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Is a gap year before uni really the golden ticket…
University & College May 31, 2026

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

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?
EL

Elizabeth Young

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Discussion (27)

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MI Minjun Sun 1 month 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
4
AN Andrei Novikov 1 month ago
But what about the wasted time fr
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MI Min Guo 1 month ago
I need to send this to like 5 people
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KL Klaus Zimmermann 1 month ago
gap years: the ultimate procrastination hack idk
JO Jose Duong 1 month ago
This whole thread is giving me anxiety 😤
2
AN Andrei Novikov 1 month ago
Sure, until you're 25 with no savings. 💀
7
AN Andrei Novikov 1 month ago
First time posting but what about the people who *did* use it well? still feels like a gamble either way idk
7
JO Jose Duong 1 month ago
the way I nodded reading every word of this
JO Jose Duong 1 month 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.
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AN Andrei Novikov 1 month 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
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DI Dila Sari 1 month 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.
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MI Minjun Sun 1 month ago
not me crying at this
AN Andrei Novikov 1 month ago
this is why I don't come here anymore
77
MI Minjun Sun 1 month ago
this right here 👆
DI Diego Ramirez 1 month 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
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JO Jose Duong 1 month ago
ok but why is this so true
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DI Diego Ramirez 1 month ago
I spent most of mine stuck in a dead-end job, feeling aimless and regretting it a year later.
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MI Min Guo 1 month ago
can confirm *(edited)*
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DI Dila Sari 1 month 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
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MI Min Guo 1 month ago
True, spontaneity can be valuable!
AN Andrei Novikov 1 month ago
cope *(edited)*
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DI Diego Ramirez 1 month 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
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DI Diego Ramirez 1 month ago
hold on
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DI Diego Ramirez 1 month ago
Never thought about it that way
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JO Jose Duong 1 month 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)*
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HU Huseyin Demir 1 month ago
Yeah but warehouse work pays bills and that’s more than most gap years do tho
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AN Andrei Novikov 1 month ago
first time posting but what about burnout? 💀 *(edited)*
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AN Andrei Novikov 1 month 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
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MI Minjun Sun 1 month ago
not me crying at this
0
DI Dila Sari 1 month 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)*
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DI Diego Ramirez 1 month ago
underrated take
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AN Andrei Novikov 1 month ago
^ what they said
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MI Minjun Sun 1 month ago
came here to say this
DI Diego Ramirez 1 month ago
glad I scrolled down far enough to find this
MI Min Guo 1 month ago
saving this comment *(edited)*
JO Jose Duong 1 month ago
^ what they said *(edited)*
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MI Min Guo 1 month ago
I felt that in my soul 👀
DI Diego Ramirez 1 month ago
Gap years just give you more debt.
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DI Diego Ramirez 1 month ago
oof
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AN Andrei Novikov 1 month ago
ok youre not wrong tho
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JO Jose Duong 1 month ago
this hit different
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AN Andrei Novikov 1 month ago
not you thinking anyone cares
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AN Andrei Novikov 1 month 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
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AN Andrei Novikov 1 month ago
the bar was on the floor and you still managed to trip
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JO Jose Duong 1 month ago
came here to say this
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MI Minjun Sun 1 month ago
this comment > the whole thread
0
DI Dila Sari 1 month ago
ok boomer
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AN Andrei Novikov 1 month ago
someone finally said it
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DI Diego Ramirez 1 month ago
Lmao why is this exactly my life
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DI Dila Sari 1 month ago
Kept waiting for clarity. never came ngl
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JO Jose Duong 1 month ago
someone finally said it
DI Dila Sari 1 month 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.
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AN Andrei Novikov 1 month ago
i was NOT prepared for how much this would hit
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AN Andrei Novikov 1 month ago
why is this so accurate 😭 *(edited)*
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DI Dila Sari 1 month ago
skill issue
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DI Dila Sari 1 month ago
Sure, if "doing nothing" counts. 🫠
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DI Diego Ramirez 1 month 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.
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AN Andrei Novikov 1 month 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..
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MI Minjun Sun 1 month ago
gap years are just high SCHOOL in pajamas
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DI Diego Ramirez 1 month ago
found myself in Thailand—life-changing no cap 🤦 *(edited)*
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DI Dila Sari 1 month ago
thailand’s beaches > library dust. Guess some people actually *live* instead of just stressing about it. 😤
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AN Andrei Novikov 1 month ago
First time posting but isn’t the risk that everyone just romanticises the gap year instead of actually planning for it tbh
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DI Dila Sari 1 month 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)*
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DI Dila Sari 1 month 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.
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DI Dila Sari 1 month ago
skill issue tbh
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DI Dila Sari 1 month 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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