<p>Hi Parents,</p>
<p>I’ve been trying to decide about my classes for next year and was hoping you guys might be able to offer some input. </p>
<p>The main problem that I find myself having is that I really don’t have any classes left to take after Fall quarter at our community college (I’m currently enrolled full-time in a dual-enrollment program). I’ve been taking an above-average load and will reach the transfer credit limit after Fall quarter (this would mean that any classes I take at the community college for winter and spring quarter would not transfer). Additionally, I’ve completed the calc, chemistry, and physics sequences, and thus, would only be able to take humanities classes for winter and spring quarter if I stayed at the community college, which I don’t think I would really enjoy very much (I’m more a math/science type of girl). I have come up with two plans for Winter and Spring quarter but am having a very tough time deciding between them. </p>
<p>Plan A: “Gap” Semester
I would really love to take advantage of this “free” time in my life to do something awesome. I originally thought I might like to study abroad, but I realized what I really miss is training like I used to for my main sport. For 11 years, I’ve trained in a martial art very competitively (national/international level). However, most of my training partners were older and have gone off to college. Currently, the training situation is pretty bleak and I spend more time teaching (while this isn’t bad and I still enjoy it, I miss competing). There are many more opportunities to train on the East Coast and I came up with a sort of “wild” idea about spending winter and spring quarter on the east coast training/competing and taking a few classes as a “special student” at MIT. I would love to do this but am afraid it might be too expensive (I could pay for housing myself from money that I earned last summer, but MIT tuition is very pricey from what I have found). I’ve also read that most colleges want to see a “strong” senior year courseload and am afraid it might appear like I’m just slacking off. </p>
<p>Plan B: University Classes
Another option I thought of was to just commute down to the local university. I could enroll in upper level physics classes (I’m planning on majoring in physics or engineering) and would try to find research opportunities also. Although this option is more affordable than my plan above, my parents would still need to pay tuition for both quarters. Also, the drive is about an hour each way which might get expensive and time consuming. Additionally, I’m really not as excited about the classes I would be taking. Although the physics classes sound fun, there weren’t really any classes I am dying to take. When I was looking through classes at MIT, there were some that I just got terribly excited about (more specifically, I find I’m interested in a lot of “history of science” courses that UW does not offer). </p>
<p>Okay, I think I’ve rambled enough now 
If you parents have any advice for me, I’d really appreciate it. I guess I’m kinda torn because I would love to “follow my passions” but am afraid that it might be an unrealistic dream and/or too expensive. Thanks in advance :)</p>