A Gap Year Experience
Taking a year off in your education journey is still not a very Asian thing to do but it is gradually being embraced here
Cambridge sophomore student Sushien Ng discusses the positive advantages of having a gap year
Not so long ago, taking a gap year in this part of the world had never even occurred to students that were graduating high school. Asians were accustomed to an unhindered education passage that only culminated with their first job in hand. Even if some of us were aware of the Western idea of taking a year off after graduating high school and before going off to university, it was just that—something only Westerners do.
Sushien Ng, a second-year Malaysian student who is studying history and politics in Cambridge says overall people in Asia are still adjusting to the idea. When she took a gap year after her A-levels, the reactions she received from uncles and aunties were: “I thought only
ang mohs do this” and then the cliché “are you going to go backpacking?” Laughing, she said, “The main reason I took a gap year was because I was burned out from the non-stop grinding for exams—first IGCSE, then A-levels and it just took a toll on me.” So, she raised the idea of a gap year with her parents.
Naturally, they were concerned but supportive. The question raised was, would this make her lose her momentum for studying? But the more they discussed it the more they warmed up to the idea, reassuring her parents that she wasn’t simply doing it for fun.
One thing she knew from the get-go was that her gap year wasn’t going to be spent just chilling. “I wanted more time to explore my interests, try new things and also figure out what exactly I wanted to do in life.” Sushien already knew she wanted to study history but it was an internship with State Assembly Representative for ADUN Bandar Utama, Jamaliah Jamaluddin that inspired her to also study politics. After that, she did an independent internship with the Centre for Public Policy Studies, which is a think tank under ASLI. This was followed by an NGO internship with Amnesty International Malaysia and finally with Grabfood. Doing internships with different organisations allowed her to get a better feel for what she likes, which helped seal the deal for her.
Of course, her gap year was also time spent for family and self-rejuvenation. She picked up mini projects like learning how to crochet and play a piece on the piano. “I also picked up the ukulele, which I now play in uni with my friends during our jam sessions.”
It was during the gap year that Sushien applied and successfully got into Cambridge. It all began with a contest she took part in. “I had submitted this video but forgot about it. A few months later they called saying I won the ‘A Minute to Change the World’ video contest.
The Economist actually flew me to London for the event! We got two plane tickets so my mom came with me and we went looking at universities while we were there. We happened to visit Cambridge and I was just blown away by it. It was so gorgeous, and I just felt I needed to apply. I mean I never expected to get in but I did which added to the magic of the gap year even more.”
Going to university a year later than her peers didn’t really affect her. “When I started university, it’s a very common thing for people to take a gap year and even if you don’t, the schooling systems end at different ages anyway. So there are people who are here in their second year and they are like 25 years old and others who are 17-year-old geniuses but are in their second year. So I didn’t really feel there was much difference.”
Her advice on how to decide whether to take a gap year is to follow your gut. “I think there’s always this expectation that you need to keep going and keep moving forward. But if it doesn’t feel right to you, you should take care of your mental health and take the time off.”