In your opinion, which is the better thing to do: go straight to university/college the semester following high school graduation, or take some time off from school to work instead?

Go right away, if you let a year go by chances are you won't want to go at all.

^^^^I agree. Go as soon as you can and get it over with.

Tony Marino wrote:

Go right away, if you let a year go by chances are you won't want to go at all.

Yep, I've let about 50 years go by so far.

Chris wrote:

In your opinion, which is the better thing to do: go straight to university/college the semester following high school graduation, or take some time off from school to work instead?

Go straight to school. You can always go to school and work.

From a practical standpoint, it's usually better to go on to college right away because as others have said above, the longer you put it off, the less chance you will go later. That's not a guarantee, but that’s just the way life usually works. And that’s too bad for many students because they would probably get more from a college education if they could defer it until they were more mature.

Honestly, I really don't know. I didn't have a choice, there was no way my parents were letting me take any breaks, but I guess it would really depend on what your high school experience was like. Some people my actually need that break to re-group. I do think one should have a goal in mind an stick to it. If it's just going to be for year, stick to that.

Going back to school is harder after you take time off. I have friends my age (30-something) who're trying to go back and it's a big time readjustment. Just go on ahead and finish the first time so you never have to go back.

Forgiveness Man wrote:

^^^^I agree. Go as soon as you can and get it over with.

Get it over with? You talk about it as if it's some sort of a duty. I got my diploma when I was 17 and I'm starting college this fall (I'll be 24 by then.) College is a big adjustment for anybody, but I simply didn't want to go after I got my diploma - and why should I? It's a complete waste of time to go if you don't feel like going, and I didn't. I'm glad I used my own brain and didn't follow the crowd. I don't believe in college unless a person actually wants to, and if you don't feel like it, don't go! Don't waste the time, energy, and money.

Go straight to school. A summer off is okay, but any longer than that and you risk just floating on your way and might never get it done.

MandyPerfumeGirl wrote:

Forgiveness Man wrote:

^^^^I agree. Go as soon as you can and get it over with.

Get it over with? You talk about it as if it's some sort of a duty. I got my diploma when I was 17 and I'm starting college this fall (I'll be 24 by then.) College is a big adjustment for anybody, but I simply didn't want to go after I got my diploma - and why should I? It's a complete waste of time to go if you don't feel like going, and I didn't. I'm glad I used my own brain and didn't follow the crowd. I don't believe in college unless a person actually wants to, and if you don't feel like it, don't go! Don't waste the time, energy, and money.

It's less a duty and more an unnecessary necessity in the modern age. (This is of course, assuming you're not going to become a lawyer or doctor or whatever)

I'd say it's largely a complete waste of time anyway. But in today's day and age, you need some kind of post-HS education to get anywhere far. I'm pretty anti-college but I figured I'd WANT to go two years to get a degree. But yeah, I say get it over with because that's exactly what it is. Or as George Bailey said, go to college and see what they know. Might as well do it while I'm young and still in an absorbing frame of mind than after I am out of school for as long as I was in it.

My mind's so scrambled from those years I think I was starting college before I even graduated from high school...it's a pain in the neck but yeah I say get it over with otherwise you might lose all nerve to do it later.

I think going right away is best, if you can, but it's not for everyone.

Depends on how well someone does in HS I think. Alot of college freshman end up on academic probation or flunk out cos they weren't prepared or focused for the load. If they graduated HS with a decent GPA, going straight on to college makes sense. If they barely graduated then going on to college after will probably be trouble.

Agree with GrayWolf about college being a disaster when you not ready or don't really wanna be there. With the new freedom you didn't have in high school it's way too easy to drop out. i personally wouldn't recommend anybody go if they're not ready or wanting.

The problem is most employers today won't take you for any job above something like trash collecting if you don't have a college degree, so it's basically a choice of waste your time in college or don't get hired for anything that makes a decent living. These degree nazis need to back the fuck off and start looking at if people are qualified for the job and can do the job, NOT if they wasted 4 years in some university that didn't teach them anything they didn't already know about the job in question. Why are so many people going into debt with $40,000 student loans they're never going to pay off? Because college is such a great experience? NO, because in this day and age there are damn few jobs that you can get WITHOUT a degree unless you are some one-in-a-million exception who lucks out, which most of us are not.

I think it is always best to do at least a class or two just to stay in the groove.