Home Work & Study
If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.

Unplanned year out

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
edited March 27 in Work & Study
A while ago I posted about possibly taking a year out from uni as recovering from surgery and keeping up really wasn't working.

In the end I had very little choice, trying to keep up wasn't working, so I'm taking the year out. A few people said that they had done a similar thing, I was wondering, did you get better before the end of the academic year? If so what did you do with the rest of the year?

Did anyone have an unplanned gap year and if so what did you do with it?

I'm doing a teeney bit of babysitting and tutoring at the moment, but still getting better, and am not going to do anything until I'm completely better and have got most of my fitness back. Have decided that since time is on my side I'll try and do things properly. Finance isn't too much of an issue, my parents have said that while I'm back at home they'll treat me the same as before I went to uni, so it's rent free and I get 'pocket money' like my two younger brothers. Result is that day to day if I don't want to do anything interesting I'm ok for money, but anything else I'd have to pay out of wages etc.

Any ideas or personnal experience of what I could do with the time?h
Post edited by JustV on

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I had an unplanned gap year after a-levels and I worked in a bar and had lots of money and got pissed, and then I moved down to Bristol to work in a hotel and stayed in staff accomadation for £20 a week and worked and got pissed. Was really fun :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    kangoo wrote:
    I had an unplanned gap year after a-levels and I worked
    same. so... erm... do that. ;)

    also, f your course was modular, it might also be possible, depending on your uni for you to return in january.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm guessing that if you're recovering from surgery, getting a job is out of the question? You could do something like volunteering/working on the tills in a charity shop: minimal activity, maybe earn a bit of money (I don't know if they pay people to work, they must do, surely?), something good for charity, better for your CV than "I took a year off and sat around the house".

    Personally if I had a lot of time on my hands I'd do plenty of reading relevant to my course so I'd be really ahead with it when I went back next September.

    Maybe you could start a creative hobby like embroidery, knitting, glass painting, sketching, baking, photo or video editing, writing a book?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Why not register for a short course with the Open University? They cost from about £90 for a 10 point course and have different starting times. Short courses only last about 12 months. If you don't have an income and live with your parents you can probably get a grant to cover the course costs and do it for free!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I can't go back to uni before October, so that answers that one.

    From that so far I'm thinking I'll go back to jewellry making until I'm completely better, at which point I'll find a job.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    BumbleBee wrote:
    Why not register for a short course with the Open University? They cost from about £90 for a 10 point course and have different starting times. Short courses only last about 12 months. If you don't have an income and live with your parents you can probably get a grant to cover the course costs and do it for free!

    My Open Uni course cost about £300 and only lasted from Jan to Sept:eek2:
    To the OP, the jewellery making sounds good, but might you not get a bit bored doing that constantly until you're better?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've got all the stuff to do the OU Greek short course which is what I'd probably do, so might go back to that ( used it on a summer school I went on, suspect highly illegal copies).

    I'm only really bored school hours because then brothers get home and chaos returns and I get to play at being a homework supervisor, there's a fair amount of laundry, cooking, cleaning etc to keep me going too.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Fair play. Hope you get better soon :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Me too!

    I'm still after ideas if anyone has any, I'll be bored of them by the end of the week! But then it's nearly Christmas.:yippe:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    do you enjoy photos?

    if so, why not take up scrapbooking? it`s very addictive!

    x
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've not managed to get my own photos from a summer trip 4 years ago into an album yet :blush: so not really my kind of thing, BUT I should be setting myself challenges, so could make that one of them. Thanks :thumb:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    cool

    well if you do, maybe you could get a mini album and make one for your friends as a crimbo present, a little book of photos of you and your mates

    pass the time AND get a couple of stockin fillers out the way :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Do you know what you want to do after uni? If so, you could probably get
    work experience. Littleali's idea about photos is a good idea as well.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm doing Chemical Engineering at uni, and want to stay in that at least for a few years after I graduate. I've got a placement lined up for the summer, so one of the things I'm looking at is moving and/or extending that.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    AmsyBamsy wrote:
    My Open Uni course cost about £300 and only lasted from Jan to Sept:eek2:

    They do a whole range of courses that have different lengths. A 10 point course usually lasts about 12 weeks. It sounds like you did a 30 0r 60 point course. The one I am currently doing is Oct - June and is nearly £600 but I got a grant to cover the fees.
Sign In or Register to comment.