<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>'Uni can wait, I'm taking a gap year'
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>More youth taking time off to volunteer, travel or gain work experience </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Alessa Pang & Rachel Au-Yong
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During her gap year, Miss Natalya Twohill, 22, started the Singapore branch of the United Nations Youth Association. -- ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM
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WHILE her peers fret about which university to choose or which orientation camps to go for, Miss Tiffany Liew, 18, is thinking about writing up menus and picking out pots and pans.
Having scored 3 As in last year's
A-level exams, the former Raffles Junior College student will put off her pursuit of a degree to start her own food and beverage stall and gain some work experience.
'I know it's not the conventional route, but it'll be good exposure especially since I'm going down the business route,' said the business-major hopeful.
She is negotiating for the operational rights of a local delicacy stall, and hopes to set up shop in VivoCity or Ion Orchard. She has taken a loan of $100,000 from her businessman father. 'I know it's a lot of money, but with his guidance and some luck, I hope and intend to repay him with interest,' she said.
Miss Liew is one of a small but growing number of youth who are taking a gap year before university - a practice slow to catch on among Singaporeans, who are known to prize the pursuit of education.
For some among this small group - particularly those whose parents are able to support them financially - a gap year is a way to have a break, gain some work experience, or do volunteer work.
No one keeps track of how many youth take a gap year here, but the National University of Singapore (NUS) said about 250 students are granted leave of absence for academic or personal reasons each year, excluding those who have to complete their national service. NUS has an average annual intake of about 6,250.
At the Nanyang Technological University, 'less than a handful' of its annual cohort of about 5,050 request a gap year.
The Singapore Management University does not keep track of such students because potential students who wish to take a gap year are advised to apply in the year they are ready to start.
The United World College campus here has a gap-year programme for its graduating students which links them to volunteering stints in neighbouring countries that usually last several months.
Singaporean students, though, have to chart the road less travelled themselves.
Miss Natalya Twohill, 22, decided to take a gap year after her studies at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. After getting a diploma in mass communications in 2006, she did not rush off her university applications.
Instead, she set up the Singapore branch of the United Nations Youth Association - which has now grown to 450 members and volunteers. The group discusses world issues, much like the ones world leaders do in the UN headquarters.
Miss Twohill was selected to attend the Global Leaders' Youth Summit in New York, where she visited the UN. She also visited a refugee camp in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The NUS political science major said: 'It wasn't always easy, but my gap year gave me the assurance I needed that serving the community was really my passion in life.'
But more often than not, students take a year off simply to give themselves a break from the education system.
Miss Claire Oei, 20, said: 'I was tired of studying so hard continuously for the last 12 years. I wanted to be able to do things I want to do at my own pace.'
She spent a year working at an events management company and travelling around Asia and Australia while doing volunteer work. Miss Oei paid for most of her trips, with her parents chipping in.
Then there are those who do not want to be bogged down by the hassle of applying to an overseas university while studying for exams.
Miss Sarah Tang, 19, finished her International Baccalaureate last year but is going to apply for a place in the Wharton Business School only this year. 'I didn't want to have to deal with my examination and applications at the same time.' said the former Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) student. Meanwhile, she took up a sales job in clothes retailer Hermes and started her own stock portfolio.
Miss Grace Teng, 20, also decided to take a year off after completing her studies in 2007. The aspiring film-maker spent a year buffing up her portfolio for her application to the famed New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for film and television studies.
Armed with a strong portfolio, she got a place in her dream school. 'There was no way I would have got in if I had applied in 2007 because my portfolio would not have been strong enough,' she said.
Taking a gap year is no easy decision.
Most, like Miss Connie Tan, 19, are worried about losing a year. 'I'm afraid I would end up wasting time. It may also be even more competitive if I were to apply for admission next year.'
Miss Lim Hui Meen, 19, decided it was too 'risky' and did not want to 'sap any more of my parents' retirement funds'.
Others said they did not want to be 'separated' from their friends from junior college or secondary school.
Most who have done the gap year said they would not have been able to do it without their parents' support or approval, at least.
Mrs Wendy Yeap, whose daughter Cassandra, 20, took a year off to gain working experience, said: 'I watched Cassandra become much more confident about herself and she is now very clear about what she wants to pursue.' [email protected]
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>More youth taking time off to volunteer, travel or gain work experience </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Alessa Pang & Rachel Au-Yong
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
During her gap year, Miss Natalya Twohill, 22, started the Singapore branch of the United Nations Youth Association. -- ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->
WHILE her peers fret about which university to choose or which orientation camps to go for, Miss Tiffany Liew, 18, is thinking about writing up menus and picking out pots and pans.
Having scored 3 As in last year's
A-level exams, the former Raffles Junior College student will put off her pursuit of a degree to start her own food and beverage stall and gain some work experience.
'I know it's not the conventional route, but it'll be good exposure especially since I'm going down the business route,' said the business-major hopeful.
She is negotiating for the operational rights of a local delicacy stall, and hopes to set up shop in VivoCity or Ion Orchard. She has taken a loan of $100,000 from her businessman father. 'I know it's a lot of money, but with his guidance and some luck, I hope and intend to repay him with interest,' she said.
Miss Liew is one of a small but growing number of youth who are taking a gap year before university - a practice slow to catch on among Singaporeans, who are known to prize the pursuit of education.
For some among this small group - particularly those whose parents are able to support them financially - a gap year is a way to have a break, gain some work experience, or do volunteer work.
No one keeps track of how many youth take a gap year here, but the National University of Singapore (NUS) said about 250 students are granted leave of absence for academic or personal reasons each year, excluding those who have to complete their national service. NUS has an average annual intake of about 6,250.
At the Nanyang Technological University, 'less than a handful' of its annual cohort of about 5,050 request a gap year.
The Singapore Management University does not keep track of such students because potential students who wish to take a gap year are advised to apply in the year they are ready to start.
The United World College campus here has a gap-year programme for its graduating students which links them to volunteering stints in neighbouring countries that usually last several months.
Singaporean students, though, have to chart the road less travelled themselves.
Miss Natalya Twohill, 22, decided to take a gap year after her studies at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. After getting a diploma in mass communications in 2006, she did not rush off her university applications.
Instead, she set up the Singapore branch of the United Nations Youth Association - which has now grown to 450 members and volunteers. The group discusses world issues, much like the ones world leaders do in the UN headquarters.
Miss Twohill was selected to attend the Global Leaders' Youth Summit in New York, where she visited the UN. She also visited a refugee camp in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The NUS political science major said: 'It wasn't always easy, but my gap year gave me the assurance I needed that serving the community was really my passion in life.'
But more often than not, students take a year off simply to give themselves a break from the education system.
Miss Claire Oei, 20, said: 'I was tired of studying so hard continuously for the last 12 years. I wanted to be able to do things I want to do at my own pace.'
She spent a year working at an events management company and travelling around Asia and Australia while doing volunteer work. Miss Oei paid for most of her trips, with her parents chipping in.
Then there are those who do not want to be bogged down by the hassle of applying to an overseas university while studying for exams.
Miss Sarah Tang, 19, finished her International Baccalaureate last year but is going to apply for a place in the Wharton Business School only this year. 'I didn't want to have to deal with my examination and applications at the same time.' said the former Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) student. Meanwhile, she took up a sales job in clothes retailer Hermes and started her own stock portfolio.
Miss Grace Teng, 20, also decided to take a year off after completing her studies in 2007. The aspiring film-maker spent a year buffing up her portfolio for her application to the famed New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for film and television studies.
Armed with a strong portfolio, she got a place in her dream school. 'There was no way I would have got in if I had applied in 2007 because my portfolio would not have been strong enough,' she said.
Taking a gap year is no easy decision.
Most, like Miss Connie Tan, 19, are worried about losing a year. 'I'm afraid I would end up wasting time. It may also be even more competitive if I were to apply for admission next year.'
Miss Lim Hui Meen, 19, decided it was too 'risky' and did not want to 'sap any more of my parents' retirement funds'.
Others said they did not want to be 'separated' from their friends from junior college or secondary school.
Most who have done the gap year said they would not have been able to do it without their parents' support or approval, at least.
Mrs Wendy Yeap, whose daughter Cassandra, 20, took a year off to gain working experience, said: 'I watched Cassandra become much more confident about herself and she is now very clear about what she wants to pursue.' [email protected]
