<p>ok, that makes things simpler for the rest of the country 
and your college search.</p>
<p>@MYOS1634ā
Plan II honors would be amazing, but Iām not sure how merit-worthy theyāll view me if Iām not even in the top 10% of my class!</p>
<p>Can you give us your stats? (ACT/SAT, GPA, APs/IB/DEā¦)
Itād also help to see what colleges youāre competitive for, either in terms of merit aid or need-based.</p>
<p>I would go for the 0% interest. A loan at 0% interest is wonderful!!! It is not at all like regular student loans. My loans have been a nightmare because they were about 8.25-9 percent interest when I took them out in the 80ās. Then illness and lay offs left us unable to pay for several years. The loans more than doubled and went up over 100K during that time. We have more than paid the balance, we are just paying down the interest and will be for a long time. But for 0% interestā¦and you still have the Pell and suchā¦I would go for it. And make sure you thank your philanthropist and pay him/her back as soon as possible! Congratulations!!</p>
<p>@cptofthehouseā
When would taking a gap year be a bad idea? After a case of massive senioritis?</p>
<p>I guess taking a gap year always is a bad idea. Itās just my humble opinion. When you take a gap year, youāll be away from the school environment and getting use to the work place environment if you have a job or turn into a lazy couch potato if you just stay home. Once you get back to school, you would more or less get tired easily. I know itās still depend on people but the statistic always shows that people who taking gap year(s) are likely to drop out much more than people who continue their study straight forward.</p>
<p>I would recommend anybody I know to never take a gap year. At least take 6 hours to be considered part-time, itās always better to stay in school. </p>
<p>Foafoa: that statistics actually shows thereās a higher risk for first-gen kids: taking a gap year makes it harder for them to get into college if everyone around them is working and college isnāt a norm. It also impacts slackers negatively (ie., those who donāt have anything planned and just end up sitting around the house.) However it doesnāt impact high achievers or non first gen kids. It also depends on what is planned for the gap year: if itās structured, it can be very productive. In fact, some of the Ivies encourage their admitted students to take a gap year (and Princeton even has a special āgap yearā program.)</p>