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Taking a year off or go straight to college?

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bucknasty
Posts: 984 - Karma: 18
so today i had my senior visit at the guidence office, im stressing real big because i had some ideas before but i know i wont succeed in them, the current idea that i reallly would like to pursue is film but i keep hearing its one of the toughest and most competitive fields out there, i dont wanna end up going to school and getting a major in film or something and not getting a job afterwords.........so should i take a year off and try to get some sort of job and travel, maybe even intern for TGR or Matchstick, or should i go straight to college and find out what i want to do there?
Oct 17 2006 7:32PM
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wAy2sTeEzY4u
Posts: 5449 - Karma: 20
go to college but try to get an internship out west or something second semester
Oct 17 2006 7:33PM
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Prorider2themax
Posts: 494 - Karma: 11
go to college and then study abroad doing like film studies and kill two birds with one stone. now how bout dat?
Oct 17 2006 7:35PM
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bucknasty
Posts: 984 - Karma: 18
how can you go to college and do an internship at the same time? do you get a credit for it or something?
Oct 17 2006 7:39PM
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tattooed-n-evil
Posts: 246 - Karma: 19
don't take a year off.  I did and it was so hard to go back to school.  It's hard giving up the money of a full time job.
Oct 17 2006 7:39PM
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ProducerXXX
Posts: 1776 - Karma: 13
I wanted to be a film major, and technically that's what my college thinks I am. Just go for it, and after a few classes you'll know if it's for you or not. After a few semesters I knew it wasn't my calling, and now I'm switching to journalism, with maybe a minor in photography.

I still like filming, editing, and all that shit, but I'm just not feeling it anymore. I'm a sophmore now and when I was a freshman I was so sure that's what I wanted to do. Over the course of the summer I decided it wasn't for me. I don't know how, but I just kind of lost the desire- what you really need to succeede in that field.

Hope that helps some.
Oct 17 2006 7:42PM
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eastAR5
Posts: 15084 - Karma: 732
sounds kinda like my deal man... cept im trying to defer my app for a year and get a condo in tahoe or something with a bunch of kids and just ski and film and party all the time for the whole winter. Actually im not trying... im gona makei t happen. My dads a pretty big director/filmmaker and has pretty good influence in the industry, so im considering following that path since i would actually have a chance i think but i really have no idea
Oct 17 2006 7:42PM
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Rez4frederick
Posts: 4740 - Karma: 40
Dude, in my opinion, go to college and at least try it. I don't even know you but take this advice or leave it. Everyones situation is different but here goes..

If you decide to go Take classes that you think may be interesting and make sure they count as general ed credits because you will need these to get a degree someday if u want. Alot of colleges offer film classes which are pretty easy if you are into that. You meet alot of females in college too which is a bonus. When you look at it from your prespective (your only 18?), college seems like it is going to take forever, but dont let that deter you. If you are really motivated about filming, definately look into local colleges (local schools are way cheaper, instate) and check out their film programs. You will have to take some general ed classes more than likely to get a degree, but just look for interesting classes and see if you like the professor by checking out his/her classes.

You can make some good connections with friends and possible people that may help you get a job too when you get done with your program too.
Oct 17 2006 7:49PM
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ProducerXXX
Posts: 1776 - Karma: 13
^Good advice.
Oct 17 2006 7:50PM
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leckett1
Posts: 6476 - Karma: 294
im taking a year off to work. im trying to evade loans
Oct 17 2006 8:00PM
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J.D.
Posts: 21362 - Karma: 5,144
If you're taking a year off it better not be after high school. If that stressed you out enough to need a break, you're screwed in post-secondary. Take your year off after 2nd year, or even 3rd year. That's when you REALLY need it.
Oct 17 2006 8:27PM
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Mat.
Posts: 7167 - Karma: 94
i took a year off because i just didnt apply to college ontime.
anyways your parents harrass you alot.
but i kinda expected that.

Oct 17 2006 8:31PM
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bucknasty
Posts: 984 - Karma: 18
eastAR5, you sound like a mans man, thats pretty much what i want to do but i have no money and i have no idea how that would work, oh and if your dads a big filmer and majors in it, why arent you interning or working with him, or are you?
Oct 17 2006 9:05PM
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720laxskier
Posts: 2428 - Karma: 5
thats the best otion, and yes you get a credit for internships. usually
Oct 17 2006 9:12PM
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skicraze123
Posts: 1393 - Karma: 12
take a year off a year or two after you start collage you know so you can get into the whole collage thing then have a year to chil
Oct 17 2006 9:12PM
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Aenigma
Posts: 11256 - Karma: 428
I'm taking a year off right now and so far it's been really nice. I get to make some money and I have time to think about what I want to do. But what's best is when I call my friends to go out biking or skiing and they have homework!
Oct 17 2006 9:15PM
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eastAR5
Posts: 15084 - Karma: 732
yea i dont have any money right now either... my plan is to work at the highest paying job i can find all next summer 5 days a week, like May to september and earn a shitload of money so by around october I can move out to a place and split rent. And I just havent got around to working with my dad that much in the past... hes starting to pay me a little to do sound synconizing and mostly busy work. Id feel kind of bad not taking advantage of the potential oppertunity, hopefully it will work out or i'll find something else. The problem is he graduated from Brown, MIT and now teachers at harvard so obviously got hooked up and me... i got kicked out of boarding school and now I go to sped school and I'll be lucky to get into a decent college so I dont know...
Oct 17 2006 11:00PM
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SIX-SOLDIERS
Posts: 719 - Karma: 11
college is too much fun to pass out

seriously if you wanna take a year off go ahead
Oct 17 2006 11:01PM
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mind_Riot39
Posts: 583 - Karma: 73
dont take a year off. you'll never want to go back to school.
Oct 17 2006 11:04PM
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Aenigma
Posts: 11256 - Karma: 428
I disagree with that statement. While you're on your year off you'll be working with other high school graduates and that makes an extremely convincing argument to further your education. I worked with a guy this summer that couldn't afford to go to the dentist so his teeth were falling out at the age of 35.
Oct 17 2006 11:21PM
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fizzlefry
Posts: 4662 - Karma: 15

teach that guy how to brush his teeth

Oct 17 2006 11:25PM
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Andre.B
Posts: 1638 - Karma: 155
i made my decision on how i felt at the end of my final year. i decided that im way too tired of education and im not going any further. I think you should do what you want to do most. you can always catch up later on
Oct 17 2006 11:27PM
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MaddyS
Posts: 34 - Karma: 10
i would take a year off and ski and party while you are still young. Life is short
Oct 17 2006 11:30PM
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Itsbackfliptime
Posts: 18901 - Karma: 75
you can do plenty of skiing an partying in college.
Oct 17 2006 11:51PM
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dozerr
Posts: 4007 - Karma: 404
i had that same problem. i decided to just suck it up and go straight to college. because i knew, if i took a year off, i was going to end up being lazy and not ever get myself to go back to school. and become a fuck up.

if you take only gen ed's in your first year you will have a pretty easy year and be able to get enough skiing and partying in. so dont worry about that
Oct 18 2006 11:56AM
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Dan-Man
Posts: 7488 - Karma: 3,622
it depends how good u r at what u do
Oct 18 2006 12:07PM
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Jwenz
Posts: 8893 - Karma: 7,634
I would definetly go straigh to college...you dont wwant to loose allt he some what amount of knowledge that you already have from HS
Oct 18 2006 12:10PM
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snowdiver
Posts: 668 - Karma: 12
almost everyone ive met who took a year off regrets it because they say they forgot everything
Oct 18 2006 12:30PM
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powderchick
Posts: 238 - Karma: 11
go on exchange to someplace. best time you will have. its such and amazing thing to do. right now im in bolivia. and will be going to college starting spring semester of 2008. (i could go this fall but i want to chill in the states for a awhile before going to school)
youth exchange is like a free year.
you party alot and just chill all year. learn some new shit. like spanish and meet tons of ppl. plus lots of time to travel.
pm me if you want to know anything about it
Oct 18 2006 5:23PM
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Scratch*my*Back
Posts: 8334 - Karma: 160
i took a year off and im graduating from university this year..the same year as most of my friends even though i took a year off. i worked hard, took an overload of courses and am graduating univ early.
Oct 18 2006 5:26PM
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SARTRON
Posts: 2969 - Karma: 87
if i take a year off ill be afraid that i will be to lazy to go back to school...yea straight to college for me
Oct 18 2006 5:33PM
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Salomon_Girl
Posts: 411 - Karma: 49
TAKE a year, or two! I had NO straight path choosen by the time I was done HS. so I took the year off to WORK. Don't waste your time out, make money in a feild related to what you want to go to school for that way you get a sneek peak into the feild that might take two to four years of school to get into (so it isn't a waste of time). I worked for a year so I could narrow my goals but even then when I went back to school I chose the wrong thing it took me 2 years to figure out what I really truely wanted. now I'm LOVING life, because I made sure I made the right choice
Oct 18 2006 5:36PM
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grams.
Posts: 7406 - Karma: 186
i wouldn't take a year off cause knowing me i wouldn't wanna go to college after that year haha and plus if i took a yaer off i would most likely go to whistler for the winter and then have no money after that or something
Oct 18 2006 7:54PM
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ski_cartel
Posts: 6598 - Karma: 18
all i know is that i have to go there straight after high school
Oct 18 2006 7:59PM
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mad_540_trix
Posts: 2452 - Karma: 14

for me, university was definitely tons of fun for the first 3-4 weeks, and then classes got really hard and i haven't had much time to party since.  then again, i'm taking 36 credits this year so it's kinda my fault (i'm in first year engineering).  if i haven't figured out what i want to do with my life by the time i get to the end of second semester (i came into university with the idea of NOT arts) then i'll probably take a year off to figure shit out/make money/ski.

don't get me wrong, i'm sure that if i wasn't taking 18 credits this term i'd have time to party more.  i still have time to go to a football game this weekend with a bunch of other people from my res, but that'll probably be it in terms of non-studying activities for the weekend.  a lot of this is because i only came into univeristy with around an 86% average from grade 12, and no calculus background (wasn't offered at my school), and i'm taking a math course that has a common exam with the people who have taken calculus before, so my class has to catch up.

if you think that you're stressed now wait till you get to university.  oh, and i'd say go right away, and then take a year off if needed.  otherwise the chances of you going at all go way down.

Oct 18 2006 8:15PM
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Snubluck
Posts: 2192 - Karma: 11
Go to college so you don't look like a douche bag, because that's what everyone thinks in college of people who took a year off....seriously...they really do...
Oct 18 2006 9:06PM
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LJF
Posts: 457 - Karma: 30
I'm on my 2nd year off now and I will be headed out to Alta again this winter. Personally I think taking a year off is good. I now understand what I want to do with my life and will be headed to college fall '07. I would recommend it but then again it may not be good for everyone.
Oct 18 2006 9:34PM
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