<p>Sorry, not sure if this is the proper place to post this...but here it is anyway:</p>
<p>So the other day my mom and I started talking about the option of taking a gap year after high school (after I already applied to colleges and hopefully got accepted and chose which one I was going to and all). It seems to be a great idea to me. Paying for college is a big deal to me, so this would give me an extra year to work to pay for tuition and housing, etc. Plus I have two young brothers (3 and 1 currently), so I'd have an extra year to spend with them. I could also study things that particularly interested me and hopefully figure out a major (if I'm still undecided...)</p>
<p>Anyways, I'm only a sophomore, so I have a lot of time, but I haven't found any downsides to a gap year (but I'm sure there are some since very few students go this route). Any feedback and opinions would be appreciated!</p>
<p>The downsides are getting off the track–you’ll be in college with students mostly a year younger than yourself, and you’ll be off with your high school classmates. You may also be excited to start the next stage of your life when high school winds to a close. Of course, in the long run, this stops mattering. I personally wish I’d taken one, even though I’m really enjoying college.</p>
<p>I’ve retaken 9th grade and it doesn’t really matter if you take a gap year or not. I did it so I could boost up my grades, which I did. Working for tuition…doesn’t really matter since tuition is sky high. I would say do it if you’re confident that you’ll be able to catch right on after one year out of school.</p>
<p>There are a number of threads on this topic in the Parents Forum. If you scroll down there, you will find them.</p>
<p>It looks like money will be an issue for your family, so you and your mom might want to spend some time reading through threads in the Financial Aid Forum as well.</p>