The decision most people have to make at the
end of Year 13 is whether to continue with full-time education
usually Higher Education look for a job or career.
Jobs and careers
Have a look at our jobs section on this
website for more information.
Gap year
Some young people also take a Gap Year between
school/college and university. Some of the points you need to
consider are:-
Make sure you have a definite plan for your
gap year. You need to start thinking about what you want to
do at the start of Year 13 – not at the end.
It ca be useful if you can do something in
your gap year that would be relevant to the degree course subject
you wish to take. For example, if you want to become a
teacher then volunteering in a school would be a worthwhile
exercise. See our Volunteering page on this
website for more details.
Some people wish to travel in their gap
year. If you can arrange this with voluntary activities or
temporary work abroad then this shows good planning skills and a
willingness to achieve your goals.
It is perfectly alright to spend your gap year
in work. With student loans most higher education
institutions acknowledge that prospective students will either wish
to reduce their debt or have some money to make their life easier
whilst at university.
Consider applying for deferred entry on your
UCAS application so you know you have a place at university when
you finish your gap year.
Whatever you do, make sure you do
something. Remaining unemployed or having nothing to show at
the end of the year will not only look bad if you apply to
university or an employer, but will also not do you any good as a
person.
If you are still serious about taking a gap
year have look at the following websites:-
findagap
lattitude
gapyear
gap-year
yearoutgroup
bunac
What can I study?
First degrees. Bachelor of Arts (BA),
Bachelor of Sience (BSc), Bachelor of Education (Bed)
Bachelor of Medicine (MB). These take
three years to complete although some subjects such as medicine
take longer. Sandwich courses (usually in business,
engineering or science) that include a year on work placement are
worth considering as they give you experience and you get
paid. There are a vast number of different first degree
courses to choose from. Some subjects like medicine, law and
architecture prepare you for a particular career. Others,
like english or history can equip you with the skills for a wide
range of jobs.
Foundation degrees.
This qualification is broadly equivalent to the first two years of
a bachelors degree. Foundation degrees are vocational and are
available in a range of areas from chemical technology to textiles
and tourism. You can usually take a third year of study to
progress to an Honours degree. Not to be confused with the
foundation year in some science and engineering first degrees, for
those without the preferred examination subjects or
experience.
Higher National
Diplomas. Vocational courses lasting two years
available in a wide range of subjects from accounting to video
production. You can sometimes progress onto the second or
third year of a first degree course.
See Funding for HE
See Applying for Higher
Education
Check out these sites
too:
university and higher education on
direct.gov will give you basic information on
higher education.
UCAS
allows you to search for information by subject, by university and
by region, so it’s easy to use.
CUKAS
gives you information to search and apply for practice-based music
courses.
Unistats is the official website to help you
make an informed choice when deciding which UK university or
college to apply to.
Yougo
connects UCAS applicants with students at university.
For a more comprehensive overview check out the
EEDA What Next guide for those who are 17/18
Adobe Acobat text
What Next
guide