The trend of choosing the gap year to ibd students

NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMICS ~~ ~~ The trend of choosing the gap year to IBD students Subject Project level 4 Name Cao Thi Hoang Anh Class I15A5 Cao T[.]

NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMICS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgement 2

Chapter I Introduction 3

1 Background 3

2 Purpose 3

3 Research method 4

Chapter II Literature Review 5

1 Reasons why gap year is becoming more popular: 5

2 The challenges of the gap year that a student has to face with 5

3 The benefits of taking a gap year 6

Chapter III Major Findings 7

1 The knowledge of IBD students about the gap year 7

2 The best time for an IBD student to make his or her own decision 9

3 The ways to generate gap year funding 10

4 The challenges of the gap year that a student has to face with and these solutions 11

5 The benefits of taking a gap year 13

Chapter IV Conclusion 15

Chapter V Reference List 16

Chapter VI Appendix 18

During the period of doing research, I received a plenty of enthusiastic help and support thatguide and encourage me to overcome all difficulties and finish this hard but meaningful time Firstly, I would like to express thanks to the School Board of National Economics Universityand the International School of Management and Economics creating favorable conditions for

me to take my research

Secondly, I sincerely thank to Ms Bui Thi Thanh Binh my supervisor who gave me usefulguidance and advice that help me to finish my internship successfully From these advices, Ican improve my English and other project skills, and fulfill my sightseeing presentation Furthermore, I would like to thank my I15A5 classmate who often shared my feelings andgave me timely advice during the internship

Last but not least, I am grateful to all of the lovely students of IBD who contributed to help

me overcome my internship

In short, I really thank to all people helping me to finish this internship report

a useful way For these reasons, the gap year becomes an ideal time for students Because ofthe important activities mentioned above, the gap year is becoming a new trend for IBDstudents The gap year, conjointly referred as a sabbatical year, is usually a long break duringthe time at the college or the university According to an article: “A gap year refers to anexperimental period of travel, work, or other personal and professional developmentopportunities Students can undertake a gap year domestically or abroad The concept is morefamiliar for students in the United States and the United Kingdom, with a lucrative industrybuilt in support of the students’ pursuits.” (Abdullah, 2017) This new trend also offers a newchallenge and a great responsibility in their life that the students have to use their acquiredknowledge and skills when they engage into the gap year It makes a stage which can be apreparation for a student’s highly organized social life they will need in the future

Because of the benefits that gap year brings to students, I decided to conduct the research:

“The trend of choosing the gap-year to IBD students” This research will explain what makesthe gap year a new trend of IBD students, as well as the decisions and requirements that need

to be prepared, the difficulties that may be encountered, how to solve them and the benefits ofthe gap year

2 Purpose

This research focuses on exploring different aspects of the gap year experience that studentsholistically have This one is also conducted to find out about the best time to have the mosteffective gap year with as much knowledge and experience as possible Moreover, this studyaims to gain useful practical applications from IBD students The researcher desires to bringthe most objective perspective on the gap year with the most complete data

3 Research method

A Primary research

 A survey with a group of 51 students from the International Bachelor Degree atNational Economics University The survey was sent to everyone in paper form andGoogle form with prepared questions Estimated time to collect the information was inabout 2 weeks The data is the basis for analyzing and creating the graph

B Secondary research

 Besides the survey, the information and evidences is compiled and collected from 15sources such as: books, e-books, newspapers, e-magazines, reliable websites

4 Research questions

 What makes the gap year a trend?

 What does a gap year offer besides a year of rest and experiences?

 Why do students choose a gap year during the college time but not another time?

 What is the procedure for taking a break for a gap year?

 When is the best time to experience the gap year during 4 years at the college?

Chapter II Literature Review

One of the most important reasons why a gap year becomes a new trend is certain experiencesand benefits that a student cannot have in school “During a gap year, a student can takecontrol of their year, eliminating educational pressure, while leaving their home and exploringthe world before settling into the next stage of their life Many people take their gap year as atime to learn new life skills and personal responsibility.” (Alwine, 2019) For this reason, theliterature review will indicate the actual situation by identifying factors which make the gapyear becomes more popular Secondly, the possible challenges and solutions will also bementioned Finally, there are benefits and experience lessons learned from the gap year Thissection aimed at examining the past research or literature from expert’ point of view toprovide an insight into this topic and support the idea that gap year is a great experience

1 Reasons why gap year is becoming more popular:

There are various reasons that make gap year becomes more popular to students

First, gap year programs after high school have become increasingly popular, and gap yeartravel is all the more appealing What better way to grow and learn about yourself and theworld around you before heading back into classrooms and textbooks? (Kraska, 2019).Furthermore, doing a gap year is one of the most exciting opportunities that a young adult cantake after finishing high school Before jumping into the next stage of education or work, whynot consider going out into the world and experiencing life through volunteering abroad?(Laszkiewicz, 2019)

2 The challenges of the gap year that a student has to face with

Any choice has this own challenges, the gap year is no exception These are the challengesthat can occur in the gap year and the ways to solve them

If a student choose to travel, taking a gap year can take a huge financial toll If they are unsure

of the risk, ask themselves, a gap year is a wise investment or just a really expensivevacation?

It may be important to start early in your career If a student choose to go into a field thatrequires years of experience in order to succeed, being a year behind may not be the bestoption (EVENME, 2018)

3 The benefits of taking a gap year

Some gap years include work experience, either through an actual job, an internship, or even avolunteer program By immersing themselves in a career field, students will gain importantprofessional experience including making connections in the field, understanding the dailyundertakings of the profession, and building an understanding of the workplace culture Manygap year students get a better idea of what careers they want to pursue themselves

These types of professional experience will make students a more desirable job candidate andwill set them apart from other students in their age The experience gained will strengthen thecollege application (Sundquist, 2018)

Writing a standout CV can be difficult when many people have gone to the same schools andparticipated in the same activities Some jobs have hundreds of applicants, so it is imperativefor students to stand out from the crowd Having volunteered on their gap year will truly putthem a step above the rest

Some things to add to the CV after a volunteer program are: real-life teamwork experience,being able to take responsibility for themselves, and communication skills across multiplelanguages (Laszkiewicz, 2019)

Chapter III Major Findings

“ If a student is considering taking a break from their studies to explore the world and they arefeeling less-than-excited to go to class, they may want to consider taking a gap year.” saidRebecca Alwine (Alwine, 2019) The gap year is becoming a new trend for students in IBDbecause of the given consideration But first, have IBD students ever planned their gap yearyet? And how do they understand this new trend?

1 The knowledge of IBD students about the gap year

number 1 number 2 number 3

Figure 1.1 The IBD students’ understanding of the gap year

According to the survey, just around a third of students said they had planned for their gapyear and the given 1.1 bar chart shows information about the IBD students’s understandings

of the gap year

Overall, the rate of students who understand the gap year

is an experience was highest The ratio of students understood this trend is a break or atravelling followed immediately The totals figures for a charity trip and a free time were less

a half than the highest

A close look at the statistics reveals that the percentages of the students understanding gapyear was an experience made up a half, which was 5 choices more than that of a break Theproportion of the understanding is a travelling took up 19, followed by a charity trip.Especially, it had just a choice which understands gap year is a free time.

In general, IBD students’ understanding tends to be similar to the concepts that these twoauthors have come up with “Gap years mean young people travel abroad, participate involunteer activity or paid work for a period of time.” (Simpson, 2005), (Alwine, 2019)believes “a gap year simply is when you take a year off ”

Series 1 Series 2 Series 3

Figure 1.2 Common chosen activities during an IBD student’s gap year

The bar chart 1.2 gives the activities which should be the common chosen by an IBD’ studentduring their gap year

It can be clearly seen that travelling was chosen by the most of students, after that is training.Volunteer and making money served as the same choices group

Firstly, travelling occupied nearly a half of common choices and it was 4% higher than thetraining percentage It was worth noting that the rate of students choosing volunteer andmaking money shared a similar pattern with 18 and 16 choosing respectively A bottomposition belonged to taking a short course with around a quarter

The activities which were often chosen to be similar to the activities the journalist hasfeatured in an article: “Gap years is not limited to traveling, volunteer activities or working incompanies and he gives a broad definition of gap year: individuals leave formal learning,training or work places to have a pause or a rest” (Jones, 2004)

2 The best time for an IBD student to make his or her own decision

1st year 2nd year 3rd year 4th year

Figure 2.1 The best time for an IBD student taking a gap year

As can be seen from the pie chart 2.1, the numbers of students choosing gap year time, werenot the same

The second year was the most suitable time when the number of students accounted for 32%.While freshmen and fourth-year students seemed to have less time for this activity with thesame sharing figures by 20% The 2.2 statistics table provides four reasons why students werecompleting a gap year Similarly, the number of students was not equal, each reason had adifferent percentage Most students choosed to make their own money

The second and the third years seemed to be the most common choices, these options aresomewhat similar to this advice: “ As students are expected to take a gap year during theirstudy period, some clarification on timing is required It should be done in the secondyear of study, when students have ompleted their fundamental courses or in the students’third year of study, when they have identified their desired specialization and are more mature

in their demeanor Alternatively, a student can break the gap year duration into two, andsandwich the gap periods in their second and third years of study.” (Abdullah, 2017)

The 2.2 chart also shows two other reasons: overcoming adolescence and making personaldecisions Also, this break period was reasonable for a trip After the school year, this goldenvacation was really necessary for students The number of people choosed this reasonaccounts for 36%

In summary, a gap year was a good time for each student to make his or her own choices

Making own money Passing the underage Making own decision Trevelling is easier than other levels

Figure 2.2 Reasons for a student to choosing a gap year during college time

3 The ways to generate gap year funding

As mentioned in the above chapter, making money was the biggest reason for a gap yearduring college time, because all the activities in the gap year in particular and learning ingeneral always need funding So how did a student raise a gap year fund?

The 3.1 bar chart descries how students had money to taking a gap year It is obvious that theproportion of securing employment is the highest in methods while requiring money fromparents is the lowest

There were a great number at having a part time job which stands at 41% In addition, it canhelp student broaden one’s horizons and lead to greater career success later in life However,

asked parents for money The figure of applying for a gap year scholarship was 26%, greaterthan that of saving your pennies by 3% There was little difference between both of them.

In the article, Niki Kraska gives a savings plan that the students who participated in the surveydid not mention, it is speak to college financial services, this article also mentions two similaroptions with IBD’ are save money and apply sholarship (Kraska, 2019)

save pennies apply scholarship parttime job parents'money

Figure 3.1 The ways for raising student gap year fund

4 The challenges of the gap year that a student has to face with and these solutions Any choice has this own challenges, the gap year is having no exception These are thechallenges that can occur in the gap year and the ways to solve them

The 4.1 pie chart gives the most often challenges that a students have to deal with in a gapyear, while the 4.2 was the solutions for these

expensive cost losing momentun falling behind doing every things your own

Figure 4.1 The challenges of the gap year that a student has to face with

Overall, the most common challenges that a students have to face with are falling behind andthe expensive cost, doing everything your own is the second happening The losingmomentum might not a big deal

While choosing a gap year, students have to deal with the two great problems ofindependence and financial autonomy That was why the largest number of choice was fallingbehind with more than a half and the expensive cost option was 26%

It seemed that many students had been not ready to be independent, doing everything yourown made up around one fifth and was 9% less than the most popular option The gap yearselection had been planned in advance so losing momentum happened rarely with 13 peoplechoosed not take a quarter of ther total

From the chart 4.1, the fear that most of students afraided about is being fallen, but the authorDorria Abdullah has another biggest proplem for his/ her gap year and it is the cost He/ shewrote in his/ her article: “ Taking time out for a gap year can be a costly affair Subject toterms and conditions set by funding bodies, students may have to temporarily suspend theirscholarships or study loans during their time off.” (Abdullah, 2017)

Every challenge can be solved, the 4.2 pie chart shows the solutions for students to overcometheir difficulties