<p>Hi guys, so I got accepted to carnegie mellon with great financial awards. The problem is that lately I've been feeling as if I'm not ready to go off to college. I grew up in a close knit family and being so far away for the next four years scare me. As a result I've been considering going to community college so that I can still stay at home with my mom and family. Yet I'm struggling because I know I'm growing up, everyone around me is moving on and I don't want to be stuck in the same place. thus passing up an opportunity to carnegie would be a mistake I feel. I love my family and I don't want to be on my own and be separate from them because I find it scary and lonely. I'm really confused if I should go off to carnegie or go to community college in order to stay with by my family? </p>
<p>Why don’t you defer for a year and spend time with your family doing something you enjoy. You would probably be ready by fall of 2015 to leave. I would not pass on such a great opportunity.</p>
<p>First off, congratulations on Carnegie! That’s amazing! Taking a gap year is a good idea because it gives you the opportunity to grow up and sort out some of your feelings. Many people have said that taking a gap year is refreshing and you definitely gain a lot out of it because you’re learning in a non-classroom environment. You could look for opportunities such as internships and jobs in your neighborhood for your gap year so you wouldn’t have to leave home but also learn about the real world at the same time.
That aside, you’re going to move away eventually. You can’t live with your family forever and everyone needs to move out at some point. It’s better to do it now/soon rather than drag it on because it’ll only get harder. I would embrace this opportunity but take the gap year if you’re really not ready. I would not go to community college just to be somewhere you’re “comfortable” when you have a great opportunity in front of you and can also afford it. </p>
<p>Another vote here for a gap year. Maybe see if you can find something away from home to do for part of the time as preparation for going away to college. Not for the whole year, but maybe for a month or two, or even shorter, as practice. Then give CMU a try the next fall. You can always transfer closer to home after a year if you aren’t happy, but getting admission to CMU may not happen again if you turn them down as a freshman.</p>