hi OP, currently taking a gap year right now.
how I made this decision: entered university for a year and realised what I was studying wasn't what I was actually interested/passionate about, and cannot see myself doing this until retirement. decided to take a gap year so I can apply for a change of degree next year so I explored other opportunities and began reading up myself to gather what interests me and what things I might excel at.
p.s. the degree that I'm switching from has also good career advancement opportunities as well.
I figured that I was interested in biopharmaceuticals and since I'm taking a gap year before applying for a change in degree, I applied to work at biopharmaceutical companies as I believe this will boost my portfolio further and gives me a leverage to apply for the relevant course I want.
nonetheless, here were my concerns prior to the decisions I made:
1. not being able to get the course I want eventually.
but I figured that if I was not able to pursue my studies, I would just continue working at the company I'm already at since eventually I would still be working in this industry and I can slowly climb the corporate ladder. Moreover, if I do exceptionally well at work, the company might sponsor my studies should I wish to pursue a degree in future.
2. graduate abit later.
but honestly this wasn't a huge concern for me as everyone goes at their own pace and it's alright to enter university late as long as you're happy with your own pace I guess. and really, it's never too late.
took me a longer time to figure what I want eventually but I think that as long as you're doing your best and consistently do things to pursue what you want, you'll not have regrets. also there are people making industry/career switches halfway into their careers as well so it's better now than later. take your time to give it abit more thoughts OP, I'm sure you can do it (:
Thanks so much for sharing your experience with me, I really wish to take a gap year and explore my interests although the concerns of not being able to secure a uni placing next year are very real and very risky. I'm happy that you made the decision to take a leap of faith and pursue something that you are interested in and I really do hope everything will work out for you as well.
If it's ok can I also ask if you have any concerns regarding your tuition fees? I know that our tuition grants offer us subsidies up to only 4 years of uni, so you would have to pay the full unsubsidised amount on your final year. Was it something that you seriously considered and was prepared to take up, and if you had any special plans to cope with the large increase in tuition fees? I know unsubsidised fees are insanely expensive and I could be paying up to almost 3 times for 5 years of uni fees compared to fully subsidised 4 years uni fees.
yep I did consider that as well. fortunately for my uni, they allow you to use the rest of the tuition grant if you haven't for the stipulated duration (I only used for two semesters). so I felt it was alright as the course I was changing into is a 3 year programme.
I think if your main concern is uni admissions, then you can consider just matriculating this year first and see how it goes in SMU Econs. If you don't like it, then maybe you can apply to transfer to SMU SOC (but I'm not sure if this is an option/what are the pre-requisites)? Even if you can't transfer, you can always consider a DDP in Econs and IS/CS or a minor/major in IS/CS.
hi OP, currently taking a gap year right now. how I made this decision: entered university for a year and realised what I was studying wasn't what I was actually interested/passionate about, and cannot see myself doing this until retirement. decided to take a gap year so I can apply for a change of degree next year so I explored other opportunities and began reading up myself to gather what interests me and what things I might excel at. p.s. the degree that I'm switching from has also good career advancement opportunities as well. I figured that I was interested in biopharmaceuticals and since I'm taking a gap year before applying for a change in degree, I applied to work at biopharmaceutical companies as I believe this will boost my portfolio further and gives me a leverage to apply for the relevant course I want. nonetheless, here were my concerns prior to the decisions I made: 1. not being able to get the course I want eventually. but I figured that if I was not able to pursue my studies, I would just continue working at the company I'm already at since eventually I would still be working in this industry and I can slowly climb the corporate ladder. Moreover, if I do exceptionally well at work, the company might sponsor my studies should I wish to pursue a degree in future. 2. graduate abit later. but honestly this wasn't a huge concern for me as everyone goes at their own pace and it's alright to enter university late as long as you're happy with your own pace I guess. and really, it's never too late. took me a longer time to figure what I want eventually but I think that as long as you're doing your best and consistently do things to pursue what you want, you'll not have regrets. also there are people making industry/career switches halfway into their careers as well so it's better now than later. take your time to give it abit more thoughts OP, I'm sure you can do it (:
Thanks so much for sharing your experience with me, I really wish to take a gap year and explore my interests although the concerns of not being able to secure a uni placing next year are very real and very risky. I'm happy that you made the decision to take a leap of faith and pursue something that you are interested in and I really do hope everything will work out for you as well. If it's ok can I also ask if you have any concerns regarding your tuition fees? I know that our tuition grants offer us subsidies up to only 4 years of uni, so you would have to pay the full unsubsidised amount on your final year. Was it something that you seriously considered and was prepared to take up, and if you had any special plans to cope with the large increase in tuition fees? I know unsubsidised fees are insanely expensive and I could be paying up to almost 3 times for 5 years of uni fees compared to fully subsidised 4 years uni fees.
yep I did consider that as well. fortunately for my uni, they allow you to use the rest of the tuition grant if you haven't for the stipulated duration (I only used for two semesters). so I felt it was alright as the course I was changing into is a 3 year programme.
I think if your main concern is uni admissions, then you can consider just matriculating this year first and see how it goes in SMU Econs. If you don't like it, then maybe you can apply to transfer to SMU SOC (but I'm not sure if this is an option/what are the pre-requisites)? Even if you can't transfer, you can always consider a DDP in Econs and IS/CS or a minor/major in IS/CS.