Is it dumb of me to take a year off after high school?

Question

I'm doing it because I've no idea what I want to study in college, and it could help me out with fees and stuff when I actually do go to college. But the one thing that I'm worried most is that I'll probably forget what I learned in high school, and thus not get accepted in college.

Does every college have entrance exams? What programs do?

I'm planning on working for a year.

Answer 1

Have you applied? Are you thinking of a 4 year or two year school? If you have applied and were accepted, you can defer admission for a year. If you have not, this gives you more time to think about it.

Personally, I wish I had taken some time off between high school and college. Other people I knew felt really burnt out after working so hard in high school, so they go a little wild and lazy in college. This is not true for all people though.

I knew a girl who took a year off after deferring admission to her school. She did things like work for an Arizona Congressman, skydive, volunteer in Mexico (I think), etc.

It's also okay to not know what you want to do in college. Many schools should offer an undeclared/undecided major, and let you have some time to explore fields you may be interested in. An alternative route would be to take classes at a 2 year school and then transfer to a 4 year if you find preferences for schools in fields you want to study.

Good luck!!

Answer 2

It isn't dumb, but I'm not sure it is the best way to do what you are trying to do. I'm not sure where you live, but in the U.S., no schools have entrance exams (although most have placement exams for things like math and foreign language). Your admission will be based on your high school grades and your SAT or ACT scores (which you should have taken before graduating), so even if you forget some things, it won't keep you from getting in.

It is, however, a good bet that if you don't know what you want to study when you finish high school, taking a year off won't help you decide. The most common major for freshmen is "undeclared", because many people don't know that they want to do; they usually decide by taking their general education classes and getting a feel for what interests them. I also am not convinced that as a high school graduate, you will be able to save much money, so that may not work either.

The best reason for taking a year off is because you have something really exciting to do instead - your band got a recording contract, you had an opportunity to work with a teacher on a research project, etc. The other good reason is serious burn-out. Still, as long as you don't wait more than a year, even if you still don't know what you want to do, you should be okay.

Answer 3

I wish I would have taken a year off. Just make it productive. Working at target (or whatever other employment) might help you put money away if you are living at home, but it won't help you narrow down your career interests. Try and volunteer if you have time, or shadow some people in different careers.

Keep in mind you have general education classes that give you time to figure out your interests.

If you are worried about doing well on standardized tests, just take them when everyone else does. They're good for five years. The only colleges that I've heard of that don't require the ACT or SAT are community colleges. They require their own placement tests that are ment to place you in the right classes if you need a little high school review.

Good luck!

Answer 4

My suggestion would be to not wait. Believe me, if you wait a year you will probably not go at all. It won't be because you don't want to it's just that the longer you wait the harder it will be to quit whatever it is you are doing. Even if you don't know what to do right now, just go and take some general ed. courses. At least it will get you started. I am older now so I have the benefit of being able to look back and realize that I shouldn't have taken the time off. In one year you will probably have a job making decent money - maybe not great money but decent - you will know your job, know the people you work with and you will have 1 year of experience under your belt - it would be very difficult for someone to give all that up to go to college - not impossible - just really hard. Think about that before you make your final decision.
Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the best of luck now and in the future.

Answer 5

It's not a dumb idea at all. You'll have a lot better luck retaining information when you do get to college if you know you're studying something you want to learn than if you're just trying to get through the requirements to get through them. You shouldn't have to worry about entrance examinations for most subjects, but if you're really concerned, plan to refresh your memory at a community college or using workbooks the summer before you start.

Answer 6

I think if you take time off, you're likely to not go at all. It's okay to not know what you want to do yet. Most degrees require the same basic courses. Maybe you can just take a course or two a semester, that way you can work, not be over loaded but still be getting the basic courses out of the way.

Answer 7

You could go to a community college and take one or two general education classes as well as work. This way once you decide what to do you will have already taken those classes which are required for every major anyway.

Answer 8

well it depends, you might wanna. i kno plenty of people who took some time off, and some colleges have differnet times you can start. you just might want to look into the ones that do and the ones that dont

Answer 9

There are pluses and minuses to holding off college. The worst minus is that if you put it off, you may never ever get around to it!