Taking a year off before I go to college?

Don't take a year off!

I would recommend you take at least 2 classes at a local community college. Something easy like freshman composition and something fun and interesting. Once you aren't going it is easy to continue not going!

And honestly what is wrong with transferring?

Transfer students save a lot of money if they start at a community college and they are generally better prepared. Many times only the credit hours will transfer and not the grades so you basically get a fresh start at the university as far as your GPA goes. And if you take time off and then apply to the school you want you may not get into because you will be applying against a bunch of high school senior who are fresh and ready to go. You will also be an older freshman...

just my opinion, but I wish you luck and hope if you do take off you will decide to go back to school.

I think taking a year off before going to college is an excellent idea. I've always admired the British Gap year concept where people travel and do public service work before settling down to college. Seems to me we are in a big rush to get into college, declare a major and work towards a career all before we've figured out what the heck it is we want to do. I went straight to college but ended up taking a year off involuntarily (lost my scholarship). I tried to make the best of it and make some money and break into my field without a degree. Instead I ended up working two jobs. It only took a year for me to figure out I did not want to spend the rest of my life wearing a nametag. That little ephinany provided a great deal of motivation to achieve when I did go back to college and finish my degree. I was much more serious minded and directed the second time around. I still partied but I didn't get lost in it - I kept my eyes on the prize. I guess my foray into the working world helped me to understand just why my parents wanted me to get a college education. I would limit the time off to a year. As another commentator already noted it's real easy for the year to segue into a couple more years. If you just apply and then delay entry one year I think you'll create the parameter necessary to make sure that you get back to college within a reasonable time. If I had it all to do again I would take the year and use it to travel! I wished I'd gotten to see Europe, Greece and the British Isles while I was young and adventurous. There are programs where you can travel with scientific expeditions and help them with the grunt work while seeing really cool things like China (The Great Wall) or Eygpt (the pyramids) and so on. Check it out.

Why not take a year off to travel? It's a very popular option in the UK and Australia as you get to see the world and "find yourself" before you begin studying. You could work half the year and use that to finance your trip.

If you are worried about paying tuition and don't want to go to community college to save money, make sure that you have looked into all the financial aid options for your school. That said, if you choose to work full time to save money, there is no need to keep your social life next to zero. You will still have the evenings and weekends to spend with your friends.

I certainly wouldn't take a year out to study though. That's what college is for. If you want to learn something before college, do some volunteering, traveling or both. They'll teach you far more than books ever could. Good luck!

Eh. College done right is 4 years off as it is. Done wrong... it is 4 years of stress, at the end of which you realize that everything you strove for is all actually just for the paper at the end; a paper telling a company that you are hire-able. Do college right. Go to learn what you can from the classes you take, but don't go overboard with everything. Make as many friends as you can. Figure out what you really want out of life; trust me, you don't know that yet no matter how much you may think you do. Take your time. Once it is over and you look back... the only thing you will regret is the good time that you did not have, the times that you did not enjoy. The rest of your life is for the real world. Go right to college... but only if you plan on doing it right.

Well you can work while you go to school and in college you can always lock yourself in the library so you can study and have no social life. If you plan on working/studying for a year, might as well do it in college and get a year out of the way.

If you want to take a break between HS and uni I think you should. There is no rush.

no nead