The term 'Gap Year' can sometimes cause a bit of confusion. Many people tend to think that a gap year is when students go travelling before university. While this is something many people do, it is by no means the only option.

Gap years can be taken before, during or after university and while travel is the most popular way to spend a gap year there are other options such as work, volunteering, work experience and study.

A gap year is not procrastinating or a waste of time, in fact more than 22,000 students took a gap year in 2000, including Prince William, and that figure is expected to rise each year.

So how do you organise a gap year? Well, it's simple but requires different planning depending on what you want to do and when.

When to take a gap year

Before University - The pre-uni Gap Year is 15 months long, i.e. the time between finishing A-Levels and starting university, which gives plenty of time to undertake any combination of activities. You must defer your place at university which can be done on the UCAS form - see you careers teacher or whoever deals with uni applications for help with this.

If you are taking a gap year due to lower than expected grades or a sudden urge for a break, you can apply again through UCAS the following year. Get in touch with them in the September of the year before you want to start and ask for a form to be sent to you at home.

During University - Sometimes called a "sandwich year" due to being taken in the middle of university. If you are intending to do a masters, then taking a break out after your under-graduate years can be a great way to get some practical experience volunteering or doing work experience in the field of your studies.

If you are going to take a year out in the middle of your undergraduate course then you must organise deferment of the year with your university which should be done early, not during the last month of last term.

After University - The gap between leaving university and what non-academics call "the real world". A post-uni gap year can last any length of time - we are not sure of the world record. Some people see this as the best time to take a gap year, being a little bit older and (hopefully) wiser before launching into what will hopefully, if not almost inevitably, be a life-changing experience.

What to do on your gap year

Ah, what to do? How about volunteer overseas, why not make some money and work, or work your way around the world... it's a tough choice so here's some suggestions: travel, work, volunteer, work experience, study.

A popular choice among many young people is to set off with a backpack, a travel guide and a couple of mates and see the world. This is all very well if you're loaded to start with, but most gappers find that an element of work is going to be necessary somewhere along the way.

Some people will work and save for a year and then spend all of their money on a few fantastic weeks somewhere exotic, while others prefer to spend their time working in different countries to pay for their next plane ticket. You really do have the time during a gap year to structure it in the way you feel best suits you.

what to do provides a rough guide to what's hot and what not when it comes to gap year activities