year off before college

[Bowman795]

hey, got a question to run by y'all. i'm thinking about graduating high school a year early and taking a year off to work before going to college, and i was wondering how most colleges look at this. would it hurt my ability to get into a good college, would it matter?

thanks.

 

[kelesh3]

i heard that it hurts. it's a bad idea in general. do you need money or something? most colleges will give you a fair financial deal based on your needs.

 

[Jfur]

despite your best intentions, you may also get SUCKED IN to normal life and not go back to school...

 

[Bowman795]

do y'al know anyeone who has done this that would know how collegs view the expierence?

 

[kami]

Well I took off almost a whole year.

Basically it went like this...in ontario we have a 5th year of HS. I was done everything I needed after 4 years so in my 5th year I did the following..
-Semester 1: Co-op
-Semester 2: Nothing...just work

I actually quit my job today then I'm off to college soon. As long as you are motivated to go, it should be okay.

 

[Jfur]

depends on where you're going to school.

 

[Bowman795]

where i'm going to school now or where i want to go to school? as far as where i _want_ to go to school, i want to look at it from the perspective that i will go to a good college like USC or something around that calibur. i figure it dones't hurt to set my standards as high as i could possibly get into.

 

[Jfur]

well, they would probably want to know why you took a year off -- were you preparing to enter, strengthening your app? doing something really outstanding? if you are "just working" it could be a liability for some schools. if money is an issue and you can get into a good school, you should be able to get good financial aid.

what are you doing for that year?

 

[Bowman795]

i would probably get a job to help pay for college, get some expierence, and im' just sick of school.

 

[kami]

those were my reasons...
I just got a bunch of experience (both in co-op and from working) in similar fields that i'll be working in AFTER college so this could possibly help me get on my feet quicker. I also did it for the money...less loans = get out there on your own quicker

 

[Bowman795]

yeah, thats my thinking--i woudl definitely be in a tech job (i've done summer stuff like that), it would be simliar to what i will do after college.

what school are you/were you at? did you have any trouble with the process?

 

[kami]

don't think you'd know the school...i'm in canada.

no trouble with the process...i just made sure i had my applications in on time along with my HS transcript (with all my marks, etc.). I think a lot of people do this

 

[blakeatwork]

Taking a year off is no problem at all, just make sure that you don't get lazy and not go back. I graduated college in 99, and I'm still doing extra courses (VB, Linux, RS6000, Corporate taxation, Accounting). So if you think you can still go after being away a year, go for it..

 

[flamingelephant]

Year off is ok, but don't get lazy!
Some people just plain forget how to learn during the break... I did a 8 month co-op work term and I almost forgot how to learn! (university learn that is, basically memorizing everything and throw it back up)

 

[GasX]

Do something with you time. Taking a year to work at the piggly wiggly pretty much tells a scholl you are a loser who is not worth the time. Travelling through central america with a backpack or working at a "real" job is a much better way to go.

 

[Capn]

For some reason I think I remember that what you can do is apply to your school, get accepted/denied, and if you're accepted just tell them you are delaying entrance for a year or something like that. Not sure if they'd let you do that, but it might be worth a try. Then you don't have to worry about college apps and all that for more time than you have to.

 

[somethingwitty]

a lot of schools will let you defer a year, provided you give them notice by a reasonable date. ask around about your school(s) of interest (i wouldnt suggest asking the school itself, as that could affect your acceptance).

my advice: apply to a couple of schools, and, once you've been offered admission, call them and ask about a year off to work/travel. some will hesitate and others will be fine with it.

just make sure you dont work the whole year-go abroad, see europe, etc

 

[Bowman795]

my situation is this ... i am only a junior, but i can easily graduate a year early. that is what i want to do, instead of a senior year, work or something along those lines, then go to college at the normal age. that presents me the problem: i am a little young to apply to a college now (i won't even take the PSAT and the like until september or october).

thoughts on that?

thanks for all your help tho guys.

 

[StageLeft]

I would say in most cases this is a bad idea. Unless you need the money don't do it, because either you'll get sucked into not going to university at all as somebody else mentioned or when you finally get out you'll realize you wasted a year doing menial boring labor.