worries about gap year(s)

Student Lounge International Students
1

<p>Hello community and uk students:</p>

<p>I have a question on how UK colleges (not Oxford or Cambridge) consider gap years.
To give details:
Originally, I graduated in Juliy '12 from high school (A-Levels) and I had planned to go as an Au Pair to the USA from August'12 till September'13. Then I would have applied to UK universities (undergraduate), some US colleges and some schools in my home country (all for start in fall 2014) and get hopefully admitted somewhere.
But now things changed and may not be able to start my Au Pair year in the USA before January'13.
That's why I am currently thinking about going to the UK as an Au Pair for 6 months (Okt'12 till March/April'13 - I got a job offer there) and then start the Au Pair year in the USA from April'13 till May'14.
But when I come back home and apply then in the UK/USA and my home country for starting in fall 2015, I will be out of school for almost three years.
Any suggestions/experiences on how admission officers in the UK (and if you know in the USA) will think about that time? Would that ruin my chances of admission? (in my home country Germany this won't be a problem, but the universities there are just my safeties). </p>

<p>Greetings and hoping for any advice,
Sissy</p>

2

<p>Not really a problem in the UK with the expection of some maths courses where they prefer you to start straight out of high school (so you don’t forget anything). However, if you will be 21 or over when you apply you are likely to be treated as a mature student (as are around 50% of all UK applicants) and the admissions criteria may be different. You will need to check based on the courses you wish to apply for. For example, if English is not your first language they may require an English certificate obtained in the last year or 2 years.</p>