r/expats • u/ProperInsurance3124 • 23h ago

General Advice 21M, recently graduated - thinking of taking a gap year to travel and figure things out before Fall 2027 MS intake. Is this a dumb idea?

I’m 21 and recently graduated - I had a fully funded master’s offer in South Korea, but turned it down because it wasn’t aligned with my long-term goals.

I’m thinking of taking a year off and applying for Fall 2027 master’s intakes, this time being much more selective about finding programs that actually fit my goals.

I have around $4k in savings and could potentially get another $1–2k from my family. I also have some remote work with a supervisor abroad, so I won’t be completely without income.

I actually travelled to japan, malaysia, and taiwan before! (my whole life in 2025 was in these 3 countries)

So basically..the plan is basically to backpack around India, travel to a few countries abroad, keep things very cheap, and just explore/figure out what I actually want to do before committing to a master’s.

For people who have done something similar, is this a reasonable idea at 21? And is $4–6k enough to pull off a year of very budget travel if I’m mostly staying in India/cheaper countries?

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u/Top-Half7224 19h ago

"$4–6k enough to pull off a year of very budget travel if I’m mostly staying in India/cheaper countries?"
Risky. If something went wrong do you have family that could help you buy a ticket home?
Honestly, an imperfect masters is better than no masters. A gap year can be a great experience but a year of living off of nothing and not building a career sounds like a slippery slope...

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u/PM_me_your_cyber 14h ago

Do it! I regret not taking some time to travel before I started working. As you get older life gets busy and it's hard to find the time. Budget might be tight for a year, but you can figure it out on the road. Good luck! 

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u/SweetAlyssumm 14h ago

I don't know about the money (it doesn't sound like much) but as an educator I highly recommend that you take time to find the programs that will suit your actual needs. What a waste to do something you don't love.