kmj25

Hey, im new here... im a sophomore in highschool and school is pretty important to me and my brother is up at cornell for arch. so i've got some pretty high standards to live up to. lately i was thinking i want to get out of highschool to go to college which is gonna be even harder and more stressful, so whats the point! so now im thinking maybe i should take a year off? any one know the consequences of doing that?

veronique

there is a princeton review book about individual stories of 10 ish people who took a year off. i reccommend it. it will inspire you to def take a year off. the way they describe it, it is super beneficial.

lionswim

It's ok for you to be throwing ideas around in your head, but you're only a sophomore and I would bet money you'll want something different when the time comes.

Supposing you don't, the biggest disadvantage to taking a year off is that it becomes VERY easy to just never go to college. If I were you, I'd think about what it is you want to do in that year off and maybe save up some money. Then when senior year rolls around, you can think about whether you're self-motivated enough to pull this off. Some people have a lot of success taking a year off...others, not so much.

Another thing you might think about that most high schools offer is early graduation. That way you graduate around December of your senior year and take off the second semester (plus the summer).

bonafide20

If you do take a year off but plan on going ot college afterwards, maybe you should use that time to do something interesting. Maybe you could try to take up a language by going abroad and living there for a year. At least when you come back, you'll have something to write about on your application...some schools want you to explain why you have taken a year off. I ended up taking a semester off before I started college (I stayed in the states but was away from home for a while)...then went for 3 semesters, and now I am spending a year abroad and would reccomend it. I will go back to the same school in the fall.

sivan

I too was considering taking a year off between college and high school, but I'm glad I decided against it. I think that the American college experience is unique, and I wouldn't want to miss out on my freshman year. I'm probably going to take a year to live in S. America between college and grad school, but I think that right after high school few people have the maturity to take off and travel without a planned, structured program.
Also, your brother's achievements really should have no bearing on whether or not you take a year off. If you do, it should be for your own personal reasons.

mikemac

Harvard actually recommends taking a year off in its acceptance letter to students! See http://www.admissions.college.harvar.../time_out.html

according to that article, "Harvard’s daily student newspaper, The Crimson reported (5/19/2000) that students who had taken a year off found the experience "…so valuable that they would advise all Harvard students to consider it." In fact about 20 percent of Harvard students follow the practice of "time-out" at some point before graduation."