Taking a Year Off Before College? 104
An anonymous reader asks: "I am a high school senior this year and I have been considering a year off before college. Is this a wise move? If you took a year off, were you still able to get into the school you wanted? I have been asking around and everyone tells me it is a horrible move; however, the people who say this are the ones who did not take a year off."
Don't take a year off now. (Score:4, Informative)
Take a year off after you complete your education if you want to.
Re:Don't take a year off now. (Score:5, Insightful)
Why is that a problem? If one can answer that question well, it will distinguish them from their peers. Don't be a sheeple. If you can (reasonably) explain and justify what you do, then it's probably a good idea, even if it is the lesser followed path...note though, that one may go with the group while not following the group...so if it makes sense to go the same course as many others, do it...if your sense of things tells you to do something different than most, do it. If you simply fear the questioning that will come from not doing something different from the norm, then you're not doing the right thing for you.
Re:Don't take a year off now. (Score:4, Insightful)
School is expensive though. Even if you are going to a University with a modest tuition there is still residence, or reasonable equivalent. Who would be pushy if you say you needed to take time to earn money to afford school? Even if your family is rolling in dough your parents might believe it is "character-building" to make you pay your own way.
If you are not planning to work -- somehow you have the dough to travel around the world, or try to put together an album, or something, my advice would be to keep a journal, a disciplined one. Summarize it. Take pictures. If you paint pictures, include colour photo-copies. If you read serious books, review them, keep a reading log, write down what you learned from them, what questions you had.
Serious volunteering, at a food bank, homeless shelter, women's shelter. These could be really illuminating experiences. Experiences that could answer the criticism that your year off was a holiday, a waste of time. Particularly if you do some homework, do some reading, do some writing, about what the experience meant to you.
When I was a youngster I knew a smart gal who wasn't sure what she wanted to do with her life. So she approached a bunch of people she respected, and asked them, if they could only recommend one book, what would it be? Then she read them -- even if they weren't things she would ever have considered. (Her list only had one duplicate -- Ted Nelson's "Computer Lib".)
As for approaching your first year -- I have some advice there too. I was a teaching assistant. Most of my students had a much higher average coming from high school than I had -- around 95%. A fair number of them had the misfortune of being head and shoulders the smartest kids in their class. Misfortune? Yup. Some students are so obviously bright that they get breaks. They get to coast. High school isn't enough of a challenge for them. They get to slack off, and not do their homework. Maybe their teachers overlooked lapses on their part, because they felt it reflected poorly on themselves? Whatever.
Coming to a large University was a big adjustment for them. Unfortunately, at a big University, your teachers don't know your rep, and everyone else had also been the smartest kind in their class. It seemed to me that less brilliant, less articulate students, students who couldn't coast, came to University already used to giving their education a fuller effort.
If you are used to coasting in high school taking a year off, meeting some real people, sounds like a good idea. Take the advice someone else offered, and take a couple of college night courses. It will help you determine if you really are prepared.
There have been other, longer, discussions here this year that have addressed this issue. They are worth looking for.
Some of those comments from earlier discussions addressed how much room a young person should allow for falling in love. Don't let falling in love interfere with graduating. But college will be the last time in your life when you are surrounded by trim, fit, attractive, single people. As you get older you will probably find your standards of fitness and attractiveness will relax. But singleness will remain important. After you graduate, you will enter a world where you will be much less sure that the people you meet are single.
In high school, and university, you may know people who have been "going steady" since grade nine. But a lot of them are basically stil single too. Even if they seem happy, if they don't have shared debt, children, or tangible property, like a house or a car, maybe they are still relatively single?
If you are still in high school now is the time to have your first love -- and likely your first romantic disappointment. Whatever you do, don't put it off until after you graduate. Your first romantic disappointment? A lot of people don't cope well with that. They do wild things, like blow all their dough, or mope around. If you are still living at home, in a loving household, your parents won't let your moping grow too destructive. And if you blow all your money, it is only your allowance, or your income from your part-time job. Your parent will still feed you. If you feel compelled to blow all your dough when you already have a mortgage, you can do yourself far more damage. You can run through your retirement savings. You can put your children's nutrition at risk. So budget time for being open to love now.
One more peice of advice. If you haven't read Richard Feynman's "Surely you are joking Mr Feynman", go read it. I particularly recommend the chapter he devoted to the sabbatical he took in Brazil, and the conclusions he reached about how science education can go wrong.
USMC (Score:1)
Enlist in one of the armed services, even if for the weekend warrior program (reserves). Definitely would be an elightening and illuminating experience. Best of all you can make it a rewarding experience by using the GI bill and practically have your college and expenses paid for when you decide to exercise that option. Also, while active duty, the services encourage outside education and have a federal tuition program paying 75%. I was full time in the Marine Corps and was able to take Calculus I-III in a year and half after work, by taking night classes. Besides, you'll learn a valuable trade, have possibilities of travel, meeting and making many lifetime friends, especially for future contacts and personal networking.
Re:Don't take a year off now. (Score:1, Interesting)
Best example. I have a friend who had an interview at Nortel in the boom days. Nortel was playing primmadonna and had the guy do 4 interviews and pretty much only focussed on the gap between him graduating university and starting to work in electronics. He had graduated in a recession and worked in other fields.
So Nortel said 'we don't like your career path'.
My jaw fell to the ground. My hatred for the place went through the roof. Anyways, two years later, the same Nortel people who interviewed him are now BROWN-SPUTTERING THEIR PANTS and begging on their KNEES FOR A JOB AT HOME DEPOT.
Lesson: Those arrogant bastards are YOU. The time will come when you will be in trouble and not work for a while. I relish the day YOU will be begging and confront a guy with YOUR attitude.
So FUCK YOU and your career-over-everything bullshit. When you're retired and YOUR boss will have sucked everything he could out of you, and you're old and tired and sick, it's TOO LATE TO ENJOY LIFE. So go lick your fucking diplomas and polish your boss's car or something.
Let the kid ENJOY LIFE now.
There are people who go back to school after DECADES. I hope they will not meet tight asses like you.
So again, FUCK YOU.
Hey kid, Mr. Anonymous story submitter, don't let the career mongers scare you. Fuck em good and hard in their flat out of shape asses.
ENJOY LIFE NOW. Not only are you supposed to enjoy your youth, but in the future, your year off will weed out the employers like utopia, people you don't want to work for.
Have stories to tell your friends and your future kids! Do interesting things! Find a job in London and move in with interesting people! Backpack in Tibet!
HAVE FUN while Mr. Career pops the Tagamets [gettingwell.com] and watches his youth dwindle away!
GO GO GO GO GO GO *NOW*! Don't even read the other replies here! Go NOW!
Re:Don't take a year off now. (Score:1)
In England a large chunk of people take a year off _before_ they go to University.
It's viewed as the most normal thing ever to do.
One good bet if you want to take a year out is to keep a diary to show how the year has benefited you, this way if you do get interview questions on the period off you can answer them properly.
Re:Don't take a year off now. (Score:2)
Coincidentally, applications for St Andrews Uni rocketed that year once the news broke....
In short, if asked, you just say "I took a gap year to broaden my horizons before continuing my education" or some other waffle.
A professor's perspective.... (Score:5, Informative)
So, from my perspective as a college teacher the opportunity to do it right is too precious to waste. As long as you use your time off to become better prepared to succeed, to get a clearer sense of why you want to go to college and want you want to achieve, or to have interesting and enriching life experiences then educationally taking a year off is well worth it, and it will be recognized as such by nearly anyone within higher education.
Something to consider (Score:2, Interesting)
The down side of this is that the subjects that you take might not be those which 'flip your switch.' It's also possible that the profs, or instructors that you happen to get don't operate at anything like the same wavelength that you do. Of course the flip side of this is that you might luck out and take courses that really jingle your bells and have facility members that are very much on your wavelength.
The upshot of these caveats is that not taking a full course load your first time at bat might leave you with a false impression, either good, or bad, of what college is like. Then again even if you do decide to take a full academic load you still might either bomb out, or luck out on your courses, though it's a lower probility.
FWIW
Re:A professor's perspective.... (Score:2)
If there is a goal, I think it'll be easier for you to go back to college when it is done.
I thought that I'd like a break to travel somewhere in my college career. It never happened.
In the summers I worked to pay for school.
The problem was that when I had the opportunity (between my BS and my MS) I had built up a student loan debt, and I had no cash to travel with.
When I graduated from college, I had to take a job to start paying off the debt.
If you have a goal in mind, take the time off. If you just want time off, go to school. The first year is gen-ed junk anyway.
Good luck figuring it all out.
Re:A professor's perspective.... (Score:2)
I agree with the above - but would argue the counter situation that
kids who don't immediately continue with school are
VERY likely to never go back to school. Once you get
out of the habbit of doing homework, it is pretty difficult
to get back into the saddle.
I suggest doing junior college instead of dropping out
all together, even if it were just a couple of classes a
quarter. Don't stop completely.
The reason I urge this is that the value of a college education
with the right major is summed up as earning power.
The earning power of a high school graduate is a small
percentage of a college graduate. You're limiting your
potential if you have the means and don't pursue college.
I'd also urge you to find the right major when you
finally do go. If you are going to spend the next
40 years in a profession, it really ought to be one you
like.
Good luck!
Re:A professor's perspective.... (Score:2, Interesting)
Obviously, I left college and went to work, and now fully realize the value of going to college and getting a degree. This was something that no amount of "counseling" would actually have taught me (not that the so-called counselers bothered to try). Not only that, but by having some experience actually working in the computer field, I realize it's not where I want to be. I enjoy computers as a hobby, but not as a career.
So, now I am 22, I am back in school full-time, at a community college, going for a new major, working full-time as I go, and getting a 4.0. I only wish I didn't have a bad GPA from my previous college attempt that I have to work against for the rest of my college career. Next semester I should be above the 2.0 average required so I can recieve financial aid again. Pell grant and loans are my only options now - I've ruined the chance of getting anything based on merit now.
Looking back, everything in my life would be so much easier today if I had just stopped and taken a break like I wanted to after high school. Don't take is as an easy ride, bumming off family - go out and try to make it in the world. My only question now is whether one year would have been enough for me.
-jupo
Re:A professor's perspective.... (Score:1)
I agree with the above - but would argue the counter situation that
kids who don't immediately continue with school are
VERY likely to never go back to school. Once you get
out of the habbit of doing homework, it is pretty difficult
to get back into the saddle.
quote
this is so true! OMG, you would not believe how true this is. Probably the best advice anyone has given in this tread.
I graduated HS and had no option, my parents were dirt poor, had no savings, no one would give me a scholarship, so I had to work to earn enough money to get me into a JC. I spent 4 years slaving and saving to get to college, and when I finally did, it was incredibly difficult. I had lost almost all my study habits, and the information I had absorbed like a sponge earlier in life was a challenge to retain once I was out of learning mode.
Whatever you do, don;t let yourself lose your study habits. If you do want to take a year off, go to school part time to keep yourself in the mode. Besides, enough time after school to find out how bad the working world really sucks anyway.
Kevin
Re:A professor's perspective.... (Score:1)
>difficult to get back into the saddle.
Gee, I wonder why that is? I mean, if homework was so fucking cool and empowering, then...
I took time off from school. When I went back, homework was easier than it was before. The problem is, I didn't want to do it. It was mind-numbingly simplistic.
Listen to the Prof (Score:3, Interesting)
They said that the graduation rate among grad students who took a year off was much higher.
There was a lot of speculation as to why this is, but most of the hypotheses can be boiled down to two possibilities: either the students who go straight on to college are more burnt out because they haven't not been in school since they were 6, or the students who took a year off had an extra year to mature, got some time to think about why they want to go to college, and were in generall much better prepared to get a 4 year degree.
I think that both of these hypotheses are correct. I know far to many kids at my school who got pushed into college right after high school when they didn't want to go right away, didn't know if they wanted to go at all, or didn't even have a good idea why they would be going to college in the first place. The lucky ones figured it all out in a month or two, and the rest have this amazing tendency to bomb out or drop out.
As for the crap that people feed you about it looking bad to admissions counsellors and potential employers, don't listen to a word of that crap. A year off gives you a great chance to impress the pants off of college admissions counsellors - just go volunteer somewhere or do something else useful rather than spending the whole year in your parents' house playing GTA3 and eating Doritos. As for employers, I don't think any employer is going to scrutinize a year off of college as long as you do well otherwise - they're going to be much more concerned with how you handled yourself during college. To that end, it's MUCH better to take a year off before college than a year off in the middle of college.
Seriously, though, when you listen to the advice people give you, make sure you are getting advice from informed sources. Like you said, most the people who are outspoken about this didn't take a year off and have no idea what they are talking about - they're just parroting crap they fuzzily remember hearing from someone else who didn't know what they were saying and were parroting crap they fuzzily remember hearing from someone else. They're probably also assuming you want to take a year off for a chance to goof off - if that's true, I wouldn't recommend doing it, but if you're taking a year off to do something that will enrich your life, teach you anything, or that year off will in some other way set you better off in life, by all means, take it.
Spot on (Score:2)
Bad move - you'll forget things you've learned (Score:3, Informative)
Dave
Re:Bullshit (Score:1)
BTW - who said it was a bachelor/master of science? In the case of some masters degrees, e.g. MBA, you're far better off having some industry/corporate experience before you start it.
Dave
Re:Bad move - you'll forget things you've learned (Score:1)
Re:Bad move - you'll forget things you've learned (Score:2)
They're afraid to stop 'doing it' for even a short while, until they've done the whole course and can just quit.
Unless you're just in school to get that wallpaper, it shouldn't be about cramming in the knowledge to get the marks. If you're forgetting the needed 'background material' perhaps you're involving yourself in a big expensive cram session, not an education.
Just something to think about, coming from one of the annoying people who asked questions that won't be on Fridays test during lecture.
One thing to consider (Score:1)
Re:One thing to consider (Score:2)
One of the other things to consider (Score:5, Informative)
My understanding is that, most of the time, if you are a college student full time, you can stay on your parent's insurance program. Depending on your work/living situation, this may be beneficial.
No general rule... (Score:3, Insightful)
There are a whole bunch of questions that you should at least ask, even if you don't find answers to them all...before you even ask if it would be a good idea to take a year off before college, ask yourself if you really want to go to college (and as a part of that, maybe ask yourself why you should and why you shouldn't)
If the answer to that first question was a 'no', then you've got a whole bunch of other issues to deal with...
If the answer is a resounding 'yes' then ask yourself why you want to take the year off...and, are you the type of person that will really go after a year out of formalized education?
If it's "I'm not sure" then your choice is even more difficult. Going to college right away might be exactly what you need to figure out what you want to do...on the other hand, if you're not ready to go to college, then pushing yourself into it might do you more harm than good...
In the end, what *really* matters is that your heart needs to be into whatever course you take. If it's not, you wont do a good job, whatever it is you're trying to do. Will it make it more difficult to get into the school you want? Well, that depends on what you do with the time off. If you waste it, then it won't *help* you at all (best case). If you do something interesting, or can paint what you did in an interesting way, then it might help. Note, many schools will allow you to defer admission by a year, so you could apply now and get in (if you're worried) and then take a year. But like I said, whatever you do, make sure your heart's in it.
Reed College (Score:1)
Well... (Score:3)
The real concern is that you might wind up hanging around with "the wrong type." Yes, boys and girls, the existentialists were right: Your sense of self is almost entirely the engineered product of your own consciousness! That is to say: If you tend to kick around with a lot of non-uni humans, it becomes harder to see yourself as the sort of fellow who goes to university; your identity can settle when you least expect it. My friend 'Susan', for instance, took a year off CEGEP(*) to deal with some personal problems and wound up in three-year odyssey of boring, min-wage jobs, grubby leather jackets, bad music and perpetual broke-ness. (It has a certain early-Tom-Waits-ish appeal, I must admit.) As she set and broke dozens of 'return dates' and made the necessitated flurry of excuses, it became clear that she simply no longer saw herself as 'the kind of person' who goes to uni; as her financial situation worsened, her resentful comments and bitter epithets about the 'preppies' attending such institutions increased dramatically in frequency and vehemence. She managed to weasel her way back into academe by dint of hard work and persistence, but I think she now has deeply-ingrained feelings --- or at least, habits --- of alienation towards the campus and her peers. This makes it difficult for her to enjoy school and/or work hard at it.She threw her lot in with academe, only to find out that it had already been thrown somewhere else.
On the other hand, another friend of mine took a year off between high school and uni to tour Europe. She had a blast and is going on to do her Masters in Germany next year; really, you never know.
(*) CEGEP (there's an accent aigu on the first 'E') is a Quebec-only state-run thingamagig which comprises what Americans call the senior year of high school and accredits you with either the (I can never get this right; 'sophomore'? 'little league'? 'First', at any rate) year of university or a vocational diploma. Imagine the senior year of high school glued onto a community college glued onto a university dorm. Yes, I know it's silly, but so is gravy and cheese curds on french fries; it's Quebec, it can't help it.
Re:Well... (Score:1)
And that first year I spent skipping classes just because I could, and I never had, cost me around $50K in scholarships and the opportunity to graduate from one of the best engineering colleges in the country (CWRU in Cleveland).
So instead I spent the last seven or eight years as a machinist -- good blue collar job, decent pay, and _lots_ of exposure to "non-uni" types. And lots of resentment built toward academia et al. And multiple cancelled (re)start dates.
So if you're at risk of this sort of behavior, my advice is take the time you need now, because if you need it you _will_ take it regardless, and at least now you can defer, which is about as consequence free as it gets
Best of luck to you,
Re:Well... (OT) (Score:1)
Freshman --> Sophomore --> Junior --> Senior.
=)
Do what You think is Best for You (Score:3, Insightful)
It is better to take the year off before you start than after you start also. Once you start that begins a new thread. My only caution to you is that if you do take a year off, use it to have some fun. Travel, make friends and use your freedom. Don't start working during this time if you can help it. Many times it is harder to quit a job to go back to school once you get lured into making some money.
It depends on what you're studying... (Score:2, Funny)
Probably not a good idea (Score:5, Insightful)
But the real problem is making yourself limit it to just one year. Trust me, I've known too many people who meant to take off a year and then never went to college. Some of them will still be in their mid-20s, so they may go yet, but... frankly, if you're 25 and haven't gone to college, the odds are very much against ever going. And if you do go, you're going to be older than most of the seniors. That may not affect your social life, if you're outgoing and make friends easily. But if you're a little shy already, being older than everyone else may serve to make you feel even more different.
My other problem with taking a year off is that people usually do it for really bad reasons. I can't tell you how many people I've known who wanted to take a year off because they didn't know what they wanted to do. Guess what? Nobody knows what he wants to do at 18. (Well, some people do, but they're definitely the minority.) Even at college, this is true. Most people end up at college because they don't know what they want to do. It's another four years for you to try to figure it out. At most schools, you don't need to declare your major until your sophomore or junior year, and at mine, you could change your major at any time (provided it would still be possible for you to get enough credits in 5 years total).
Really, the only people I know who've been happy about taking time off from - and generally not going to - college are those who already know what they want to do. People who are going to work in the family business, start their own, things like that. Everyone else, without exception, has spoken to me of regretting taking the time off. "Man, I wish I'd gone to college... now I'm stuck in this dead-end job that I hate, and I've got too many bills to pay to quit and go to college."
Of course, your mileage may vary, but you should think long and hard about why you are taking time off.
Re:Probably not a good idea (Score:1)
Bachelors to Masters? (Score:1)
Tangentially related, but I'm in my final year at a university. Although my grades (as of now) might not reflect it, but I have this innate pleasure in being able to read up and extrapolate. I've more or less decided that I love asking questions and answering them. I'm curious about doing a Masters but haven't really decided on it.
What do you guys think? Should I continue learning or should I start looking for a job now? And what are the pros and cons of waiting on this jump (as opposed to the jump from high school to college)?
harder every year (Score:2, Insightful)
Also, removing yourself from academia puts you at risk for never returning. It's always harder to return to school than to continue at it. If you decide to take a year off, have a definite plan for your return, and make as many arrangements as possible as soon as you can to ensure that you stay on track. I think that taking a year off can be valuable, but you must consider the risk of never returning, whose cost is, IMHO, very great.
The road less travelled (Score:3, Interesting)
As soon as you swerve from this narrow path of conformity, your odds of getting a degree (and that bigger income) start to plummet... but at the same time your likelihood of finding meaning in your life starts to escalate.
I could only take a half-year off without losing my scholarships, but my willingness to toe the line plummeted anyway, and I dropped out after a year, then went back a couple more times to other schools, but never got the 4-year degree.
I've rarely sought jobs where a degree would have mattered (eg programming, especially) but I've also had to get used to life being a constant struggle, materially, in exchange for a fantastic advantage in freedom of thought.
Re:The road less travelled (Score:1)
Re:The road less travelled (Score:1)
Of course you're not seeking jobs where a degree would have mattered, because you don't like looking into the lifeless eyes of the person in front of you when they ask,"Why didn't you get a degree?" when you know no explanation you could give will satisfy them.
Freedom of thought is only broken when you have bad teachers who drill awful things into you. If you were at a school that was right for you, I don't think you would have lost your freedom of thought.
Of course, who am I to talk.
-O
Goals? (Score:2, Insightful)
Are you "goal directed" and "success oriented?" Is money important to you in the scheme of things? If yes, figure out what you'd like to do to make that money and go to school.
If you just plan to drift from pillar to post in your life, go ahead take the year. If you expect monetary "success," but are not sure what to do, go to your local community college and ask for some help. No sneering! There are generally good resources there for little or no cost, especially in urban centers.
If you must take the year because you are at a loss for what to do with yourself, hunt around amongst your relatives and learn a trade in the year. You can learn about 70%-80% of any trade in a year if you pay attention. In 3 years you can learn 95% plus of most any trade.
Don't waste a year in your peak. At the very least figure out a way to get some outstanding memories by adventuring, say travel in the US and Canada.
Interesting way to look at it (Score:1)
Mental processing speed and memory performance *will* begin to decrease in your late 20's. A quick search will turn up nice graphs showing the decline. It's an interesting topic, because while mental horsepower drops as one ages (we're talking very substantial drops in speed by 40), mental *algorithms* continue to improve because of experience. For certain mental tasks, having a good algorithm is far more important that raw mental horspower, just as is the case with software and computer hardware. That is probably why a lot of older people still manage to crank out great work. Now that I'm in my mid 30's, I sure hope my algorithms continue to improve at a good clip!
Its a good thing. (Score:1)
After that, I was really happy to go and start my degree, and whenever it gets tough, I can always think back to those horrible jobs and it gives me motivation
It may also give you time to think about what you really want to do.
-- kroniq
I'm a student taking a year off before college (Score:1)
Im really having a great time! During High School I put in long hours with after school clubs, homework, etc.. and also worked 25 hours a week at a part time job. Im finnaly getting a chance to do all the things that I never go to do because I was too danm busy. In short, being unemployed and not having to go to school == having the prehaps the best time of my life. Ofcourse, it doesn't help that Australia is devoid of decent Broadband, but that is irrelivant.
If you plan on Traveling in the time off, then I'd especially reccomend taking a year off before starting college. However, if you just plan to watch more DVDs, play more games, etc... then just go to college and do that. When I talk to my friend that went straight to college, they say they have heaps of free time to do that stuff, more so than highschool.
Re:I'm a student taking a year off before college (Score:1)
Take the time off and go see the world, or at the very least the rest of North America (assuming you are in North America).
I thought about it for a while, and should mention that my family basically took a world tour on route to Australia.
Its a real eye-opener, and will prehaps better prepare you for college anyways. Also, wouldn't it look impressive on a application to say that you've traveled the world?
If your family is U.S. military, as a dependent, you can get cheap/free flights to US Air bases in other countries as well as accomidation on those bases. Which makes travel much cheaper.
I wish I had... (Score:1)
The result is that I am now massively in debt, I didn't learn a single thing, and I hated the entire expierence of what should have been the best time in my life.
I took a year off, went to a less respectable school and am now learning more and enjoying life more than ever before.
The moral is, if you aren't ready to go - don't go. Take a year off to find out who you are and what you really want to do with your life. Yeah you may not be paying for your education but it is your life. In the long run it will pay off.
Some questions, first (Score:3, Interesting)
If you can answer the questions easily, skip the next 3 paragraphs. Otherwise, read on.
I am strongly convinced that college is almost always a rewarding and worthwhile experience. There are people at my workplace (software development) who got jobs without any degree. They are good computer people and good programmers, but many (not all) of them lack some of the breadth and depth of knowledge that most (not all) of the college graduates have. You know -- the stuff that you thought you would never need when your teacher was forcing it down your throat. Most of the time, you were right. But some of the time, the teacher was right and it turned out to be useful. College (at least a Bachelor's degree) is almost always the right idea. (Going beyond the Bachelor's degree sometimes makes sense and sometimes does not -- it isn't quite the sure-thing like the 4-year degree.)
Next, if you will do something useful with your time off, this is not a problem. When future employers/college admissions officers/scholarship reviewers see someone who took a year off, that opens up opportunities for points -- both positive AND negative. If you just hung around the house, hung out with friends, played Quake all day, etc., you will rack up some pretty big negative points. If you got a job, you might get back to zero. If you got a job "to save up for tuition" or spent a year with Peace Core, you might get some positive credit. It all depends on what you do with your time. Colleges and employers are usually looking for people who can follow through even when the going gets tough. Those who "take a year off" just to relax might be judged harshly. Those who diverged from the traditional high-school --> college path to expand horizons and do something meaningful might earn kudos.
Finally, you need to do the math. While life is a journey, not a destination, certain parts of the journey are more meaningful than others. What I mean is, by taking a year off now, you effectively slide many milestones of your life up by one year. You'll probably have one year less of a career before you retire. You'll be one year older when you graduate from college. This may or may not matter. Just think about it.
Ok, if you skipped those three, welcome back. So if you don't REALLY want to go to college, it is likely that after the year off, you REALLY won't want to go back, so remember that taking a year off significantly decreases your chance of going at all. Second, the year off had better be filled with worthwhile endeavors since employers and college admissions officers will be asking about it for years to come. And finally, make sure you weigh the long term consequences of the decision.
I was talking to a counselor one day during my senior year of college. I told him that I was contemplating taking a few months, maybe a year off after graduating and after doing a summer internship. Just sitting back for a while, perhaps going to Hawaii, perhaps doing some open source work, etc. I said that I really hadn't had any time off since my Junior year of High School. He knew me pretty well, and he thought for a minute and said that I would probably enjoy it for a week or two, then start getting restless again. And he was right. Those that have the drive in them to move forward in life can't just sit back and rest for two long before one of two things happens: the drive dies, or the drive compels them to get back in gear.
Again depends on your situation (Score:2)
Disclaimer: Yes I know a degree doesn't guarantee you a good job. And in fact I don't have one. But it took me several years to get to the point of proving to employers I had the skill to be an effective IT Professional without a degree, and I'm probably $10k/year behind someone in the exact same position with a degree.
Taking a year off was the best thing I ever did. (Score:2, Interesting)
Of course the negative is I didn't get along with the vast majority of other first-years when I finally went - they had all come straight from university and had no clue what the real world was. They slacked all their classes because they didn't know what was out there for those who didn't PASS. If I hadn't done it, I probably would've slacked and failed too.
YMMV
My thoughts.. - from a Junior in College (Score:1)
Here's some things that I've noticed the past few years:
In the UK gap years are a good thing (Score:1)
I'm in the UK: here a gap year is pushed as something that can only be positive--and if you think about it, that's a true assessment, in most cases.
For subjects other than computer science and maths, practically all UK universities will actually PREFER if you're going to take, or already have taken, a gap year when applying to study there.
You probably already know the benefits of a gap year--mostly life experience--and that's exactly what universities love.
My school even gives travel scholarships to people taking gap years (they actually gave me a small scholarship to go holidaying in South Korea during August!).
In the end, I couldn't take a gap year, because my university really don't like Maths/Compsci students taking gap years (the Compsci course is 70% maths in the first year). Simple reason for that: Mathematicians tend to forget quickly.
Here are a couple of links you should look at:
http://www.gapyear.com/
http://www.statrave
Hope that helps.
Forgot to mention (Score:2, Insightful)
Volunteer work in some remote part of the world, such as teaching english as a foreign language, is a *HUGE* plus.
Also, if you're planning on just raising a lot of money, make sure you take a couple of months off for travelling/volunteer work. Twelve months of non-stop paid work doesn't look that great either.
Doh! We get screwed every time! (Score:1)
Of course, that is only one segment of the college population. I went to a working class state university where everybody was struggling to pay tuition. Even the French majors didn't get to do a semester abroad.
Do it (Score:1)
Individual results may vary... (Score:2)
If yo don't think you are ready to go on to college, don't -- you'll waste your time and money (even if the $$$ aren't yours)...
Depends on what you do (Score:3, Interesting)
Personally, I did the opposite (skipped senior year of high school to go to college a year earlier). It never came up in my job interviews, but it does come up with friends and coworkers occassionally. I agree with the other comments about admission: they go through thousands of transcripts, I doubt they'll even notice when they admit you a year later. That said, you might check out getting admitted now, and then deferring for a year. I don't know if that's an option or not, but it could be the best of both worlds.
But if it does come up, in job interviews, admission screenings, etc., I think the most important thing is that you have a good answer for why you did it. I think this is true for anything unusual that you do in your life that people are going to notice on your resume, not just this.
For example, I'm an American, but I've done a bit of traveling -- I spent the first half of my junior year in Prague, went to Paris for a vacation, and I'm now living in England for two years. People see that sort of thing on your resume and ask you about it on occassion. And if you can come up with a coherent, short, meaningful answer for why, then I think it's a good way for people to remember you and mark you out as someone who's willing to try something different.
If, on the other hand, you have a bunch of dead-end jobs, drink/smoke/whatever the year away, and have nothing to show for it at the end of the day, I think it's not a very good situation. You should have some reason better than just wanting to grow up, chill out and get your priorities straight (you didn't mention why you want to take a year off, so I'm just guessing...). It doesn't have to be anything huge, if I was interviewing a programmer and he said he took a year off to work on his photography, I'd count it as positive, even if the photography never turned out to be anything more than a hobby.
-Esme
Have you considered (Score:2)
When I was a fresh SR I looked down upon CC's as a dead end, but after paying 12k for my first year, and realizing the only thing I really had to show for it was a bucket of credits, I envied all the people who spent just over 2k for the same credits.
Make sure you don't rule this out offhand, it might be the solution your looking for. Often night classes at a CC don't feel anything like "coursework", instead they are closer to an open forum thats lead by an instructor. I've been taking 5h every semester since I got my BS, and I've never regreted it, even when the class was boring.
Re:Have you considered (Score:1)
Beware the money trap (Score:1)
The above is a true story.
I did (Score:2)
On the other hand I'm now enrolled in a top 20 Chemistry Ph.D. program. So the moral of my story is even if you do take longer then a year off it probably won't completely derail your education.
I'm in the middle of my year off (Score:1)
I finished school last november, i decided to take a year off.
Probably the best thing I've ever done. I've become more independant, learnt a whole heap and had a good time. Luckily my position at university is saved for me.
I moved to Canada during this year, got a job and settled down. I'll be moving back to Australia in under 2 months - sure I'm looking forward to going home, but I'll miss things over here.
I highly recommend taking a year off.
cheers
Only one?, I took a decade (Score:1)
What I found out was that higher Ed. is nothing like K-12. There have been no problems due to my extended departure, but I am on track to becoming a professional academic. Other jobs may not be so forgiving, I don't know.
A high school student's perspective (Score:1)
Well forget college...
It depends (Score:2)
If you are going to sit on your couch playing all the Gamecube games that come out and forget everythign you learned in high school then a year off is bad.
It's ok to wait a year before going to college as long as you do something productive.
Sounds familiar... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:GO FOR IT !!! (Score:1)
Experience? (Score:1)
Which is worse:
- Thinking it's a bad idea -> not doing it
- Thinking it's a bad idea -> doing it anyway
Would you respect the opinions of those people more if they knowingly did what they thought was suboptimal? I would question their judgment at that point.
my experiences on the subject (Score:2)
Go to school ASAP. A friendly comment from someone who took a year off
At first glance, I would say take the year off (Score:1)
That's what I would have said when I was 20. When I was 19, I dropped out of college, and I think it was the best thing for me. When I was 23, I got myself back into a community college, and I realized that there were a lot of people that I couldn't give the same recommendation to.
Other advice I read here is good, but I would ignore all these people who say not to do it if you are just going to fart around--I did nothing particularly productive but that time was needed to get all my immaturities worked out (and I imagine I still have some left, but not so many as to make school difficult).
And as an older college student, I'm 28 now working on my BS in physics. It's true what they say about being older makes it harder. Getting is harder, since you don't have teachers and others showing you all the things you are supposed to do. It's true that you forget how to study or things that you once knew, although I never really knew how to study in high school either. Socially it's true about everyone else is 19-20 which is kind of spooky when the cute girl in your lab is ten years younger than you, but on the other hand, I couldn't have been as mature as she at is 19-20.
Also, there is truth in that if you don't fully want to do it, you are wasting time and money. I kind of see school like a religion--put your soul into it and you will get immeasurable rewards, but if you don't sell your soul to it, the rewards, while measurable, are only measurable and no longer infinate. (My girlfriend says you should only rent your soul to school, that way you can get it back when your done.)
It's true, outside academic life sucks, but it's also true, academic life is hard work for little or no pay, and I would just say do what you want but also be aware of the consequences. I don't feel like my resume (or life) is in pain cuz I was a fuckup for five years of my life before starting school, and I think I'd rather have those five years of playing magic the gathering, partying, pot smoking, drinking, slashdot reading, and doing absolutely nothing, rather than trying to fit that all into my schedule while (avoiding) studying for exams.
What I would recommend. (Score:1)
Get in then Defer (Score:1)
I wish I had done this. I took a year off between undergrad and graduate school, and found that I better appreciated the academic environment after working for a year.
Year off from College means.... (Score:1)
Time off (Score:1)
Personal Experience (Score:3, Insightful)
From personal experince, I am just coming off a Gap year, and had an amazing time. Was it essentially one year-long vacation? Yes. But do I have stuff to show from it? Yes. I went to a Language School in France for four months; I had an amazing time partying most night, and also have a DELF (French Government) certificate that says I can speak French. I went and volunteered to do conservation work in Zambia (with Greenforce [www.greenforceorg]); got to see a part of the world I'd never been to before, and can now get references from them and say that I've been part of an actual scientific expedition (which would be useful if that was my field). I travelled alone (for the first extended period) around Australia and NZ; nothing to show for that bit except some good stories and pictures and a much deeper understanding of who I am and how I function. So, depending on how you look at it, I either came away with lots, or with nothing. But do I regret it? Not for a second.
Some of the issues raised in other posts are true: I've had friends who have taken a Gap year that extended into their whole lives, but for every one of those I know four who said they'd take one year off, and only ended up taking one year off. You'll be a year older coming out of College - who cares? I'm ninteen and going into first year. On my floor is aged everyone from seventeen to tewenty...beleive it or not, not every education system in the world ends at the same age. The one thing I have noticed is that it's taken me about a month to remember how to work efficiently, and yes, I have forgotten some stuff from HS, but let's be honest - that was the stuff I never really knew anyways.
The other question to ask yourself is "Am I ready for College life now?" At the time, I wasn't sure (and neither were my parents), and in retrospect I now know for sure I wasn't ready.
In sum, talk it over with your parents and you friends. Talk it over wirh people that have and haven't done it. Don't talk it over with your guidance counsellor - or if you do, take their advice with a grain of salt (I've never heard of a US guidance counsellor advocating a Gap year). Get really drunk one night and then discuss it with yourself. What's more important to you - finishing a year early or getting a year of real-world experience that most others (in the US) won't have?
As an aside, I didn't have to worry about getting into College afterwards; I applied to my school (McGill [mcgill.ca]) and then requested to deferr my acceptance. As long as I told them what I was going to do with my year, they wree cool with it. talk to admissions people about it. Financially, my parents told me that if I could plan out a year (and not sit on my ass) thay would back me most of the way. The deferred acceptance also meant it was easy to start school again - no having to worry about applications.
I did it, I loved it. Should you? I think so, but I'm not the one taking it (no one here is) - you are.
Mod +1 Interesting. (nt) (Score:1)
perhaps.. (Score:2)
perhaps nobody's telling you that it's a good idea because so few people that don't go to college right after HS actually get around to going back to school...
Absolutely not! (Score:2)
Now is the **Best** time to be in college. College loans are as cheap as they have ever been.
You're eligible for more scholarships as a recent HS grad, and college tuition costs will likely increase the longer you wait.
Have you considered going to college part time?
Maybe you'll want to work your way through.
My philosophy on working your way through college is this: Unless you're getting valuble job-related experience, it's not worth your time. The intrest you'll pay on college loans is less than [college grad income minus HS grad income]
This is not to mention that you'll have more time to invest in your classes without a job during your schooling.
why? (Score:3, Insightful)
It's highly unlikely, especially in the current economy, that you're going to be able to get the kind of job that's worth blowing of college for. Unless you've got someting solid lined up that's worthwhile (not just financially), this is probably a -very- bad reason to take time off.
If you think you need to 'grow up' in some way (emotionally/socially), going away to college would probably do way more for your growth than staying at home would.
If you plan on saving money for school, it's probably not worth it. Student loans are insanely easy to get and going into debt is worth it; like I said earlier you're not going to make enough money working your first year out of HS for it to make a serious difference.
If you're not certain about what you'd be studying, and somehow think you're going to get a better idea over the next year, being at college would be a much better place. Most schools give you a year or two to take care of general stuff before you need to declare a major, and there's no way to figure out what you want to study short of being exposed to it & dealing w/ members of the department.
Of course, if you're just not 100% certain you want to go, it never hurts to send in a few applications; you can always decide not to go, but deciding at the last minute that you DO want to go isn't as easy.
Consider... (Score:3, Informative)
The big thing is that I am pretty positive the same thing would have happened had I stayed all four years of high school.
During my college experience, I took a year off and worked. I sold shoes and did some substitute teaching at some high schools. I travelled a little, and enjoyed life.
Now I tutor kids in math on the side, and I generally tell them to take a year between high school and college (granted, most of these kids are at the lower end of the educational spectrum). Take a year (or more, sometimes) to figure out what you want to do, and why you should be in school.
A year in college when you are not ready is largely a waste of time for you, the college, and the money spent on it.
My advice: If you are doubting going to college next year, chances are there is some reason. As others have stated, if there is a good enough reason, sit out. You are only going to be more ready and more prepared when you enter college.
Provided you can say what you did during that year, future employers are only going to respect your decision. They will see it as a sign of maturity - you were able to assess yourself and see what your needs were that year.
When I was hired on at my current position, I was respected because I was able to give firm reasoning behind my career choice - I had taken time during college, during my year off, to figure out what I wanted. My future employers know that I am not going to decide six months into the job that education is not the field I want to work in.
One thing to definitely look into - you might be able to apply to colleges this year and then defer the admissions for a year. There is definitely information concerning this online.
Apply and then defer (Score:1)
I skipped a grade in elementary school, so I considered taking a year off before college; I figured I would be starting college with kids my age. I ended up going right to school, and I'm glad I did, but it's not for everyone. We I was still considering it, though, I talked to a bunch of people who told me that once a school has accepted you, you can call them up and ask them to let you take a year off before you come. As long as you have something interesting planned (work experience, travel, community service, something that will enrich your life), most schools will say OK, and you won't have to worry about applying again.
Take a year now or never. (Score:3, Insightful)
You need a plan. Remember that a year off is going to cost you. If you don't have a solid plan then you are going to waste your time off. In years to come you will regret it. Bumming around Europe is not a plan. Learning Spanish in Spain is a plan. Your plan can be all travel. This is fine as long as you plan it.
If your plan does not require a whole year then don't take the year off. It is not hard to take a month off in the summer to travel. Unless you have to work, there are four months you can take. Even if you have to work you can grab 3 or four weeks at the end of summer by leaving work a little early, and skipping the first week of class. (Skipping a week of class is recommended for professional students only.)
You don't have to decide now. The decision can wait almost until the day you start classes at university. As several posters have written many or most universities will allow you to deferr you admission for a year or more. What ever you do you must apply for university as if you were not going to take a year off. It is much harder to aplly for university if you are not in high school. Once you have been accepted, then ask for a deferral. One of the universities will grant it to you.
A year off between high school and university is an opportunity to do something really increndible. Most people won't have such an opportunity after university. A year off does come at a cost. Unless you make your year off really worth while then you will waste it for nothing. Remember that you will always have the opportunity to take a few months off in the summer between classes and travel.
Why go to school at all ! (Score:1)
Out educational system is like making books only based upon all the other books already written in the library.
Be creative.
P.S. - there are far more valuable things you can do for your career then go to college. College won't hurt, but it may just be a tremendous waste of time.
I took a year off and am really glad I did. (Score:2, Insightful)
I spent the year as an exchange student to Spain and it gave me a different outlook on life.
As I finished high school, I personally was starting to get tired of studying and being in classrooms all day. Taking the year off allowed me to get away from class and experience new things.
Entering into my freshman engineering courses I found that unlike those around me I was refreshed and ready to learn, not to mention a year more mature.
My advise would be to do something productive that takes exactly one year, so that when that finished it will be easier to return to school.
I had no problems at all getting into school after taking a year off, in fact since I decided where I wanted to go during my senior year, I applied very earlier thus bettering my chances.
Sure I will be a year older when I graduate but I only have so many years to be young. Why rush through school??
Apply now anyways (Score:2, Informative)
That could very well save many of the hassles that other people mention.
Consider the military. (Score:1)
Actually find out about the GI Bill, enlistment bonuses, all the fiscal incentives the military offers to college caliber people to spend two years in the uniform first. Odds are you will hit your freshman year in college a LOT more mature, focused, disciplined and self reliant than the 18 year olds going in straight out of high school. Having $10k or more to throw at the tuition and books bill doesn't hurt either.
If you enlist, do something cool. Go somewhere overseas. Be a tank gunner or something. If you are going to dream, dream big.
What's it worth to you, that year? (Score:1)
A few years down the road (assuming you graduate and not every frigging job in America has been H1-B'd out) after you graduate you will be making
Taken in that perspective, are you willing to give up $60,000, maybe $100,000 so you can spend a year goofing off? If so, be sure you do a really good job goofing off during that year.
Forget the year off, spend an extra year there (Score:2, Interesting)
Long term travel (several months outside your culture).
A killer intership in an interesting field.
Some sort of hardcore volunteer gig.
If you can have an experience that will challenge you more than college, go for it.
Sick of school and want a break? Take an extra year to get your degree instead. You'll probably get a better education and the stress won't be nearly as bad.
The five year plan lets you spread out your classes a little. You'll have the time to dig deeper and learn more about the subjects that interest you. For 'hard' majors, having the extra time is important. Instead of pounding out A- caliber filler to get through the class, you can learn the material. Of course if learning isn't your gig, you can party a lot more too.
Re:Forget the year off, spend an extra year there (Score:1)
The five year plan lets you spread out your classes a little. You'll have the time to dig deeper and learn more about the subjects that interest you. For 'hard' majors, having the extra time is important. Instead of pounding out A- caliber filler to get through the class, you can learn the material. Of course if learning isn't your gig, you can party a lot more too.
Great advice. I'm several years into an undergrad electrical engineering degree myself. Just about everyone I know who's still sane/normal is looking at a 5+ year degree. Because why not? These might very well be the best times of your life. Enjoy them! Party it up! Meet people.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you should be a slacker (I've got top marks myself). A slow but steady pace will help you absorb the information better and really get into your subject area. If you can afford it, or have an enlightened government that helps keep university affordable [studyincanada.com], take advantage of your situation..
Do you hear old people complaining about all the years they wasted in university?
Start a small business (Score:2, Insightful)
Since most small business fail, and you'll probably disolve it when you do go to college, assume that the money you invest in it will be lost.
You'll get to learn about corporations, fed/state/local taxes, 1099 forms and reporting, dealing with irate customers who owe you money, dealing with employees who owe you work, double entry accounting and deadlines that if missed would be a lot more serious than turning in a book report late.
I was a partner in a small multimedia company that lasted 7 years and I am still amused by the misperceptions of people who've never run a business. for example, a typical conversation with some friends and relatives:
"why don't they give you a raise?"
"they is me"
"so you can give yourself a raise?"
"sure, if I want to meet some nice repro men when they cart away my office furniture for missed lease payments"
"but you work such long hours, shouldn't you get more money"
"yes, I should. And if a client didn't go chapter 7 oweing $20K, I might be able to"
"but what does that have to do with getting a raise?"
There's lots of resources available, maybe start by watching Rodney Dangerfield's "Back to School"
I took two years off (Score:2)
Should you take time off? Sure, if you want to. In my experience, people who do are less likely to drop out of post-secondary education (we had a 90% drop-or-transfer rate from my first year computer classes to final graduation). And hey, maybe you can save some money, or at least get your hard-core partying out of the way before it destroys your grades.
take a year out - IF you have purpose (Score:1)
there is nothing worse than taking a year out because you can't think what else to do - it will send the signal to universities and employers that you don't really know what your goals are, that you are likely to drift through university the same way, directionless and underachieving.
however, if you plan it thoroughly and take a year out for a positive purpose, like voluntary work, employers in particular will love it. seriously, it has helped me enormously in interviews. i spent a gap year abroad after A Levels (i live in the UK), working with the homeless and mentally ill. all interviewers touched on this when i was applying for jobs last year, and all said it impressed them. they believe that an experience like that implies a broader worldview, adaptibility, and perhaps a measure of maturity, all things that employers prize. i got a number of good offers in a depressed job market. the voluntary work i did in my gap year helped make me stand out.
as for my university, they were quite happy to let me defer entry once they were satisfied that i was taking a year out for the right reasons (i studied astrophysics at University College London [ucl.ac.uk]). i applied with all my friends, with the guarantee of a place when i got back from my year abroad. interestingly, universities themselves have found that people who take purposeful gap years like this actually score higher than those who are content to remain on the endless birth-education-job-mortgage-pension-death conveyor belt.
you don't get many opportunities in life to do something as unique as what you could do in a year out. later on you are tied in to job security, mortgage perhaps, children, etc. i did voluntary work in africa, work with the homeless in a ghetto district in DC, and it is something that i will be forever grateful i did... if you are going to do it for the right reasons, and plan it properly, then i strongly encourage you to go for it!!
Take the time off btw HS & College (Score:3, Interesting)
Also check out Choices for the High School Graduate: A Survival Guide for the Information Age [amazon.com] which addresses this very question by following the experiences of HS grads who made various choices with their lives and what they learned from their experiences.
Harvard thinks it's a good idea (Score:1)
(I'm basically jealous since when I was in school, any male who took off a year would have been drafted.)
Not a year off, a year *doing something*... (Score:2)
go for it (Score:1)
I'd recommend that you apply to colleges now, though, and find the ones that will let you defer your entrance for a year. That a) gives you incentive to go back to school and b) you don't have to worry about applications while you're doing whatever it is you want to be doing with your time off.