<p>Go on ahead with the gap year if you don’t feel like going to college. Get permission from UCLA. See if you clear the Rice waitlist and if you do, decide if you can go there this year, or should wait another year. You’ll also see what Rice is willing to give you in financial aid. </p>
<p>When you take your gap year, you can certainly reapply to other schools as well. But I can tell you that most kids I know just went to the school where they were accepted that was holding a spot for them. Unless your gap year is something that clearly makes you a more stellar candidate than you are now, it’s not highly likely that you will get accepted AND get more money from schools than you did this year. Unless you made some gross miscalculations about schools and the process this year, giving it another try is not usually going to get you different results, unless, again, you do some things during the gap year to change your profile exceptionally.</p>
<p>I vote against the gap year and in favor of UCLA. You have an absolutely fabulous opportunity on the table in front of you and all you have to do is sit down, pull up the chair and dig in. UCLA is a top top top school. In the nation. In the world. The privates you hope for are no better. Your scores look like tippy top to me now, so improving them would not, I think, improve your chances/aid much! You are instate so the cost of UCLA is half the privates without needing merit/need based aid. Grab this chance! If you WANT a gap year because you want a gap year, great - go for it. But if you want a gap year because you don’t like your college choices, then I think you are not understanding how wonderful your UCLA option is.</p>
<p>Rice may or may not come through, then may or may not come through with the $$$ to make it comparable, costwise, to UCLA. UCLA vs. Rice cost aside? They’re both top notch universities, they’ll both challenge you and provide opportunities for wonderful experiences. You can bloom at either one! You said UCLA felt good to you. YAYYYYY! Go for it!</p>
<p>I don’t see why you would take a gap year when you are concerned about money. Right now, you have very little earning capacity. By delaying your education, it’s going to cost you roughly the year’s salary that you would earn when you would have graduated without the delay, minus what you can earn during the gap year. You are worth much more after you graduate. Go to UCLA. It’s not likely that you will win a merit scholarship that will make up the difference.</p>