This gap year widespread in the United States is gaining momentum among European students. Many go on a gap year, whether for a stay abroad or a professional internship. 60% of people who have done one say that this experience allowed them to find their way. 88% of students indicate that the gap year is a considerable advantage in finding a job afterwards, according to an EF study.
What is a gap year, this student gap year? Definition
The gap year, also called a student sabbatical year, consists, for a student, of interrupting their studies temporarily, after the baccalaureate or during their studies, for a period of six months to a year. In France, the gap year is strongly encouraged by certain establishments, and even compulsory in certain business and engineering schools.
Namely:
- In 2015, François Hollande formalized the gap year at university in order to promote civic service.
- It is thanks to the 2018 law, relating to the guidance and success of students, that high school graduates can take a gap year before undertaking higher studies.
Why take a gap year during your studies? The advantages
The gap year is an opportunity for you to gain maturity by spending time abroad, doing internships, volunteering, etc.
For many students, this allowed them to think about their direction, to validate or not their choice for the future by having a foot in the world of work, by discovering other cultures or even by doing volunteer work.
Discover the portrait of Emeline Dukic: the emlyon student who supports women all over the world who created They Act For Women during her gap year! We also interviewed two students from EDHEC and Sciences Po, Léa and Laure, who devoted their gap year to the issue of disability in business.
This period also allows you to know yourself better, to learn or improve in a specific language or even to acquire new skills which will inevitably help to boost your CV and which will serve you in professional life.
Namely:
- A request for a gap year will be more easily accepted if you explain why it will be beneficial for you and your career and/or professional project.
The gap year at university
As mentioned, the gap year was made official at the university in 2015, by François Hollande. Although the gap year is almost obligatory in business and engineering schools, it is, however, much less widespread in universities.
In these establishments, the gap year takes the same format as in the Grandes Écoles. It can be carried out over 6 or 12 months. During this year you can: carry out a VIE, get involved in an association or as a volunteer firefighter, carry out civic service, work, follow training in another field, etc.
How to finance your gap year? The gap year internship
Several possibilities are available to you during your gap year. You can first do one or two internships in France or internationally. In general, gap year internships are the most crucial in a student’s education. Many companies only recruit gap year or end-of-study interns. They are ready to entrust them with responsibilities or strategic missions which prove to be extremely interesting and educational.
Gap internships very often offer remuneration which is much higher than traditional internships. Sometimes, companies even offer fixed-term contracts to students or promise to hire them once their studies are completed. This is particularly the case in many consulting firms.
However, you can also carry out civic service, a mission which is paid, or with an association in France, as well as internationally. Some students take advantage of this gap period to develop or even create their own business!
Gap year abroad
As mentioned above, you can also do your gap year abroad. This is an opportunity for you to validate international professional experience. Many students choose to do an internship in France and another outside France, particularly in Asia or Europe.
In addition to professional experience abroad, the gap year can allow you to go on an exchange for a whole year, or just six months, thanks to the Erasmus+ program or even to a partner university of your school.
Namely:
- It is possible to undertake a VIE (international corporate volunteering) or a VTE (territorial corporate volunteering) during your gap year.
How to request it?
If you have a bachelor’s degree and you wish to take a gap year, you must validate your gap year request in the “Gap year” tab. However, this does not mean that your application is approved, since it is your future establishment that will make the decision. If it approves your choice, you will need to contact your training in order to find out the terms and deadlines for submitting your gap year request.
If you are already a student, it may be compulsory depending on the course. Otherwise, you must request it directly from your school. For the latter, your establishment will ask you to write a cover letter!
Discover tips for writing a good cover letter thanks to Denis Heftre, Managing Director of the large French recruitment firm ADH!
What is my status if I take a gap year?
If you undertake a gap year in agreement with your original establishment, you keep your student status as well as its advantages. If you are a scholarship holder and you are training abroad, your scholarship will be maintained depending on the validation of your semester thanks to the ECTS credits validated. On the other hand, if you complete one or two professional internships during your gap year, the right to the scholarship can be maintained according to the decision of your establishment.
Gap year: what about the scholarship?
As for social benefits, such as specific aid (housing in a university campus, access to Crous catering at the social rate, etc.), these are subject to the conditions of the education code. In summary, your gap year will have no impact on these advantages.
It is important to note that you can even benefit from scholarships and mobility assistance during your gap year. As mentioned above, if you go abroad, for an internship or for a semester of studies, you will be able to benefit from the Erasmus grant in your region (international mobility assistance: AMI) and your home establishment.
In addition, since the gap year is carried out during your studies, you keep your student card and therefore all the associated advantages: reduction on public transport, in museums, etc.
The double hyphenation
You have the right to make one gap per cycle at most (one during the bachelor’s cycle, one during the master’s cycle). It is possible to take a gap year after an M2, provided that you continue your doctoral studies and that the establishment approves your request.
In some establishments, students are allowed to take a double gap: a professional gap and a personal gap. The first is more dedicated to completing an internship, while the second is the opportunity to enhance your CV with experience abroad. Very few schools offer this system. This is particularly the case for HEC Paris.
As for tuition fees, establishments do not adopt the same policy. Some schools will ask you to honor them, while others offer the gap year for free or simply charge an application fee.
The gap year in Europe
It is a very common practice in Northern European countries. In Denmark, this special year is a tradition after the baccalaureate. Seeing the benefits it had on their students, the country even set up a financial aid system for all students who decide to go on a gap year. Moreover, in 2016, almost 70% of Danish students were in a gap year.
In Germany, in 2016, almost a third of students took advantage of this period to volunteer, go abroad or do an internship.
However, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Slovenia, Bulgaria) remain more cautious about the concept of a gap year.
