<p>So I decided to take a gap year after graduating highschool to mature, finish some projects I started, and be sure about my decision to go to bama. A big part of the reason I want to go to bama is because of the full scholarship and honors program (32 ACT). They will also accept all of my credits (will be a little over 60 college credits collected through CC and CLEP tests) which is a big plus. They said I would still be considered an incoming freshman despite my credits as I will have just graduated from highschool. However, if I take a gap year, would I still qualify as a freshman (and more importantly, the full scholarship)? Being OOS and from a middle-class income family (almost no financial aid :P) the scholarship is a very important part of the decision. I love the school but I’m worried this could be a dealbreaker.</p>
<p>?</p>
<p>Have you already graduated?</p>
<p>If so, then taking a gap year may ruin things. There have been students who haven’t been awarded the scholarship for taking a gap year w/o a good reason.</p>
<p>When did you get the 32? </p>
<p>If you are still in high school, then don’t take the gap year. Besides, who knows what Bama will offer next year. Scholarships can change each year.</p>
<p>29 ACT (I know, it’s bad, should have a 32+ by ED1 time)
Double Major in Chemistry & Biology (community college)
4.0 college GPA
National Homeschool Honor Society
Was presented with, and am considering an opportunity to spend a semester studying at Oxford. If I do go however, I won’t be able to apply ED.</p>
<p>Ok…you’re still a senior. Good!</p>
<p>Don’t take the gap year. too risky. Bama has been known not to award after graduation.</p>
<p>Do you already have the ACT 32 or are you hoping for that?</p>
<p>in the FAQ for Bama Scholarships…</p>
<p>*As an entering freshman (applying for the Fall semester following your senior year of high school), *</p>
<p>So, you need to apply NOW to go to school for next fall to qualify for the scholarships. </p>
<p>You’ll be a frosh, even with those credits, but you need to apply NOW, and go to college next fall.</p>
<p>Rather than taking a gap year, consider doing study abroad! The scholarship will cover most of it, and it’ll provide similar “altering” experiences that a gap year would.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids - Yes, I do have an ACT 32 now.</p>
<p>Yikes, I guess I would have to apply this year. It’s just that I talked with my parents and they just didn’t feel I was ready to handle college quite yet. They wanted me to wait another year and not apply until they saw that I had the discipline to always take care of my “must dos” before having fun. I’m a good student, but I can be weak willed sometimes (too much time on the computer, too much chocolate…things like that) and they’re afraid that that tendency might cause me to derail in college. They’ve seen some of their friends’ children fall apart in college, and they don’t want to risk that happening to me. However, I don’t think their concerns are very justified. I’m not a party animal, for the most part I’m an ambitious, motivated grind, and while I get their point, if that’s going to get in the way of me and bama, we might need to talk again. I also really, really want to go to college ASAP. They’re wonderful parents, just strict and a little smothering sometimes (rarely allowed to hang out with friends, school throughout the year including summer, all “A” grades or bust,etc). I want to honor their wishes, they’ve put so much into raising me, but I really want to go to bama as well. I just wish they would trust that they’ve done a good job and let me out of the nest. First child problems. Any suggestions on how to talk with them about it?</p>
<p>Edjumacation - Study abroad sounds great, only, I think my parents are going to try and keep me home as long as possible. Where they keep me from going is not so much the issue so long as I never go there in the first place.</p>
<p>maybe the paid tuition will help them change their minds. if you take a gap year, you miss out on the scholarship. if you goof off, you can also lose the scholarship.</p>
<p>you could start of with a lighter load, but if you are capable of a 32, you are likely capable of a full load.</p>
<p>are your parents willing to pay for your expenses other than tuition?</p>
<p>As long as you do NOT take any college courses after you graduate from HS, you will be a freshman, even you take a gap year.</p>
<p>better check with the school to be sure how this would play out.</p>
<p>If you’re homeschooling, is it too late to just not graduate this year? Have next year be your senior year.</p>
<p>Once you tell your parents that you could lose the big scholarship, they probably would change their minds. Besides, we don’t know if/when Bama would raise the minimum to get the Presidential to a 33+.</p>
<p>In the meantime, get your app in!</p>
<p>That said, if your parents have a point that you need to grow up a bit, then spend THIS YEAR growing up! That means…getting school work done w/o being told, doing chores w/o being told, cleaning up after yourself, knowing where your stuff is (not losing stuff), doing “extra” stuff w/o being told, doing your own laundry, following house rules, etc.</p>
<p>Thanks so much everyone who’s answered so far. </p>
<p>I’ve told my parents that I could lose the scholarship. They don’t care. Prestige and popular schools mean nothing to them. They want to be 110% sure I’ll excel before they bid ado. Otherwise, I can go to the local university for all they care (where I already have a full scholarship waiting) and risk damaging my chances at med school later on. </p>
<p>allphoe - haha, I suppose so, only I’m used to being ahead of my age group and graduating highschool a year later then my peers might raise some judgemental eyebrows and hurt my little pride. I guess it’s always a last ditch option.</p>
<p>I just talked to them again and they said I could apply this year, but whether or not I actually go next fall will depend on how disciplined and “beyond perfect” I become. That’s better than a flat out no, so I think I’ll take it and run. Maybe cut back some on extracurriculars and community service so I can have a better grip on everyday responsibilities.</p>
<p>Maybe cut back some on extracurriculars and community service so I can have a better grip on everyday responsibilities.</p>
<p>Good plan.</p>
<p>and come up with a daily and weekly plan/schedule to get your stuff done. When we hear parents complain that their HS students aren’t ready for college, the complaints usually consist of:</p>
<p>Won’t get up on time w/o parents waking them up.
Won’t go to bed on time.
Missing curfews
Doesn’t know where his stuff is
Forgets to do homework, or doesn’t know where homework or books are.
Doesn’t put things back where they belong
Leaves messes around the house
Doesn’t clean up his room
Has to be reminded to do chores
Ignores house rules
disobedient</p>
<p>Mike Wowoski - I don’t think it’s so much the schooling part they’re worried about. I’m highly motivated to get good grades and have rarely gotten anything below A- in my life. I plan to continue that through college. They’re just really conservative, mom is asian, and they’re more concerned with how it could affect me morally and as a person. I think they’re taking little things (like not always controlling what I eat…not that I’m chubby or fat) and blowing them a bit out of proportion running through all the distant possibilities that could result (ate a whole bar of chocolate=weak willed=not being able to resist any temptations in college=drunk party animal with tattoos, attitude, and a million piercings). I don’t know how much clearer that made things.</p>
<p>Thanks so much mom2collegekids and everyone else. I do everything on the list already (although I do occasionally leave messes around the house) and I think a lot of what I do to prove to them I’m ready for college will be more about proving that I have strong character and developing and working on any weak spots. Maybe also doing extra uncalled for chores around the house, and just helping whenever and however I can. Fingers crossed that I’ll be a bama girl next fall!</p>
<p>sounds like you NEED to get away from your parents! </p>
<p>my second daughter might have fit the bill of being “not ready for college”, but she went and is doing just fine. could she have done better? probably. would making her stay home an extra year have made a difference? i don’t think so.</p>
<p>Yikes, memphis…WADR your parents sound kind of controlling. :o Their demands for super-perfection are over the top, IMHO.</p>
<p>Once you are 18 years old, you are an adult, and you can make your own decisions. With a full-tuition scholarship and Pell $$ to cover room and board…well, you can strike out on your own, if you wish.</p>
<p>BTW, we are home-schooling parents. We would never be so unreasonably demanding with our kids. (Yet, so far, they’ve turned out OK.)</p>
<p>and Pell $$ to cover room and board</p>
<p>Pell is only about $5600 for a 0 EFC…so not enough to cover R&B… The student says that they don’t qualify for aid, so not likely going to get any Pell either. </p>
<p>However, the student could get a $5500 student loan, but would need parents’ cooperation to fill out FAFSA.</p>
<p>Sounds like you need to “play the game” for one year in order to get what you want for the next 4+ years.</p>
<p>Watch what you eat, eat healthy things, act responsibly, etc. Now, also be prepared for the possibility that your mom will then “move on” to other “deficiencies”. Don’t complain, just keep your nose clean. Acknowledge any real deficiencies and work on those. </p>
<p>As for your social life THIS year, keep things in perspective. Don’t do too much.</p>