毕业三年她如何利用GapYear敲开英国TOP4大学之门？

 

Gap Year

Gap Year 义指在高中毕业后，开始读大学之前一年，或者本科毕业后，开始读研究生之前一年，通常也指休假的一年。在空挡年期间，学生们可能忙于高等学术课程、课外学术课程和非学术类课程，比如，大学先修数学课程，语言学习，贸易，艺术研究，志愿者活动，旅游，实习，运动等等诸如此类的活动。

Gap Year可以在大学开始之前，培养学生们独立自主的能力和强烈的责任感。

现如今，Gap Year在中国接受度并不是很普遍，尤其是对于高中毕业升读大学的学生而言，Gap Year 就国内教育体制而言，往往意味着没学可上。

然而，我们北外国际预科的同学，却借用自己不同寻常的Gap Year经历，转劣为优，最终实现了自己梦寐以求专业梦想和被世界名校青睐的意外收获。

这究竟是如何做到的呢？让我们来看一下。

• 学生背景

2013.6 国内某高中毕业

2016.9 北京外国语大学国际教育学院预科班

Gap Year：3年

• 录取结果

申请专业：BA Sociology 社会学本科

1. Durham University 英国综合排名 4；英国专业排名 2

2. University of Leeds 英国综合排名 13；英国专业排名 10

3. Cardiff University 英国综合排名 46；英国专业排名 22

4. University of Leicester 英国综合排名 25；英国专业排名 9

文书写作思路

1.Opening Section 开篇

3 -YEAR GAP 3年空档期 探索适合自己的发展方向；

2.Middle Section 篇中

2.1 Origins of Gap Story 空档期源起，父母的军校规划和自我的文史偏好的冲突；

2.2 Time outside of school (What I did in Gap)-校外时光旅游，志愿者，体验生活；

2.3 Time inside School（ Life in school）校内活动的参与；校内外时光对比；

3. Final Section 收尾

3.1 Gap Benefits (Think about life) 空档期收益，对社会问题的关注分析，由实践到理论；

3.2 Understanding and Passion on Sociology 对社会学的理解与渴望进一步的系统化学习；

本篇PS 并没有采用UCAS 上建议的文书思路，80% Academic :20%Extra-curriculum, 而是以讲故事的方式花费了大量的笔墨去描述3年的Gap Year。

文章开篇先抛出与众不同之处，以长达3年的Gap Year 引起读者更大的兴趣。紧接着娓娓道来3年gap year 的源起，剖析gap 的根本是自己一直坚持自己内心的兴趣和方向而与父母发生的抗争，虽然彼时尚且不明确真正喜欢的方向是什么，但是也绝不妥协，而是勇于尝试和坚持，于是开始一系列的探索、体验、追寻直到找到自己真正的兴趣与发展方向。

最后仅用四五行的文字点出对社会学的粗线理解，重点突出对社会学的热衷、渴望，以求学有所成后能够解决自己在gap year 期间遇到的社会问题和人生困惑。

这是我们文书思路的一大尝试，结果超出了我们所有人的预期。以下我们希望通过官方解读，了解一下海外大学对于Gap Year 的立场：

英国大学升学申请系统UCAS 在官网对GAP year 做出了明确的指导：

A gap year offers you the opportunity to gain skills and experiences, while giving you time to reflect and focus on what you want to do next.

Gap Year 期间不仅可以获取技能和积累经验，更为重要的是有时间认真思考未来真正想做之事。

A productive gap year can be valuable on your CV – many employers value the experiences students have gained if they’ve actively managed their time, set themselves goals, and stretched themselves.

规划合理的Gap Year 可以为履历增值：体现申请人良好的时间管理能力，目标规划能力以及自我拓展的能力。

A gap year can also enhance your higher education studies – if you decide to apply for uni, you could tailor your gap year to relate it to the subject area you plan to study.

Gap Year 可以提升大学申请竞争力： Gap Year 期间可专注于将来申读的专业领域。

Admissions tutors know that some students may take a little time to adjust to studying again, but many former gap year students are generally more focused and responsible.

Gap Year 学生更容易集中精力和富有责任感。

Why do you want to take a year out?

为什么要take Gap Year

It’s really important to set goals to make your time productive, so you need to identify what you want to achieve. You might want to:

开始Gap Year 前要做好规划

have a break from study 学间休息

gain new skills/experiences 获得新的技能和经验

earn money 赚钱

spend time deciding what you want to do 思考真正想做的事情

do a combination of the above 总结规划

A year out isn’t an option that suits everyone – for some, it may be advisable not to take a break between studies. Here are some pros and cons to consider.

Gap Year并不适用于所有人，利弊并存：

Pros 利Cons 弊An opportunity to have a break from studying and return refreshed. You can volunteer, get valuable work experience, and travel the world.参加志愿活动，获得工作经验，环游世界Some people find a year out becomes a distraction from their longer term plans.中断长期规划A productive gap year can be valuable on your CV.提升履历背景An unstructured year out may not add much value to your future – careful thought and planning is essential.规划不合理，意义不大。You could relate the experience and activities to the subject area you plan to study.关联经历活动与未来的学科学习It can be harder to return to study or work after a year-long break.重回学习或者工作的过渡期比较困难。You can earn and save money towards your higher education costs or future plans.为未来的大学教育准备资金It can be expensive and you could find yourself in a worse financial position at the end.花费较大，得不偿失。You will develop maturity if you don’t yet feel ready for higher education or work life. For some careers, it can be an advantage to be slightly older and have some life experience.锻炼自己，为未来的大学生活或者工作做好准备。If you don’t get organised, you may end up spending your gap year just ‘thinking about it’.缺乏规划，言胜于行。胜于言而知于行

所以对Gap Year 的提前规划尤为重要。 开始Gap Year 之前，请认真思考一下问题：

1.What do you want to achieve from a gap year?

你的目标

2.How much time can you be away and when?

可用时间

3.What is available?

可做之事

4.How much money you will need?

所需资

剑桥大学国王大学欢迎有gap year背景的学生递交申请。剑桥大学每十个学生里面就有一个学生有gap year 的经历。学生在GapYear期间可以拓展各种技能和获取工作或者其他方面的经历。是否参见gap year 完全取决于学生本人，国王学院希望每一个申请人做出最适合于自己的选择。

We welcome applications from students who take a gap year between finishing school and starting at King's. Roughly one in ten students at Cambridge take this option, and it can be a good opportunity to develop all kinds of skills and gain work or other experience before starting your course.

Should I take a gap year? This is entirely your decision! We do not mind whether you take a gap year or not. We hope that you will make the best decision for you.

What should I do during my gap year?

We advise you to use your gap year productively, but we have no set views about exactly what you should do. Whilst some students participate in activities or employment that is related to their course, this is not a requirement.

A few pointers:

国王学院关于Gap Year没有特别限定要求，几点提示如下：

Where mathematics is important for your course at King's, it would be wise to take steps to ensure that your maths does not get rusty during your year out. Many students take a further qualification in maths (A level Further Mathematics, STEP etc.) or make good use of resources such as NRICH, Isaac Physics or http://i-want-to-study-engineering.org.

不要荒废了学业：比如可拓展学习高阶数学，物理，工程等课程。

Keeping languages going is also important for some subjects.

保持语言的学习

If you are planning to take a gap year for financial reasons to earn money before your degree, do ensure that you have read our finance section carefully first and looked at the financial support available.

如果是出于经济因素，建议先行阅读资金支持方面信息。

In all cases (whether you are studying, working or volunteering) we hope that you will continue to develop your academic interests during your gap year.

在时间活动，诸如学习，工作或者志愿活动中，拓展学术兴趣。

We might ask you about your gap year in interviews so do be ready to discuss you plans / experiences.

面试中会针对gap year规划和经历予以探讨。

Gap Year ！你准备好了吗？

在此温馨提示，每一个准备开始Gap Year和计划开始Gap Year 的同学，请认真阅读以上信息，希望你的Gap Year 更有助于你以后的大学生活。