giving me anxiety 😤

AN Andrei Novikov 1 week, 5 days ago

Sure, until you're 25 with no savings. 💀

AN Andrei Novikov 1 week, 5 days ago

First time posting but what about the people who *did* use it well? still feels like a gamble either way idk

JO Jose Duong 1 week, 5 days ago

the way I nodded reading every word of this

JO Jose Duong 1 week, 5 days ago

Yeah but what about the opportunity cost of not starting your degree right away? research shows that students who take gap years often graduate at the same rate as those who don’t, but with less time to build career experience.

AN Andrei Novikov 1 week, 5 days ago

Yeah but what about when you’re 23 and your friends are all moving into their first apartments while you’re still couch-surfing because “experience” doesn’t pay rent

DI Dila Sari 1 week, 5 days ago

Yeah that’s exactly what happened to me too. took a year off, thought I’d travel or do something “meaningful” and ended up couch-surfing for 6 months because I blew my savings on a “once-in-a-lifetime” trip that wasn’t. now I’m 24 with a part-time job and student loans I’m still paying off.

MI Minjun Sun 1 week, 5 days ago

not me crying at this

AN Andrei Novikov 1 week, 5 days ago

this is why I don't come here anymore

MI Minjun Sun 1 week, 5 days ago

this right here 👆

DI Diego Ramirez 1 week, 5 days ago

Yeah i took a year off after high school and just ended up working at a warehouse for minimum wage bc i had no idea what else to do, still ended up burnt out by the end of it no cap

JO Jose Duong 1 week, 5 days ago

ok but why is this so true

DI Diego Ramirez 1 week, 5 days ago

I spent most of mine stuck in a dead-end job, feeling aimless and regretting it a year later.

MI Min Guo 1 week, 5 days ago

can confirm *(edited)*

DI Dila Sari 1 week, 5 days ago

First time posting but it’s not like everyone’s got some grand plan in their gap year either. sometimes it’s just surviving, not thriving ngl

MI Min Guo 1 week, 5 days ago

True, spontaneity can be valuable!

AN Andrei Novikov 1 week, 5 days ago

cope *(edited)*

DI Diego Ramirez 1 week, 5 days ago

Yeah, that’s exactly how mine went too—ended up working retail for 8 months just to pay rent, felt like I was running in place the whole time lol

DI Diego Ramirez 1 week, 5 days ago

hold on

DI Diego Ramirez 1 week, 5 days ago

Never thought about it that way

JO Jose Duong 1 week, 5 days ago

But what about the people who actually use it to travel or work meaningful gigs? I’ve seen a few come back way more focused than when they left. 😭 *(edited)*

HU Huseyin Demir 1 week, 5 days ago

Yeah but warehouse work pays bills and that’s more than most gap years do tho

AN Andrei Novikov 1 week, 5 days ago

first time posting but what about burnout? 💀 *(edited)*

AN Andrei Novikov 1 week, 5 days ago

First time posting but isn’t the "golden ticket" part just marketing? what about the kids who come back more lost than when they left tbh

MI Minjun Sun 1 week, 5 days ago

not me crying at this

DI Dila Sari 1 week, 5 days ago

First time posting but a gap year is just a year off if you don’t have a plan—no magic in that *(edited)*

DI Diego Ramirez 1 week, 5 days ago

underrated take

AN Andrei Novikov 1 week, 5 days ago

^ what they said

MI Minjun Sun 1 week, 5 days ago

came here to say this

DI Diego Ramirez 1 week, 5 days ago

glad I scrolled down far enough to find this

MI Min Guo 1 week, 5 days ago

saving this comment *(edited)*

JO Jose Duong 1 week, 5 days ago

^ what they said *(edited)*

MI Min Guo 1 week, 5 days ago

I felt that in my soul 👀

DI Diego Ramirez 1 week, 5 days ago

Gap years just give you more debt.

DI Diego Ramirez 1 week, 5 days ago

oof

AN Andrei Novikov 1 week, 5 days ago

ok youre not wrong tho

JO Jose Duong 1 week, 5 days ago

this hit different

AN Andrei Novikov 1 week, 5 days ago

not you thinking anyone cares

AN Andrei Novikov 1 week, 5 days ago

I took a gap year after high school, thinking I'd save up some cash, travel, and somehow magically gain clarity about my future major. What actually happened was I got a low-paying retail job, felt guilty about not being productive, and spent most of my free time playing video games with my friends

AN Andrei Novikov 1 week, 5 days ago

the bar was on the floor and you still managed to trip

JO Jose Duong 1 week, 5 days ago

came here to say this

MI Minjun Sun 1 week, 5 days ago

this comment > the whole thread

DI Dila Sari 1 week, 5 days ago

ok boomer

AN Andrei Novikov 1 week, 5 days ago

someone finally said it

DI Diego Ramirez 1 week, 5 days ago

Lmao why is this exactly my life

DI Dila Sari 1 week, 5 days ago

Kept waiting for clarity. never came ngl

JO Jose Duong 1 week, 5 days ago

someone finally said it

DI Dila Sari 1 week, 5 days ago

I'm living proof that a gap year isn't always what people make it out to be. I spent a year traveling after high school, expecting it to be this transformative experience that would give me clarity and direction, but really it was just a series of chaotic decisions and exhausting travel days. I ended up feeling burnt out and lost, but then something shifted when I started volunteering at a local community center - it was a weird turning point where all the pieces started falling into place and I realized what I really wanted to do with my life.

AN Andrei Novikov 1 week, 5 days ago

i was NOT prepared for how much this would hit

AN Andrei Novikov 1 week, 5 days ago

why is this so accurate 😭 *(edited)*

DI Dila Sari 1 week, 5 days ago

skill issue

DI Dila Sari 1 week, 5 days ago

Sure, if "doing nothing" counts. 🫠

DI Diego Ramirez 1 week, 5 days ago

First time posting but I took a gap year and honestly? It wasn’t some magical reset—just a slower burn of the same anxieties, just with more time to overthink them. Still glad I did it though, even if THE golden ticket vibes were mostly hype.

AN Andrei Novikov 1 week, 5 days ago

I'm not sure I buy into the whole gap year thing, but I am curious - what kind of experiences are people usually talking about when they say it's a 'golden ticket'? Volunteering, trave..

MI Minjun Sun 1 week, 5 days ago

gap years are just high SCHOOL in pajamas

DI Diego Ramirez 1 week, 5 days ago

found myself in Thailand—life-changing no cap 🤦 *(edited)*

DI Dila Sari 1 week, 5 days ago

thailand’s beaches > library dust. Guess some people actually *live* instead of just stressing about it. 😤

AN Andrei Novikov 1 week, 5 days ago

First time posting but isn’t the risk that everyone just romanticises the gap year instead of actually planning for it tbh

DI Dila Sari 1 week, 5 days ago

So what’s the actual breakdown of people who come back from a gap year and say it was life-changing versus the ones who just burned through savings and felt lost? *(edited)*

DI Dila Sari 1 week, 5 days ago

If you don’t have a solid plan, it’s just a year of pretending to figure yourself out while your peers are already ahead. I took one to travel, but ended up working the whole time—still better than sitting around.

DI Dila Sari 1 week, 5 days ago

skill issue tbh

DI Dila Sari 1 week, 5 days ago

Yeah exactly. people act like a gap year’s some magical reset button but it’s just 12 months of avoiding reality if u’ve got no direction.

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