First of all, I apologize for posting another "I need help" thread, sooo... sorry. But anyway, I hope some of you will help me anyway. I'm 14 and a junior in high school (long story). I take all honors/AP classes, and have a GPA of 4.44 and straight A's. I am planning on applying to MIT and majoring in engineering. My problem is that I don't know if I really want to go to college. I really really hate high school; it's something I do because I have to. Both my parents are really smart, and it will let them down kind of badly if I decide not to go to college. I also might take a few years off from school (and sail solo around the world (another long story)), but both my parents and guidance counselor says that if I don't go to college right after high school it drastically reduces my chances of getting in. In addition, I feel like I am too young to be making these decisions. If anyone can offer any advice at all, it would be greatly appreciated, as I am rather confused right now.
Well, you should know that college is MUCH different then high school. Not really sure how great it would be for a 14 year old though. I don't know if they'll reject someone with a 4.44 GPA just because he took a year off. A lot of people do this and yes, some end up deciding against school but it can also put a lot of people's lives into perspective. My advice would be to take a break after high school. You obviously worked hard and deserve it. Then when you're closer to the average college age and matured (a sail around the world will do that more than anything) apply and feel it out.
Is there anything epic you want to do that isn't really college or academically related? If there is something, do it.
If you want to get into a school like MIT you HAVE to go right out of high school. Its a very hard university to get into. First off, most people applying to that school are going to have grades just as good as yours. So if there was two spots left, between you and someone else, and you both had the same grades, the only difference was that you didn't do anything the year after you graduated, and the other person is right out of high school, they'd definitely pick the other person. Second, you are pretty young. Its good to keep that stuff in mind, but you don't have to make up your mind yet. I hadn't decided what college I was going to until my senior year. And lastly, yes, high school is pretty lame. But after you graduate, you can forget everything you know about school. College is MUCH better than high school in so many ways. Everyone thats there actually WANTS to be there, you get more freedom in and out of class, and you learn MUCH more, since stuff is more topic focused, and everyones friendly with everyone else, there isn't the same sort of social groups like in high school.
Do what YOU want to do, for YOUR reasons. Just because waiting until later reduces your chances of getting in doesn't make it impossible. I wanted to go to college but I'm a family-oriented person and decided to get married and have kids instead. I'm going to go to college soon. It may not be an Ivy League school or any major university well-known for its genius graduates, but in my opinion, college is college. Just because someone doesn't have a degree in something doesn't mean they don't know how to do it. Having that piece of paper that says "I know how to add" doesn't mean you REALLY know how to add. It just means someone liked you enough to let you pretend that you know how. But keep in mind... I'm 26. I still don't know what kind of career I want. And I probably won't know until I'm 80. By then I'll have forgotten my own name. So if you know what you want to do, do it while you have a chance. Don't worry about disappointing someone else, even if it's your parents. They'll get over it, especially if they know you're truly happy. Plus you weren't put here to please everyone. Do what you're passionate about. If you want to take a break from school, you should. If you don't, you may get burned out before you're even halfway through the first year and end up dropping out or just neglecting your schoolwork and flunking out. Then it WILL be difficult to get in somewhere that you really want to attend.
