situation - opinions wanted: taking a year off after highschool

[insomniac]

2 questions:
1)
did anyone on rs take a year off after highschool?
what did you do? did you work or go on vacation?
did you regret it? did anyone never go back to school?
you can pm me since these are pretty personal questions..

2)
my situation:
im pretty fucked right now and i might get bashed for this but here goes,
ive been planning to take a year off since new years.
not because i wanted to get away from school but because i still dont know what i want to do. i had two years to decide but my thoughts have always been on and off.
i was never planning to go to school next year until today when my parents told me that ill have to pay for school myself. yes i know some of you probably had to pay for school yourselves and say im too spoiled, but before you assume that, i never had allowance, i had to pay for my own phone bills, clothing, food/entertainment when i went out since grade 9.
i totally didnt expect that i had to pay for my own education.

so should i take a year off to work full time? i probably wont be getting much though. how do student loans work? do i have to pay them off after i finish school or do i have to pay them off annually/monthly?
even if i go to school im gonna be working part time unless school gets too stressful. stupid thing is i declined some of my admissions already so i dont know what to do right now.. some people have suggested me to take general studies. does all universities/colleges offer it? are there any online universities where i can transfer to sfu ?

sorry for the long read, im going to talk to the grade counselor first thing tmrw morning but i thought some people on rs can give me opinions on this too. i left this pretty late thanks in advance

UPDATE

so a little update, my school councellor is next to useless. he cant tell me anything and hasnt been even close to being half as helpful compared to you rs'ers. all he tells me to do is to apply to every college and tells me to decide about what i want when im in.. thats what i dont want to do. is this smart advice or not? im personally against it :S

right now, to be frank, my grades arnt that great. i have a B average and i have a tendancy to go out and procrastinate ALOT. should i consider taking a few hours of adult school everyday to boost my marks? how does adult school work? is it basically retaking highschool courses? is it harder than highschool? will i be able to apply to ubc/sfu with the adult school marks and will it be hard for me to go into ubc/sfu because i went to adult school?
once again, thanks a lot for helping me out guys. i seriously appreciate it.

[BaoTurbo]

Depending on your grade, which I assume is average the best bet is college. I'm not saying college is a waste of money and time and it's not the best thing. I'm in college and the smaller classes really do help. Kwantlen is also a good choice if you don't know what to do yet because they offer degrees in the end, whereas Langara offer degrees, but IMO I wouldn't get one there.

What I'm in now is the Langara transfer program which you can transfer most courses which is 90% of them to universities. You have the flexibility to take whatever Arts or Science courses you want or even Business. The bad thing is that you need to transfer because staying there long isn't always the best thing. Another thing is that if you meet friends in one course or all your courses, the flexibility will not allow you to see them again, so you will be just back to regular "hi I see you in the halls" friends. In Kwantlen, you can pick sortof what you are interested in majoring, and you will have a higher chance of actually making real friends because you might see them in another class in the same faculty.

BCIT is also great but its really specific. If you go to BCIT I don't think your courses or most of them will be able to transfer out so you need to have a fresh start if you were to transfer out.

University mindset courses wise, it's not what Grade you are in. There are no Grades in Universit or Years. Years are just definitions of how many courses you qualified for to move up. Example is that maybe you want to major in Criminology, so you take all the courses required for Criminology like 101,102,110,etc..then you will be qualified to take 201, 202, 222 etc and so on. BUT that is not always the case because there might be no spots, no time, or you just want a break. Hence you will be like 1 year and a half or something...so there is no such thing as definite Years.

Student loans work as sort of a bank loan with no interest. If you register for a student loan, it will most likely come also with Grants. Grants are free money sponsored by the Government to assist you further and its just basically free, but the amount depends on your backround. You register for a student loan and input in all YOUR income data, and your PARENTS income data. You will also need to provide how much they support, if you have RRSP RESP etc etc. The money will come in and deposited in your bank account with no interest while you are in school. I have never really had enough detail but what I hear is you can do whatever you want if the money reasonably while it is being monitored. So no car buying, leasing, buying TV's or such. After let's say you are done school, you have half a year grace period interest free to pay off the debt. Then after the hella high interest starts, so I suggest you to save up what money you are not using to pay off your loans in the future, or to pay off less.

Working full time is not a huge problem. Depends what. I had a friend who took a year off to work in a restaraunt and he barely had time to hang out or to have a real life. He was working 5 days a week, and when we were busy in school, hes free. When we are free, hes working. Also there is the risk of not even bothering to go back since you are making money you can use, but the routine is going to be pretty tiring after a while. That's just my story, but most people would say they would do school rather than work.

Best way is to work part time and have a light load of courses. Like 3 or 4 courses should be alright. The only problem and stress is going to come in is when mid terms roll around, then finals. It's chaotic and annoying, but sometimes work takes off some of that stress and gives you a break.

[RevYouUp]

University is overhyped...don't go to sfu because of your parents. I made that mistake. I personally took the fall semester off to work and started my first semester at sfu in spring 2011.

[illicitstylz]

Keep in mind, if you work full time for a year before starting school, you'll have difficulty getting a student loan for the school year.

eg. over the year you make 28,000. then you apply for student loan, they'll ask you how much money you made the previous months before school starts. you listing 28000 or anything close to that will make you illegible for student loan.


student loan you only pay when you graduate (studying full time), interest free until 6 months AFTER your graduation. you would also pay monthly if you go part time studies for a semester but you can go back to interest free/no payments if you enroll in full time studies the next semester.

[bcrdukes]

OP: WTF? I thought you were 16!

[!Yaminashi]

I will say this, it is a fact that the longer you're off school the harder it is to go back.
Only when it's too late is usually when people decide they want more education and either cant afford it, or simply cant due to work/family situation etc

If you're not sure what you want to do I wouldnt waste time taking courses here and there. I've had friends do this and they're still going to school not sure what to do with themselves.

Personally I took a year off after highschool, but only because I was on the wait list.

When you go back depending on what you're taking, I'd suggest against a part time job. Alot of the people I talked to when deciding whether to go back or not said do NOT get a part time job unless you absolutely have to

[TheNewGirl]

I highly recommend doing everything and anything to avoid student loans if you can.

My experience was, I went to school right out of high school but I didn't appreciate it all. I wound up dropping out and working for a couple years before I went back full time. Going back WAS harder but at the same time, I really appreciated it more than I did the first go around and approached it as an adult, rather then an over grown teenager.

So... I think there's pros and cons to both approaches.

[rageguy]

You'll need a strong discipline to get yourself back to school after the 1 year off thing. Student loans are attractive but I know a lot of people who are still struggling to pay it off, even 5 years after graduation.

I suggest you stay in school, finish up your education. Take the student loan if you need to, but get a part time job during your school life. Save some money so when you graduate, you can pay off the loan immediately.

[aikenluu918]

I took a year off school, to up my marks at adult ed for one semester then worked. i didnt know what i was going to do either and didnt really decide til i went to langara this year. but i have not regret taking the time off because i was goofing off in high school and just graduated but the time off has helped me refocus and now im going through school.

as for student loans they dont kick in til youre done school, and plus they give you lots of free money so thats always a bonus.

Goodluck try college first its an easier transition and smaller classes.

[!Yaminashi]

^It isnt free if you have to pay it back

[Cillu]

^What about the grants that come with the loans?

[Matlock]

If you go into trades, then you can make moneys off EI while you're in school. (At school for ___ trade, of course)

On the job site I have met some people who work trades part way through the year and then take time off to go to college or university in whatever other interest they desire. That may also work for you as well.
Having a skill to fall back on is not a bad thing.

[insomniac]

first off, thanks to everyone who either pm'd or answered in this thread! i really appreciate it!

@BaoTurbo, thanks for clarifying things up! especially with the student loans question!
@RevYouUp, yeah im asian and my parents want me to go to ubc/sfu but i personally like sfu a whole lot more. joined a campus tour a few months ago and i like the campus a whole lot more than ubc. i hear that sfu also offers more programs?
@illicitstylz so is 28,000 the max i can make or is that just an example? yeah of course i want to make as much as possible, i wont be able to lie about how much i made right? yes, i know thats being dishonest but i need the money haha. thanks for the tip!
@bcrdukes i recently turned 17 haha im one of the younger ones in my grade thanks alot for the pm!
@!Yaminashi, so i should avoid taking a part time job if im in school eh? ill consider it.. if i get busy and if i cant finish assignments on time i will most likely stop working. thanks for the tip!
@TheNewGirl if i dont turn to student loans wouldnt i struggle with the cost of tuition? ill also have to try to be able to maintain a car.. im not gonna lease a new car or anything fancy. i know its not necessary and a must to own one but i have a thing for cars like half the rs'ers on the board lol. people here said i also get grants with my tuitions so i dont necessary lose anything until 6 months after i graduate right? i have never had trouble paying off any fees or bills. i hate owing people money and ill try to stay away from student loans.. but anyhow, i appreciate your tip!

so a little update, my school councellor is next to useless. he cant tell me anything and hasnt been even close to being half as helpful compared to you rs'ers. all he tells me to do is to apply to every college and tells me to decide about what i want when im in.. thats what i dont want to do. is this smart advice or not? im personally against it :S

right now, to be frank, my grades arnt that great. i have a B average and i have a tendancy to go out and procrastinate ALOT. should i consider taking a few hours of adult school everyday to boost my marks? how does adult school work? is it basically retaking highschool courses? is it harder than highschool? will i be able to apply to ubc/sfu with the adult school marks and will it be hard for me to go into ubc/sfu because i went to adult school?
once again, thanks a lot for helping me out guys. i seriously appreciate it.

[illicitstylz]

28000 was an arbitrary value, basically, they base the amount of loans they'll give you on how much money you made. if you made $1000 then you would have more loans than if you made $5000 etc.

In terms of declaring under value for your annual income, you can, if by chance they audit your account then you're screwed.

[bcrdukes]

I knew soembody who got audited. Let's just say...their ass was about to be torn apart so wide, they deflected back to their homeland.

[TheNewGirl]

I got audited. When you're on or repaying student loan you have a 1 in 20 chance of being audited apparently. It was not a fun experience and I was even doing everything by the book. I can't imagine what they do to you if you're defrauding them.

737! > I know it's a diffecult thing to say but you would be better off taking the bus (you get a free bus pass at some schools!). Or struggling. I know you think you know what it will end up being like but you will end up in more debt than you anticipated, paying it off longer than you planned and to a greater burden on yourself than you imagined.

[CorneringArtist]

I personally decided to jump straight into post-secondary because I'm a trades student. Because of the level system, I wanted to be out of the apprenticeship ASAP. At this rate, I can be a fully certified automotive tech by the time I'm 22 or 23.

On the loan side of things, I only spent the summer working so I didn't have much to cover my tuition. My course didn't cost as much as most university courses, so the size of my loan is pretty small. However, I won a scholarship AFTER my money was issued to me. That money I didn't need can by used for tools, covering the cost of a slightly newer car, or just not using it period.

[skylinergtr]

I went straight to post-secondary after highschool.

Let's just say that I have lots of friends that decided to take a 1 year off. Now that 1 year off has expanded to "4 years off" and still no motive to go back.

It all depends on what type of person you are. You got to be ambious and make smart life choices, but over time you get very lazy.

Even during a break like Winter Break, it's really hard for me to get back into the school work.

[GrapeDrink]

most of the people I know that said they were going to take a semester or a year off never went back, now we been out of high school for three years and they still doing nothing. I mean at the end of the day though its on you, don't go to school because you think that is the norm or whatever I did that straight out high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do but I ended up going to College taking random courses for the first few semesters just because everyone I knew was and blah blah and it took a few semesters before I really figured out what I wanted to do. Some of those courses I took during this time obviously now are useless to me.

Of course I think if you are going to take a year off though, please do find a job don't just waste all that free time, even a min wage job with fairly regular hours over a year, you will have some pretty decent money for school. The thing with student loans.. its not just what your income is, it also takes into account what your parents made, it doesn't matter whether they plan to contribute or not. They make the assumption that they will and if they don't well then your just shit out of luck. So if you can IMO, get a job so you don't have to be dependent on a student loan.

As far as tuition costs obviously that will vary from what your course load is like, what school, and etc. Just throwing some examples I have from what I've heard, my cousin goes to UBC and his tuition was about 3000$ for 6(or it might have been 5) courses, I go to Langara and for 4 courses my tuition was about 1600$. Then you got book costs and that can quickly add up too, I think the most expensive text book I had to buy was my stats text which was just under 200$, you can always buy them used/craigslist though, which is what I do to save money.

[impulseX]

In a way, I guess there's some parts to you're situation that was exactly like mine.

When I was nearing the end of high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I just sorta picked a random course (Computer Science) because I was always on the computer. I procrastinated everything involving school and registration because honestly, I still wasn't certain about it.

In the end, I took a year off and worked full-time in a kitchen. After a couple of months, (hell, even after the first month) I started to really enjoy working there and that's when I started looking into education.

My criteria I really wanted was a quick program because I can't stay focused in school. (Being from Edmonton, NAIT was like a two year program or something) Ended up finding a private culinary school here, applied and got accepted. Graduated the program in Dec 09 with a diploma and just worked afterwords to build up for my Red Seal.

For student loans, because I vowed to not make my parents pay a single penny, even though I was able to afford my tuition with the money I had saved up over the years, I applied for the loans mostly because it was available, and because I moved out to Vancouver on my own so it was my own little safety net. Essentially my student loan was free because they loaned me $3000, they also gave me a $3000 grant. Obviously I paid the loan off right away when I finished school.

I'm turning 21 this year and the only doubt I have in regards to my career choice is the fact that I'd like to learn more about automotives, so its more of me wanting more, rather than me hating my career path.

My advice, try and find what you enjoy doing, and do that. There's nothing wrong with going to a lower paying profession if you enjoy it, rather than forcing yourself to do something you dread every single day. Also, to me, there's no point in doing courses to keep yourself busy. I find that it's a waste of money (like 1 or 2 other members have said, those courses mean nothing to them now)

I hope this may help =]

[- kT]

my 2 cents (i'm sorta familiar with this situation, you should know i'm taking a few months off uni atm too)

IMO, like rageguy said, it's going to take a lot of discipline on your own part to go back to school if you decide to take time off. discipline that most people do not have. hell i don't even know if i want to go back in september, i think i'm just forcing myself to - something a lot of people can't do

my suggestion for you is to take a light load of courses and work a light amount of hours. it'll be a healthy balance - school taking up your money, work to make you money to pay for school, bills, going out, etc. and if you play your cards right you should still have a day or two for some R&R

ultimately, i wouldn't suggest you take a year off unless there are reasons to do so: ie, mine were because, simply put, i was bored with what i was doing. not that i don't like it, but 12 years of school sort of gets to you. if you think you deserve a break, then by all means, go for it. i'd give it a chance though - maybe you'll end up really liking what you're taking, and the 4 years of uni will fly by

if you do take a break, like i mentioned before, ensure you can force yourself to go back at some point. it's hard enough getting through life with even an undergrad degree nowadays, getting a good job with just a high school diploma? in our day and age, pretty much out of the question

good luck buddy

[sobranie33]

I took 2 years off and worked at retail. I absolutely hated it so Im currently went back to school. I feel like im left behind because all of my friends are graduated. No one really knows what to do until taking some courses. The longer you are out of school, the harder it is for you to pick up again. My recommendation to you is go to somewhere like BCIT. I bet you will get employed faster than the people who went to UBC and SFU. There are a fairly large group of people graduated from SFU or UBC are not able to find a job relative to their degree. You might think then "why don't you just start working?" Let;s say you want to work as an accountant. Accountant with no degree will only be paid around 16-20. On the other hand, you can reach up to higher positions such as senior accountant or CFA which require bachelor degree of education who can earn up 100k/ year.

[impulseX]

Question..

Do you have any idea what you want to do as a career?

[jhxb]

Even though you don't know what you want to do, I'll put in my case for going to university/college rather than putting a year off.

When I first started university, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted my career to be. I planned which university I went to, which program, what volunteer jobs I HAD to be involved with to achieve my dream job. But after 2 years in uni, I don't want to do what I thought in Grade 12 any more. What helped me make my choice was WHAT I did at university. I'm really involved with clubs and volunteer opportunities and that experience really shed some light onto what I really like to do, experiences that I couldn't have experienced without going to university. The courses were hard, I put in a lot of time, and I did take some pretty useless courses. But now I have a much better idea of what I want to do with the rest of my life and I've really grown in these 2 years than I've had in my entire time in high school.

University is an entire experience. It's not just the courses. The extracurriculars I've done is the same amount of studying and classes I go to. Yes, you're paying tuition for your courses. But you're also paying for the opportunities provided, opportunities that you have to go seek yourself and take advantage of. I have a lot of friends who aren't involved and they hate university. But friends who've volunteered or joined a club and made friends and done pretty kickass things love university.

There are many things you can do outside of school like working or travelling, learning about yourself in that way. But I think university is much more worthwhile than working. It's a very fast-paced environment with lots of diverse people. Some are type A and want to compete with everyone, be the best. Some are finding their own way and figuring out their life. It's a big change from high school, and you don't even have to take 4-5 courses if you don't want to. Take less, work a little, volunteer a little, and I think it would be very manageable.

[sexyaccord]

take a year off, follow your dreams. (pro poker player, pro athlete, actor, musicians, etc)
if it doesn't work out, just go to university.

At least at the end of the day you can't say to yourself you didn't try.