Poll: Does taking a year off between high school and college mean 'no college'?

In My Humble Opinion
41

Ok firstly I have a confession to make, I have not read every post in this thread, but as I’m going to relate my own experiences I doubt anyone else has already posted them.

I’m from the UK and I believe the schooling system is different here so I’m going to use my age as a reference point.

At 16 I left High school (with GCSE’s) and went to college at 18 I left college (with A-levels) after this I worked for two years. This brings us up to date. I am now going to apply to go to University to study Drama, TV and Film. (Hopefully)

If I had gone as soon as I’d left college I would not have got on very well, I was burnt out and tired of Academic style learning. Now I am two years older much more mature and ready to go and learn again. (I have learnt a lot in the past 2 years but it’s one the same) I am actually moving in to a completely different field (I currently work at a software house doing system Admin.)

I don’t know what would have happened had I gone to University straight away but I do know that I am very happy to be going now and, although I am not enjoying my work as much as I used too, glad I have worked here for two years.

A lot of people here are now taking a year out between college and Uni. sometimes going to do volunteer work. As far as I know they all go on to do degrees.

I think I will do much better at Uni now than two years ago.

I hope this helps somewhat

42

In my family I can compare three experiences. Mine was traditional: I knew I wanted college, knew the environment I wanted (small, liberal-arts, ludicrously expensive), and my family was willing and able to fund it (being the only grandchild on both bloodlines has certain perks :p). In my senior year at college, I applied to law school, was admitted, and promptly deferred admission so that I could spend a year teaching English in Japan. Now, ten years on, I may (may!) be going back to school in a completely different field, but I don’t regret a minute of my schooling. Sure, I kinda wish I’d taken a different major, but I feel pretty secure in having made the best choices based on the information I had and the personality I was. A year off wouldn’t have mattered one way or another, except that being a year older would’ve eroded my patience for 18-year-olds even earlier (I loved my alma mater, but couldn’t wait to graduate).

My step-sisters weren’t as academic as I was. The older one managed to get her act together by the time she finished high school, but since she still felt pretty directionless she signed up for the local community college. Terrific choice - she thrived, filled some holes in her academic record, and after two years, transferred to larger state university. She now works for a large consulting firm, which provides an on-site masters’ program through Johns Hopkins; she’ll finish in another two years, I think.

Baby step-sister was a Compleat Parental Nightmare. Rebelled, got involved with drugs, skipped school, hung around scumbags, got arrested. Fortunately, although the combination of these factors was pretty unbearable for everyone else, individually they weren’t enough to completely devastate her life. Her judge gave her one chance at reform: The U.S. Army. Three and half years later, she’s a changed person. She starts at Hood College in January, pre-med.

A year off is not necessarily a bad thing, I think, provided there’s some structure to it and you work out in advance what her responsibilties will be, financial and otherwise. Judging from Step-Sis 1 and the comments here, community college might be a good compromise, too (and in many cases it’s a cheap one).

43

I would have to chime in with go straight to college for two years. Then taking a year off, especially for language study in a foreign country. For example, go to University for two years and study a language for those years as well as take a variety of stuff to see what she has an inclination toward and what is challenging. Then take a year to go pursue the language in a foreign country. That will broaden her horizons and just maybe help clarify what she wants to do later in life. With that, then she can go back and finish University with greater motivation and purpose.

I’d say if she takes a year off right out of high school and doesn’t do something structured like being an exchange student, she will probably just float along and it won’t be a real productive year.