<p>Hi, guys, I'm an Italian student who is going to be a senior this September. I got this proposal of being an aupair for 5 months during this year so I started thinking about taking advantage of it not attending my high school this year and just taking my final exams in July in order to graduate (which is totally possible). What I was wondering is... do you think that this will hurt me in the college admissions process? I want to apply to reach schools as Yale and Dartmouth, so I really don't know. I want to do it, 'cause it would be an amazing experience and I think I'm able to self-study to pass the exams, but I don't want to be rejected because of it or something.</p>
<p>Ps: I don't know what the 'to' in the title has to do with it, so forgive me for the mistake</p>
<p>I think that if you still take all the classes and get all the credits you would’ve otherwise, it won’t hurt you as much since it shows your ambition and the fact that you can juggle multiple things at the same time. It would also probably give you good essay topics to write. But if you only have a minimal course load while you take a year off, it might hurt you.</p>
<p>It especially won’t hurt you if you can give a spin on your au pair job in how it gave you some sort of good life experience…like if it is in another country or the child is disabled or something.</p>
<p>… or that it enabled you to travel/learn another language or earn and save $$$. American universities understand, and respect, young people being financially responsible :)</p>
<p>I think that, assuming you still graduate when you take your exams and have good grades to report, the experience will actually help your application stand out.</p>
<p>And, assuming I don’t get this au pair job, but I still decide to take this year off with the exams etc in order to work or do some kind of real volunteer activity and travel by my own… would that help anyway or this is gonna seem a waist of time?</p>
<p>Not at all. Working, volunteering - it’s all good, especially if you can show how the experience enriched/changed you as a person, how it affected your academic interests, etc.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your suggestions. I’m seriously thinking about taking this year off school now, also 'cause here in Italy we have to attend high school for 5 years, so I did spend 4 years in high school like any other applicant.
What I was wondering now is… if I don’t attend anymore, who will write the counselor’s letter, the school report, international report etc? Am I consider home-schooled even though I did attend 12 years of ‘normal education’?</p>
<p>You are not considered home schooled if you graduated at a school. Basically, go by your local standards for that. If you are considered home schooled, then you are not considered taking a year off…that would a home schooled year.</p>
<p>@Imkh70: I haven’t graduated yet. I will graduate next year, but during this year off I will study alone for the final exams I have to take in order to graduate. That’s why I thought that would be a sort of homeschooling for a year. So, I can’t count on a counselor’s recommendation since I’m not officially part of my high school anymore, I will take just the finals there to graduate</p>