I did not take a course that is required to continue into my 3rd year, and as result, I am going to have to take a year off. This course will be done either in the summer or in the first term of next year, depending on what I decide to do with this time off.

For those of you that have taken a year off (whether it be a gap year between high school and university, or taking a year off in your undergrad):

1. What did you do with your time off?
2. What would you have done differently?
3. Any suggestions/advice for things to avoid, things to look into, and how to keep focused to make sure you go back to school the next year?

Thanks.

grab your backpack and buy the first ticket to South America/Europe/Asia . Spend the rest of the year bumming around and experiencing something that you won't ever experience again. Work sucks, fulltime work sucks even more. DO it now, once you end up in the corporate world 2 weeks or 3 weeks of vacation will not ever be enough, not to mention blackout months, and a whole bunch of other garbage to contend with.

GO!

/insanity

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Dude!

Beh's Idea is good! (I'm doing a small version of that right now... posting from a hostel in Berlin )

You might want to work at least half the time tho, both to raise cash for the trip and to keep you grounded. Once you realise how boring full time work can be, you'll want to go right back to school

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if you're anywhere around Greece and need a place to stay let me know

Beh is right, unless of course you have a job like mine, if i can even call it a job, haha

work or even volunteer in your field of choice.

once you do graduate with your diploma or degree you'll be thankful for the experience/contacts within the field.

btw...won't they allow you to enrol, subject to successful completion of the course in the summer??? If one person said no, push it further. You can petition *anything* in university (not sure about college) and some official in some dept. can grant the request (if they so choose).

dude, I hope you are not on osap!

if you are, make sure you won't be fucked over by them.


I took a year off went to highschool for semester - I hated it. Although, it gave me a chance to take photography, which i fell in love with it.

I worked the two semesters. It made me more determined to get a qualification cause min wage jobs suck. [unless one enjoys theirs].

If you can afford to backpack, go ahead. Are you a Canadian Citizen? you can check work some work study programs or whatever it is called. Check Travelcuts for more info.

Whatever you do, don't lose touch with the school work. It's very hard getting back into it after a long absence. Can't you take at least one course each semester in p/t?

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Id live in Ibiza From May to September.
Then travel the rest of Europe!

And when your bored of that Hit Australia and then Thailand.

quote:

Originally posted by drgoodvibe grab your backpack and buy the first ticket to South America/Europe/Asia . Spend the rest of the year bumming around and experiencing something that you won't ever experience again. Work sucks, fulltime work sucks even more. DO it now, once you end up in the corporate world 2 weeks or 3 weeks of vacation will not ever be enough, not to mention blackout months, and a whole bunch of other garbage to contend with. GO! /insanity

+1 squared

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Take the time to take other courses that will enable you to get a minor (or perhaps even a double major).

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quote:

Originally posted by Tordan Whatever you do, don't lose touch with the school work. It's very hard getting back into it after a long absence. Can't you take at least one course each semester in p/t?

I'd agree with this. Take whatever courses you can and work. You *don't* want to lose the rhythm, because as we all know it can be very hard to pick up again (remember our conversations about "sloth mode"! )

Hauling off to Europe, tossing out your life savings, going deep into debt and doing nothing productive might sound like fun, but time is an investment and I think you'll find that a few extra courses and another year of work experience will be a lot more valuable to you in 2-3 years than slacking off in another country.

Graham, unless you've changed your outlook in the past year, I think you tend to respect other people who make the most productive use of their time possible. Take your cues from them, and spend the year finding ways to better yourself, not impoverish yourself.

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