Massive congratulations to all those who secured their university places this year. You have 3 years of serious drinking learning ahead of you! Ah freshers week.
For those that did not get a place, and are weighing up the options, you might be considering taking a gap year but also recognise the need to save money for next year when hopefully you will be enrolling at university. We want to take this opportunity to suggest to you, that you can do it in a really exciting way.
You can work and travel in a fun way!
For this reason we wanted to highlight some options that that we call out learn and earn programmes, essentially these still combine the fun of travel, with the ability to gain qualifications and earn a little bit on the side while you travel. We are not talking mega bucks, but we are talking about being cash positive when you return from your travels, which is kinda handy if you are worried about student debt.
If you really wanted to go to University and are gutted to be missing out…
It is understandable, but look on the bright side, you now have an fantastic opportunity ahead of you, an entire year to get your self sorted. The bad news is that the prospects for doing so in the UK is bleak, the good news is you can head to Australia and benefit from the strong Australian Dollar with a 12 month working holiday visa. We have a work and travel programme their that will help set you up there and give you access to thousands of jobs. (Get more information on that here).
Take advantage of the current exchange rate and you will earn more money aboard than in the UK.
When you consider that a barman in Australia earns the UK equivalent of
£22,374 per year now because of the (screwed Pound and the strong Australian Dollar according to wage comparison site payscale.com), you might even be able to claw back much of that extra money that you will have to come up with to get an education.
There are many reasons to take a working holiday in Australia and New Zealand.
The main one at the moment is the strength of the Aussie Dollar.
Unlike Europe, the Australian economy is linked to Asia and mining, so the financial crisis has not effected it. China is investing huge sums of money in to the country and business is booming.
The Australian Dollar has never been so strong in fact, which means for every dollar you earn there now, it is worth 30% more when converted back to sterling or Euros.
There is a flip side to this though, and that means your money you save before you go is worth less, which is why it makes more sense to choose one of the above programmes to help set you up down under sooner rather than later.
So yes, it sucks that you will have to face massive, unfair fee increases, and no doubt have to save up now to off set your potential debt but then at least you can do it in a really fun way and gain work experience to get one over people going straight to uni this year.
It might be a little daunting at first to up sticks and head tot he other side of the world for a year – just to save some cash, but we know, speaking from experience of sending hundreds of people away each year, they absolutely love it.
Continue your education on the beach.
If the idea of working for a year is still not your thing, you can keep your brain active while itching those travellers feet at the same time. Learning Spanish is exotic locations like Ecuador or Venezuela is not a bad option! With our Gap Year language programmes you get complete cultural immersion and gain a new language skill – whilst meeting a lot of people and having the time of your life in the process. Student of the world… literally.
So chin up, every cloud etc… and if you want any advice about it all you can always talk to us though the comments system below or on skype.
We hope that gives you a glimmer of hope, and if you feel it might help others, please hit the like button at the top of this post.
