• Is it right for you - There are many reasons for considering a gap year. They range from taking time out before or during your university course to spending a period of time after university to travel, discover different cultures or gain specific experience. A gap year can be a positive and sometimes life-changing period.
• Selling your experience - Gap year activities provide you with a unique opportunity to develop personal maturity and achieve ambitions that are otherwise difficult to fit into University and working life. Employers value gap years, but only if they have been well thought through and structured so that you can sell them in a relevant way. Employers also look for candidates who can demonstrate they have a language skillset, have set out goals, achieved them, and learned from mistakes. Any examples you can provide of how you have solved problems and planned and organised activities will be valuable for your applications.

• Costs and funding - Prepare a budget to include all expected costs. Using a spreadsheet for this will help you to organise your finances and also provide evidence of IT and business skills for employment applications. Include details of when any loans and overdrafts already taken need to be repaid.
• Travel information - When preparing to travel, it helps if you put together an itinerary that lists all your plans, including: dates for each stage of your journey; flight numbers and train times; addresses of places where you will be staying, with phone numbers and dates; details of people to contact in each place; embassy contact details for each country you expect to visit; ideas about what to do in each place.

• Studying the local language - What better way to master a new language then through immersion in a native country, while soaking up the local culture, food and making new friends. With only 4 hours of classes a day your Spanish can improve in only a matter of weeks and you can even earn University credit at the same time. Normally a three week immersion program is considered one University course.
• Travelling - Most people want to travel during their gap year, fitting it in with one or more periods of study, work or volunteering. Lengthy periods of travel need consideration about where to go and how to finance travel costs and living expenses. It is also important to consider what you will put on your resume to account for this time and what you intend to achieve during your travels. In addition, you need to think about whether you prefer and intend to travel alone or as part of a group.
• Volunteering - Volunteering can give you an opportunity to develop specific skills and gain practical work experience in areas such as: conservation, environment and agriculture; development and construction projects; social, health and community work. It is a great way to grow personally while practicing your new language skills.
• Internships - If you are looking to develop knowledge or experience of a particular work type or sector, it is worth considering an internship form two to six months in your degree studies. Some degree courses are designed for students to take time out during their studies to facilitate this career enriching option.

Getting started on your dream adventure is as easy as answering a few questions: