Here's What You Need to Take a Gap Year After College

Let the real magic begin. Take a gap year after college!

In this article, we’re going to make our case for why we think taking a gap year after college is one of the best times to do it. We’ll run you through the kinds of awesome options available (there are HEAPS!), the cost of a typical gap year (if there is such a thing), the ways in which it will cement your job prospects on returning, and finally some of our top gap year programs for college graduates heading off at this exciting time.

Gap year after college FAQs

Why take a gap year after college? 

So, why now? Why take a gap year at this specific point in your life? Well, firstly, let us say this: there is no bad time to travel. There are no hard and fast rules that dictate you must go to a certain place, and do a certain thing, at a certain time, with certain people and be guided by certain intentions. The whole point of a gap year is to figure out your own rules, and to an extent, who you want to be as an adult. It just happens that doing this after college is a particularly great time.

Think about it: You’ve spent your entire life so far in education, being told where you have to be at what time and what you need to think about and what books you need to read and who you need to work with and what you need to write about and… well, you get the point. But now, you’re free! Free to do what you want. What better way to celebrate that freedom than to disappear for a few months, to some far flung land for a life-affirming adventure? 

Celebrate your new-found freedom!

This is a different sort of education: It’s one you’re in control of, one in which you learn by doing, not hearing; one that’s relevant to the real world, not a hypothetical one. And we’re not knocking your classroom education, not for a second—it’s incredibly valuable, and you’re incredibly fortunate to have had it. But some time out will allow you time to begin making sense of it all in a no strings attached environment.

What do people do on a gap year after college? 

It might be quicker to talk about what people don’t do! Which is to say, people do an insane variety of things on their gap years—so much so that we can hardly keep up ourselves! In a general sense, we find the people who get the most long term benefits from their travels are those who use part or all of their time away to concentrate on a specific vocation or activity. This way, you can look at your travels as not only a way to have an amazing adventure, but also a way to bolster your resume (we’ll talk about this a bit more below). 

For example, if you think you might be interested in a career in the veterinary field, you could look at getting yourself on a program working with animals. These can range from conserving the habitats of sea turtles in Central America to rehabilitating big cats in Africa to working in an elephant sanctuary in Thailand. Pretty awesome options as gap year programs for college graduates, no?! Alternatively, perhaps you’re interested in working with children? If that’s the case, you could look at options for summer camp roles, or au pair placements, or teaching.

Get your hands dirty and work on a farm abroad!

Have a look through our gap year page for our full range of options, using the filters to find programs by destination or type.

Can I take a gap year after college before grad school?

Yes—you can absolutely take a gap year after college before grad school. Next? Kidding, we can say a little bit more about this, but essentially, as earlier, you can take a gap year whenever you like. One of the numerous benefits of doing it in between college and grad school is that you’ll approach your further education with a much more mature outlook on the world. One of the inescapable gifts of travel and living in different cultures is that it exposes you to different ideas, beliefs and values, giving you vastly broader understanding of how the planet works. This kind of worldly wisdom will set you up excellently for grad school, and you’ll be able to approach your additional studies with fresh outlook.

Keep in mind it’s often possible to defer, too (different universities will have different policies). This can be a great option to go and spend some time abroad, really thinking hard about exactly what it is you want to do. It can be easy, when you’ve spent your entire life in education, to not see that there are actually paths you can take that don’t require further education. Alternatively, you could use at least part of your gap year to make a serious effort on those grad school applications, rather than rushing an application to meet a deadline.

How much does a gap year typically cost?

Even if gap years cost you a bit of money, they'll be worth every penny.

Because every gap year is unique, there is no single answer to this—gap year programs for college graduates will always vary in price. The cost of your gap year will depend entirely on what you want to do, where you want to go and when, and how much time you can spare to do it all.

As a very rough outline, some of the key costs you’ll need to consider are your flights and in-destination travel; your essentials, which include things like kit, visas, vaccinations and insurance; your living costs abroad, which include things like paying for food and drink every day; and finally your activities, which cover anything from general sightseeing to organised tours.

Getting yourself on a program is a great way to bundle some of these costs together, giving you a clear price to aim at. For example, people often ask why things like volunteering experiences come with a price tag—you’re working for free, right?—but what people forget is that these programs usually include all your food and accommodation, and often other add-ons.

The best thing you can do is be aware of all these potential costs, and begin pricing everything up as soon as possible. Be realistic about what you have to spend, and what you don’t have to spend, and be prepared to compromise. The least you’ll need to pay for a trip of this kind will probably be around the $1000 mark, all in, and the most is really unlimited.

As a final tip, when booking a program, make sure you ask the provider exactly where your money is going.

Is taking a gap year after college going to ruin my future?

Never fear—your future is as bright as ever.

Of course not! To the contrary, it will enrich it in ways you literally can’t imagine right now. The best thing you can do is view your gap year as an investment into yourself. It may seem counterintuitive to head off to some far flung, exotic land right after college—surely you should be straight on the job market, right?—but you can ignore these reservations.

Employers LOVE people who’ve travelled. These folks are almost always mature well beyond their years, and their newly found perspective on the world gives them the kind of humility that will do nothing but endear them to the professional world.

Although there are no rules regarding how a gap year should be spent, it really does make sense to try and spend at least some time on an organised program or placement, in the field you think it’s likely you’ll pursue in your future career. The kind of real life experience you’ll gain is invaluable, and will be a huge asset to your personal profile when applying for jobs.

There are few guarantees when going on a gap year (in the best way possible) but one is that you’ll meet LOADS of people—both locals and fellow travellers. This means by the time you come home, you’ll have a network of people that stretches right around the world, providing you with even more options for work.

Recommended gap year programs for college graduates

1. Do a Global Tour During a Gap Year Program with Cross-Cultural Solutions 

Find meaningful volunteer programs across the globe with Cross Cultural Solutions. Projects range from education, healthcare, and social services in exciting destinations like India, Tanzania, and Guatemala. Where better to get new perspective on life than in an immersive program in some of the world's coolest places?!

• Where: Guatemala, Tanzania, India
• What: Volunteering
• More program info

2. Greenheart Travel’s Work & Volunteer in Argentina Program

Buenos Aires, baby! Live in this bustling, vibrant Latin city (with a European flair) for up to six months with options to extend. You'll love connecting with world travelers while earning money working at a local hostel—your wanderlust will reach new heights! Luckily, you'll have plenty of time to explore and travel the region, too. Como ce dice “weekend Patagonia trip?!”

• Where: Argentina
• What: Work, Travel
• More program info

3. Post-College Gap Year Internships in China with CIP

Who says you can’t master Mandarin while taking a gap year after college?! Take your experience a level deeper and say “Ni hao” to incredible professional development opportunities as an intern in China. CIP can connect you with professional internships in dozens of Chinese cities across a variety of sectors—pick the one that best suits your future career path. You'll be wow'ing the pants off grad school admissions counselors with this breadth of experience under your belt.

• Where: China
• What: Internships
• More program info

Taking a gap year after college is the new black 

Picture yourself. Abroad.

So there you have it—a gap year after college before grad school or ANY future path: everything to gain, extremely little to lose. Let’s have a quick recap of why this could be a great path for you.

Although you can take a gap year—or more generally, travel—at any time in your life, the time right after college is a particularly good one. Having spent most of your existence in classrooms, learning about the world in theory, you’re now ready to go and put it all to the test. And of course you’ll learn so much more along the way. You might have been top of your trig class, but can you organise a group of fellow travellers and successfully get from A-B in Nepal using a local bus timetable?

Using your time abroad wisely—that is, engaging in something that’ll look great on your resume rather than dozing indefinitely on a beach in Goa—will put you in an incredibly strong position to enter the professional world on your return. The experience you’ll come home armed with will be music to the ears of potential employers.

It doesn’t cost the Earth, but it does cost something. But it will be the best investment you’ve ever made. Promise.

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