Thinking about taking a year off, but want to do something meaningful...

Parents Forum
1

<p>...and I thinking about this in the end of April. </p>

<p>I will keep this OP brief since it is getting late, but I might take a year off from school and start college in the fall of 2012. </p>

<p>My college choices are between South Carolina and Ohio State and I'm leaning towards OSU right now. I got into a couple nice schools, including my #2 school, USC, but I just couldn't afford it. </p>

<p>I ended up getting waitlisted at my number 1 school, Georgetown. GU would be great fit for me; I love DC, love politics, good school spirit, in a cool (but expensive!) neighborhood, etc..</p>

<p>But even if I get in I will most likely not be able to afford it. I applied for a NROTC scholarship and was told I had a great shot by my recruiter and the Petty Officer that interviewed me. Well, turned out, I didn't get a scholarship, partly because I was a tier 3 major applicant (on another forum that focuses on military academies and ROTC, a dad said his son had a 1570 SAT and got into Columbia, but was rejected from NROTC. So I don't feel too bad if even he got rejected haha). </p>

<p>I also technically applied for AROTC scholarship, but I never finished my application and had an interview. I emailed someone today on the GU ROTC staff asking if there was anyway I could get a scholarship before setting foot on campus. I am 98% sure he will say no, but a local recruiter came to our school last week and he said it is possible to get a scholarship if you apply after the deadline.
But, I'm not gonna hold my breath on this one. </p>

<p>And I have not even been admitted to Georgetown yet, so this all might be a moot point, but I'm actively trying to get in off of the waitlist since even if it can't work this year, GU will let you deffer a year if you have a valid reason for doing so. Not sure if my reason will be valid, but it is worth a shot. </p>

<p>So here is the plan I have been thinking of. </p>

<p>A relatively young kid in my neighborhood (rising sophomore or junior, I don't remember) got a 30-40 hr/wk internship at a local, but fairly prestigious company. </p>

<p>Do any companies offer yearlong or 9 month internships for H.S. graduates? I know it would be really tough in this economy, I could potentially be fighting with college graduates looking for work. </p>

<p>I don't want this to come off as arrogant, but hopefully I can show a company that even though I am young I am relatively intelligent and not just looking to avoid college or something. I have a 4.2 GPA, 2100+ SAT, Eagle Scout, involved in student govt, grant writing for a local non-profit, etc... </p>

<p>I would not be expecting a high hourly wage or something like that, I'd be happy with minimum wage haha. Not expecting a lot of responsibilities either, just looking for something more fulfilling than your typical high school minimum wage job. </p>

<p>I'll have to research this, but any suggestions, haha?</p>

<p>I wouldn't mind working for a non-profit and if I do one in my area I can probably do it unpaid. </p>

<p>I am really interested in stopping human trafficking (finally found my non-profit niche, so many causes out there!) but my area does not have many big organizations that are aimed at bringing awareness to the issue. I ofund a few in SF, LA, NYC, etc... but COL is crazy high in those cities and I would have to be paid in order for it to work out, whcih I don't think is very likely, with only being a high school graduate. </p>

<p>Oh and you are probably wondering why I would take a year off because taking a year off to work as a high school grad isn't exactly going to net my the $200k I'm going to need to pay for GU haha. </p>

<p>I will apply for both NROTC (again) and AROTC, and do it early in the year, like August/September. I might get dinged from NROTC again but people from the Army told me I should have no problem getting a ROTC scholarship with my grades and ECs, given the fact that Army does not nearly care about major as much as Navy does. </p>

<p>Why I didn't finish my AROTC application for this year still makes me angry at myself...grrrrr. Still thinking about doing OCS after college, but that isn't really guaranteed to get into after college, so I'm not sure what I'll do. </p>

<p>Have not talked with my parents yet, my mom doesn't understand why I like Georgetown so much, she wanted me to go to Notre Dame. They would not be thrilled with me going into the Army either, my mom freaked out when I told her I wanted to join the Marines a few years ago</p>

<p>And say I end up not getting any ROTC scholarships this time next year? Well, then I call it in and head down to Columbus to start my freshman year as a 19 year old. Wouldn't be that bad, I'll be avoiding OSU's transition from quarters to semesters. </p>

<p>So, if I get into GU off of the waitlist, I will notify OSU I will not be attending and ask GU for a defferal. Now, I will have to work out a deal with GU that will allow me to apply to a couple of safeties in case I do not receive a ROTC scholarship. </p>

<p>Not sure how that part will work out, things could get hairy, though I think it will be ethical as long as I tell GU I will attend for sure as long as I get a ROTC scholarship. Not sure how they will take that, but in my mind, it might work out, sooooo....</p>

<p>All right this is way longer than I anticipated so please shot anything wrong you see down and I will respond tomorrow. I guess I'm wondering how I will re-apply to OSU while technically being committed to Georgetown. It might get shot down there, I don't know. </p>

<p>Oh and any recommendations on the internship/year off thing too? Gonna have to sell my parents on this as well</p>

<p>So thanks and sorry for such a long post that might be in vain if I don't get in off of the waitlist. Just don't want the dream to die I guess.</p>

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<p>What are your parents saying about this idea? I think a year off is useful for students who are burned out, not sure about their academic interests, or dying to do something else first. None of that applies to you. I think you are better off figuring out how you feel about the good choices you have than waiting for Georgetown to take you off the waitlist.</p>

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<p>I would suggest looking into Americorps.</p>

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<p>If you are gapping to do a better job with scholarship applications, then what you do with your gap year could be important, i.e., working a minimum wage job is okay, doing a service year with Americorps is a big plus. </p>

<p>You are absolutely dead on with your thinking that “in this economy, my competition is that college grad who doesn’t have a job.” It is also current college kids and unemployed non-degreed young adults. To optimize success, you need to develop a plan and get going on it now before the market is flooded with kids looking for summer work.</p>

<p>I recently posted this about gapping:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1132312-highly-disappointed-confused-3.html#post12477866[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1132312-highly-disappointed-confused-3.html#post12477866&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>Thanks for the replies. </p>

<p>Thanks TX, advice was great. </p>

<p>siliconvmom, I was actually looking into taking a gap year starting the beginning of my junior year, looking into programs like Congress-Bundestag, City Year, etc… But now my situation is a little bit different and honestly I applied to way too many schools. I was too burned out with all of the applications and supplements to think about applying to a gap year program or a study abroad program through the American Legion. Figured I would just head on to college and do the Peace Corps if I still had an itch to volunteer.</p>

<p>I still would not mind taking a gap year, but most of my options to go kind of far away have passed.</p>

<p>Would like to stay somewhat close to home (well probably the only option I have left at this point) to work out the whole ROTC thing. Yes I could apply from anywhere in the US, but I’d like to keep working out at my rec and work with my recruiters now. </p>

<p>Have not talked to my parents much about taking a year off, at least not recently. They were somewhat open when I presented the idea about a year ago. I think they would be keen on it if I would make it clear that I will be working and saving my money. </p>

<p>Another thing I forgot to put in my OP. I am involved in a startup concept/small business. It is not a small business yet, we did not go through licensing with the state, get insurance, etc… but we could probably have the business ready for the summer if we wanted to. My partner and I started it for an entrepreneurship class/competition that ended last week. </p>

<p>We find out if we get any seed money/scholarships in a little over two weeks. I could take time off to develop the company. We have relatively low overhead, so we may break even or even come out on top in our first year, maybe depending on how much seed money we get. </p>

<p>Just something I thought about last night and I could work another job in the process to supplement the business. </p>

<p>And svm you are right, I should be worrying about this when/if GU actually takes me off of the waitlist. </p>

<p>But I have to act soon and investigate what my options are, now is kind of too late, but I won’t really actively pursue something past an inquiry unless I get selected off the waitlist.</p>

<p>I have another question. Say, for the sake of argument, I do get selected off of Georgetown’s waitlist. Army just emailed me back, it looks like the best they can offer me is a 3 year scholarship, which I am not sure I could swing financially Georgetown the first year. Something to consider, but I’d like to aim for the traditional 4 yr scholarship. </p>

<p>GU allows students to defer, but you have to provide a valid reason, or some wording like that, which I understand. But say my request is approved, and technically I am registered with Georgetown and I will obviously give up my spot at Ohio State. </p>

<p>But, there is a catch. ROTC is not guaranteed, although Army is supposedly a lot easier to get since they have larger budget and more scholarships and they do not care as much about STEM majors as the Navy does. </p>

<p>So, if I apply again, I am not sure I would get a Navy scholarship, leaning towards no again, but I feel like my chances are pretty solid with the Army. </p>

<p>But you always have to have plan B…and C…and D and so on and so forth. </p>

<p>Would Georgetown be ok if I apply to a couple of safeties, as long as I am upfront with them about it? I would be honest, saying the only way I would go to one of them is if I get dinged from both Army and Navy and want options, but how would they take that? </p>

<p>This is probably the biggest hole(of many haha) in my “plan”. </p>

<p>Gist of it comes down to, so I commit to one school and defer from the class of 2015 to the class of 2016. But attendance is based off of getting a ROTC scholarship, so it is not not set in stone. </p>

<p>After writing all of that out…I don’t think they would like that haha, but what do you guys think, you know more than I do. </p>

<p>I don’t think it would be unethical as long as I tell them about it and explain my situation…maybe?</p>

<p>So sorry, that was really long and I’m not even sure I covered everything I wanted to, but thank you everyone!</p>

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<p>Chase the dream. </p>

<p>If you don’t like GU, ROTC lets you drop ROTC up until you are a sophomore and you can just transfer back to OSU. </p>

<p>But it sounds like you would like GU. </p>

<p>Good luck with the waitlist.</p>

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<p>Maybe just find a job that pays you by the word to write.</p>

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<p>Hi, it’s late/early depending on how you look at it. I would not suggest you take a year off. Scholarship opportunities that exist today will not necessarily exist a year from now. You can ask both universities that you are between what happens to your financial situation if you take a year off. If in fact, the $ is the same, then only you an decide. But, my impression is that they will be passing out their in-state tuition, honors housing, etc., to other rising first year students fresh from high school. </p>

<p>My advice: make a decision and start school.</p>