I don't know how uni works exactly where you live but in Australia you can choose how many subjects you do per semester. Full time study here is considered 3-4 subjects and part time is considered 1-2 subjects. In order to complete, lets say a 3 year degree that would normally mean you would do 4 per semester to complete it in 3 years. If it's possible to go into uni (and you don't have to move away in order to attend) then I'd recommend doing something like even 1 subject a semester during this year. You still have plenty of time off to do other things but at the same time by doing something like this 1 subject it would allow you to understand what university is like a little more and what standard of work is expected of you and it allows you to try it out to see what you may be interested in doing as a career. For example, you could do a introductory course to psychology 1 semester and do another in engineering etc the next semester. Doing 1 or 2 subjects means that you won't be spending anywhere near the amount of money as going full time as well. You could choose to do 2 subjects in different areas one semester and then deferring the next semester to have even more time off. Doing this instead of just jumping straight in the deep end by doing 4 subjects can be really beneficial from personal experience. From what happened to me I wouldn't suggest having a full year off as doing nothing meant that I didn't really gain any great experience. I went into uni full time believing I wanted to be a teacher to drop out 5 weeks in. I then just worked at maccas the rest of the year and I didn't learn anything more about university, what I may actually be interested in and what standard of work is expected as I dropped out before getting any of my grades back on assessments. Also, by doing just 1 or 2 subjects in a semester it also gives you more time on focusing on improving the assessments due so that you can more easily get higher marks in them. I found that the first time I entered uni I thought just getting a pass would be fine but when I went back part time and got distinctions it gave me a real drive to achieve more and get more out of my subjects which I believe is a good thing.
If you want plenty of free time next year then doing just 1 or 2 subjects won't hinder that. You'll have plenty of time even during the week to do what you want. The only real thing it may affect is going overseas etc as you won't be able to go away for long enough during the semester to enjoy it. But there'll be plenty of holidays to do that and if you just go the first semester then you can defer and spend the second semester doing whatever you want.
Anyway, I hope you got through this wall of text and that it helps you make a decision. While the above worked better for me it, everyone is different and different things work for different people. It's really up to you to decide what will best help you in life. I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide.
