University students increasingly ditching gap year with many set to start mid-year

Students are ditching a full gap year and heading back in droves to start their studies mid-year.

UNIVERSITY students are increasingly opting to cut their gap year short and start studies mid-year.

Southern Cross University (SCU) is set to welcome its highest-ever intake of students mid-year, about six per cent more than in 2018.

Queensland University of Technology has also seen a jump in mid-year enrolments, with almost 2000 new students for the beginning of semester two, about eight per cent more than last year.

QUT’s Vice-President (Administration) and University Registrar Leanne Harvey said many of these students would be starting their first year at university.

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“Mid-year applications have been rising at QUT for a number of years, and QUT is very proud that students see it as their institution of choice,” she said.

“This year we increased the number of mid-year courses available through QTAC to around 100 and that included more than 25 additional double degrees that have not previously been available at mid-year.”

Dale Nicholls has cut her gap year short to head to start her studies at Southern Cross University. Picture: Luke Marsden

SCU nursing student Dale Nicholls was among those who cut their gap year short. She had planned to take a full year off to backpack overseas after graduating at the end of 2017.

But she decided to switch her plans, and began studying her degree in mid-last year.

“I definitely feel that the time off made me really appreciate going to uni, I felt really ready to start studying again,” she said.

“I thought about it for a couple of months and everyone was at uni that I was friends with, and I had a close friend who was also starting mid-year which motivated me.”

Ms Nicholls said she wouldn’t change having the time off before commencing her study, and that she would have felt “tired and burnt out” had she jumped straight into university life post high school.

“I definitely still plan to travel when I finish my degree, and I’ll be a bit older and potentially be able to find work,” she said.

QTAC Chief Engagement and Development Officer Dr Nicola Bowes said certain universities were seeing a significant rise in mid-year applications.

She said more than 12,000 students would start their courses mid-year in 2019.

SCU psychology lecturer Dr Desiree Kozlowski said more students were choosing to switch up their post high-school plans rather than straight into more education, and a six-month break could be a good option for some students.

“Taking a gap year between finishing high school and beginning university is increasingly common in Australia, for various reasons,” Dr Kozlowski said.

“The evidence about whether or not it’s a good idea to take the year out is quite mixed, and there are not a lot of good, comprehensive studies on this.

“Some students report feeling exhausted ... after the pressures of Year 12 exams, others are not sure what they want to study, and others want to get some experience working or volunteering in the ‘real world’ before continuing their education.”

Originally published as University students increasingly ditching gap year with many set to start mid-year