Blog #5 – Gap Year vs. Money ;)

Hi everyone!!

Thank you for joining me for another blog post! Today I will be talking about The financial components of a gap year. However, this will be specifically targeted towards gap years in general, but the situation will be taking a gap year right after high school, or taking a gap year right after post-secondary, and which one is right for you!

Starting with the financial options for taking a gap year after post secondary, you will need to take into factor the price of your education. (1) The average student in Canada pays about $2,500-$11,500. This can differ depending on what program/certificate you study for, but that is the general range of the classes. (2) You also need to keep in mind if you are going away from home, there are extra costs and usually those can range from $800-$1200. Keeping these in mind, many can use scholarships to get rid of most of the costs, but there will still be an amount leftover. Now adding up the cost of a gap year. Gap years can range from $7,000-$13,000, or less than that, but that is the average number I have been seeing around! Taking all of these into factor, many will end up being in student debt, which brings me to my next point of whether someone would rather choose to pay the debt first, or go on a trip with the extra money they may have. That does truly depend on the person and their passions and choices, but the info above is some information for people looking to go on a gap year after their post-secondary is over!

Moving on, I will be talking about going on a gap year after high school. This is already a less expensive plan to go on gap year, especially if you are planning to travel. Living wise, it can be quite expensive, but starting with travel, you will not have the student debt that post-secondary students may have. However, as a high school student, you may also not have the funds to afford a trip that could cost $7,000-$13,000. That is a lot of money, and one can find themselves in a dilemma of if they should save that money, or go travel with any money they may have.(3)  Now because this is quite expensive, many may avoid it, but gap years are still a great way to gain lots of experience, as well as a way to lose that burnt out feeling! (4) Moreover, in order to do an action like this, you may need to plan beforehand because of how expensive traveling can become, especially if a person is planning to travel, or live alone without support for a whole year, so you may need to find a part-time job, and save you pay checks instead of spending the money you earn from it! This can be hard, but if you are dedicated enough, you can save a great amount! If someone where to live alone for a year, the best options to do that is too find a place that you can share the cost with roommates or friends, or think about staying home while gaining experience for years ahead!

Finally, summing up all the main pros and the main cons of taking a gap year after post-secondary, o taking one right after high school (before post secondary), the main aspect is money. Now depending on a persons financial situation, they may or may not be able to afford a trip and post secondary easily, but some pay struggle too pay both their debt (if they have any from post secondary) and a hefty sum for a gap year, which will cause more stress than peace destroying the whole point of a gap year, but if you were to take one right after high school, though some may not have enough money to go on a trip, you at least are not left paying a large amount of money! Thank you for reading my blog post for today!!

I hope you guys enjoyed my post for today, and hope to see you guys next time!

(1) Immigration, Education in Canada. “Government of Canada.” Canada.Ca, 11 Jan. 2022, www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/new-immigrants/new-life-canada/education/typesschool/postsecondary

(2) “Cost of Living in Canada: Student Expenses in Canada: Gostudy.” Cost of Living in Canada | Student Expenses in Canada | GoStudy, 1 Jan. 2022, www.go.study/cost-of-living-for-students-in-canada.

(3) Stine, Jane. “Gap Year after High School: The Pros & Cons.” GoAbroad.Com, 11 Nov. 2022, www.goabroad.com/articles/gap-year/gap-year-after-high-school-pros-cons#:~:text=A%20gap%20year%20after%20high%20school%20can%20be%20a%20great,looking%20for%20internships%20and%20jobs

(4) World, One. “How to Save Money for a Gap Year.” One World 365, 2022, www.oneworld365.org/blog/how-to-save-money-for-a-gap-year.