A break before college?

[Tilted_Logic]

Having seen so many friends/acquaintances have to go back to university after graduating because they simply couldn't find any work in the field they had majored in, I'm wondering what the benefit/detriment of taking a break before heading off to college is.

When I graduated high school I had absolutely no idea what sort of career I wanted, but I was told by most parents/teachers etc. that I should go to university and just take general courses. That seemed to me like a double edged sword: university costs money. Lots of money. If you don't know what to major in, you may waste more just trying to find something appealing. On the other hand, you can meet great people, maybe take an interest in something you never would of given a second thought to before. On top of that, you'd be jumping right back in to old study habits, and school methods would be fresher in your mind.

Then there's the choice of taking a break. Give yourself time of to do some self exploration, find what you're interested in. After one year off I knew what area I wanted a career in, I knew how much money I could be making and I knew what the job market would be like. I hadn't rushed into a 4-5 year program coming out of it with no hope of a stable lifestyle.

So personally I think it's bizarre how many people jump straight into university/college after graduating. What did you guys do/plan to do when it came to post secondary education, and do you think things would of been better or worse had you chosen the alternate option?

 

[WolfThomas]

I went in university immediately after highschool, mainly because University is not as expensive in Australia. due to the government paying for a large part of the fees (I pay like 6-8k, a year, not 40k, still expensive but not life crippling). Secondly because I felt I'd waste any time I took off between as I'm very lazy. Thirdly because Medicine is a five year course (well plus a shitload more but at least you get paid then) and I wanted to make a good crack at it.

 

[Eumersian]

That's true. If you don't know what to major in, you could just be wasting your time. If you end up taking that break to explore your options, you could come out with something, and go to university for it. Then again, part of college [u/]is[/u] exploring your options. I have an aunt who went to college for 8 years undergrad, because she didn't know what to do. She is now very successful.

I knew what I wanted to do for a few years, and haven't had that sort of dilemma though.

 

[RatRace123]

I know what I want to major in, but due to circumstances surrounding my senior year. I wasn't able to take fall classes. I have to take them in January, at the earliest.

So I get a few month break, not my choice, but I guess it works out.

 

[child of lileth]

I had 2 days in between my last day of high school, and my first day of college. Don't ever do that. It's a horrible mistake, and I still regret doing it. A semester's break before you start would probably be a great idea if you have the option.

 

[Yureina]

I had a summer vacation sort of break between high school and college. But... and I hate to say it, I am a textbook example of that "problem" you described in your first post. I graduated earlier this year with a History/Political Science degree that I got largely because I didn't want to change in the middle of my junior year and have to do an extra year or two of college. The result is I have been sitting doing basically nothing for the last 3 months without any real idea or chance to get a career. I am not "desperate" for a career due to some relative economic security, but it is an increasingly serious concern.

I've thought about going back to college a bit, but the fact is I really don't want to go back to get a master's in a field I am not interested in pursuing as a career in. I thought about Psychology, but if I did that, i'd probably end up being in college until I was 30 if I started now. Not much point to that. >_<

So... a time to decide what to do before spending 4 years in college? I wish I had done that.

 

[SimuLord]

I wasn't ready for college until I was thirty. You REALLY need to know what you want to do with your education before you commit years of your life and thousands of dollars of your money to it.

Besides, campus does not need any more 18-year-old dumbfucks who are only there because Mommy and Daddy said they had to go to college. They're a detriment to the learning environment (and many of them were like that in high school.) Go find yourself---find your passion, work some shitty jobs to remind you why you need an education in the first place (my last straw was getting reamed out at a call center job by a hotshot supervisor who was ten years younger than me), then come to school with a passion and a determination to make something of yourself.

Of course, if you have a dream you've had since childhood that you've just been waiting for high school to FINALLY end so you can pursue? Get to college, get that degree, and do it.

 

[zen5887]

I had about 6 months between Highschool and Uni, only because the campus just opened and they had a couple of fuck ups.

I didn't want to take a year off though, too impatient and a year of me washing dishes in some restaurant is a year I'm not at my job that I got with my degree.

 

[Vilcus]

I didn't jump straight into college this year (just graduated recently), mostly because I'm dirt poor, and I don't want to be paying off student loans. I'm going to wait until I find my true passion out of my many interests before I commit to something so expensive.

 

[Tilted_Logic]

I wasn't ready for college until I was thirty. You REALLY need to know what you want to do with your education before you commit years of your life and thousands of dollars of your money to it.

Besides, campus does not need any more 18-year-old dumbfucks who are only there because Mommy and Daddy said they had to go to college. They're a detriment to the learning environment (and many of them were like that in high school.) Go find yourself---find your passion, work some shitty jobs to remind you why you need an education in the first place (my last straw was getting reamed out at a call center job by a hotshot supervisor who was ten years younger than me), then come to school with a passion and a determination to make something of yourself.

Of course, if you have a dream you've had since childhood that you've just been waiting for high school to FINALLY end so you can pursue? Get to college, get that degree, and do it.

To me that entire view seems more logical than mentors telling people they should go to college just because it's college. I had a few friends who didn't know what they wanted to major in, so on the suggestion of another friend they ALL went into nursing. I'm not saying nursing is a bad choice, not at all, but majoring in something that will take years and years of ridiculously hard work just because you'd be doing it with a friend.. I was actually quite saddened by their decision, hopefully in the end it will be something they truly love doing.

 

[Syntax Error]

Well, I immediately went to college after I graduated highschool. Spent six years there trying to be a computer engineer. But really, I wanted to be a commercial airplane pilot, but flying lessons are really expensive. I'm really confused right now why I wanted to be a computer engineer when it was programming that really sparked my interest in the first place (which would mean a Computer Science degree).

I wanted to take a break for about 3-6 months before I go job hunting, but then again, a company was doing Campus Hiring on my college the day I was to return my toga, so I went in for the heck of it. Now, I'm part of their company on top of being sent to India for training.

 

[Kpt._Rob]

I'm in my Junior year now, and I actually really wish I had taken some time off before entering college because I still don't know what I want to major in. On top of that, to be honest this is the first year that I've really started taking things seriously, the gravity of life simply hadn't hit me until now, and when it did, it was so overwhelming that I just couldn't get my head around how to deal with it. I think that if I had taken the time to figure out things before I jumped into college, I'd be in a much better place. It seems to me like the people I meet at college who came here after so many years away from school are almost always a lot more dedicated, they know more about life, they understand why they're there and know what they're doing. Whereas a lot of the people who came to college in basically the same capacity as I did, more often than not don't seem to know what they're doing, and feel a lot less dedicated... I mean, I'm trying my hardest this year, which is a first for me, but I know people the same year as me who still are just goofing around at college. It's hard to explain just how much I wish I could go back and tell my past self to quit fucking around and get focused. And that's just going back a couple years.

 

[DreadfulSorry]

I knew, roughly, what I wanted to do when I got out of high school, so I went directly into a four year program, got my degree this past spring, and am now in a Masters' program to continue on towards my goal of eventually getting a PhD and becoming a college professor. I know I probably won't make a lot of money as an academic, but to me there could be nothing better in life than to get paid to keep learning, and to help other people learn too.

 

[hurfdurp]

Thankfully, I knew what I wanted to do right out of the gate. If I hadn't, I don't think I would have taken a break in-between however, since I would have had a hard time getting into the swing of things again. Even if you just take electives the first year to get some footing, it's not like it would be a waste of time/money. Besides, you could always take a break after that if you were still so unsure and maintain the credits for that year until you are ready to give it another go. You may find it easier to discover your interests if you just get into that kind of environment, and see what they have to offer. You may have some serious researching to do on your part, since school takes up enough of your life, you don't want to extend that period anymore than need-be.

 

[Tilted_Logic]

On top of that, to be honest this is the first year that I've really started taking things seriously, the gravity of life simply hadn't hit me until now, and when it did, it was so overwhelming that I just couldn't get my head around how to deal with it.

You are most definitely not alone! My final high school year I didn't absorb what people told me, least of all about college. So the year off was partially because I had no clue what to major in and partially because I hadn't handed out any college applications

Even if you just take electives the first year to get some footing, it's not like it would be a waste of time/money. Besides, you could always take a break after that if you were still so unsure and maintain the credits for that year until you are ready to give it another go.

Ah very true. I think I would of done that had I known my parents would allow me to take a break after first year if I hadn't found what I was looking for.

 

[Talson]

I was pushed into college. I went to a fancy high school with a graduating class of 95 people or so and the college counselor didn't want to ruin the 99% of graduates go to college rate (this was cumulative counting all the previous years, sorry about the confusion mathematicians). So I went, only to learn that there wouldn't be enough money for more than one year and I couldn't stand the other students (because they had no clue what to do and as long as their parents were paying for it, they might as well party). I dropped out after my freshman year and now I'm working minimum wage and looking for a second job so I can save up to go to some sort of trade school down the line (where I won't have to deal with wishy washy party boys and fluffy "gen ed" classes, I honestly think that unless you're going for an academic degree, general education should end after high school). One good thing about the service industry, I'm getting lots of practice dealing with people I don't like.

 

[DustyDrB]

A lot of scholarship opportunities will be lost. I would have loved to take a year off, but it was the difference between basically going to school for free and paying $16,000 a semester.