<p>I wasn't sure where to put this. But because I'm considering traveling in between transferring, I thought this might be the appropriate place. </p>
<p>I'm done with community college, got my AA, and have already accepted my offer to transfer to San Francisco State University for Fall 2011. But, yesterday, out of nowhere my dad comes up to me and says "You know, school will always be there, but the opportunity to get away for a few months and travel won't..." He basically proposed the idea that I take a year off of school to go travel the world, and then come back and finish school. He said once I graduate, I'll have to get a job right away to start paying off student debt, and I'll have rent and bills to worry about, so it'll be difficult to travel later on with all of these obligations (I currently live at home). Plus if I travel I can figure out if I actually want to go into a career related to anthropology or ecotourism, which is what I was considering for my studies.</p>
<p>I was just curious if anyone has done this (took time off to travel and then went back to school), and how successful or difficult it was. My mom is worried that if I travel and come back I won't want to go back to school, but I think I will. Plus I was wondering if it's easy or difficult to reapply to school. Is it okay if I haven't been in school for a year? Can I just send in my old transcripts when I apply? If I reapply to the same place (SFSU) will they look down on me for accepting their offer and then bailing, and then reapplying later on? </p>
<p>Any relevant thoughts, opinions, comments, and experiences would be appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>I wouldn’t. Use your momentum and finish your Bachelors. SFSU is only going to get more expensive as time goes on.</p>
<p>This is true. But do you think there is any chance that the budget cuts and severe lack of funding in California’s public education system (especially CSU’s) might get better in the next few years? Also, if I wait until I am 24 to go back to school, I could probably get full financial aid because I’ll be considered independent and (most likely) extremely poor.</p>
<p>Btw I’m 21 right now, already about a year or more behind the normal schedule since I graduated from HS in 2008. I could come back after a year of travelling, stick around at community college and take a few more classes to keep my brain refreshed, and save up money from working until I turn 24… hmmmmm. To me this sounds like a better idea, financially, but I also feel like I’m going insane over this so I don’t fully trust my impulsive thoughts.</p>
<p>I would ask SFSU if you could possibly defer your admission to either spring or the next fall, if you would really like to travel. Most likely they’ll say you can’t, but it never hurts to ask. </p>
<p>This time in your life is probably the best for traveling, as your dad says, just because you don’t have all of those external obligations. After my first year at CC I took a semester off to travel across the continental US with my parents, it felt amazing to be able to travel around at a pace not dictated by holiday breaks or to worry about work due when we came back home. The next semester, I went right back in to a full courseload, and my GPA didn’t suffer at all. Then again, I already knew what I wanted to major in. </p>
<p>On the other hand, graduating and getting a job isn’t going to stop you from traveling later. If you manage your finances right through the end of your studies and into the rest of your life, there’s nothing stopping you. Ever heard of Matt Harding? :)</p>
<p>So I suppose it depends on why you’d be traveling: is it a just a break, or are you trying to decide between two careers? Do you have a plan, resources? Is that plan more attractive than going to SFSU right now?</p>
<p>I’ve personally found travel to make the most sense during the summer and winter vacations (though some schools have short winter vacations), although I’m also considering taking a time off to travel if my transfer is not successful.</p>
<p>Study abroad seems to me to be unnecessarily limiting. As far as I’m concerned, book studying can be done at home, and travel time should be devoted to travel.</p>
<p>However, before you take time off from school, ask yourself if you have a clear goal to accomplish by travelling. Do you know what you hope to achieve during your time abroad? Is it better done sooner than later? If so, I would highly recommend taking some time off to travel. If not, wait until you can answer ‘yes’ to all of those.</p>
<p>My mother’s boss finished a degree in accounting in the mid 70’s and worked for KPMG for 3 years. After leaving the company, he moved to New Zealand and traveled around Oceania for two years. After returning to the U.S. he got his MBA and moved over to corporate middle management. This may be the best path. I don’t think stopping at this point is the best, unless you can get scholarships/school funding deferred until later. Stopping will make it harder to do well as you may forget some of the material you have learned in the first two years (dependent on field).</p>
<p>I appreciate all the responses, everyone!</p>
<p>Bluedia - thanks for your thoughts. It seems like the best time to travel in school is while at a CC, because you aren’t obligated to return each semester and it’s easy to jump right back in. I feel like I’d have less of a chance of traveling extensively (being gone for several months at a time) if I graduated and got a job. Matt Harding is awesome, but not really the most realistic thing for the average person to do. 
</p>
<p>NJCollegeboy - Studying abroad, like knomrien said, feels too restrictive to me, plus it’s out of my budget. I don’t want to be in the same country for 6 months to a year, and also have to worry about school while traveling. </p>
<p>Knomrien - Summers don’t work for me - I rely on my summer job for about 90% of my yearly income. But I can pretty much answer yes to all of your questions, so I do think it might be the best idea to travel now. </p>
<p>Tdccarpenter - Well, I’m not worried about scholarships and school funding because I don’t get any. My parents and I are paying for my schooling mostly out-of-pocket, because they make too much money for me to get significant financial aid (but they really don’t make enough to comfortably pay for school, so we’re in a crappy situation.) But I’m confident I could refresh my knowledge and jump back into school after a year of being away. I read a lot of nonfiction and some textbooks just for fun/personal knowledge, so perhaps I’ll get a Kindle to travel with and bring a bunch of related books on there to keep refreshed with my studies. </p>
<p>Thanks again for the responses everyone. I’m getting lots of opinions about this from friends and family also, so I have lots of information to think about. At this point I’m leaning towards withdrawing my offer to SF State to take a year off, and reapply for Fall 2012 or Spring 2013.</p>