Gap Year

By Emil Hafeez

Imagine for a second that you just received a letter from your dream college, beginning with, “We regret to inform you that your application has been rejected.” Well, first things first: dry your tears, put away all the ice cream, and stop watching Steve Pink’s Accepted. You seem to have forgotten about the potential benefits of a gap year.

According to senior Jon Davis*, 12 years of school have left him a little burnt out from all of the learning. Partially motivated by a wish to travel and partially by a desire for a break, he decided on a year-long trip to Israel.Deciding to take a gap year and travel somewhere new and exciting can provide both additional respect for foreign culture and more steam to perform well in college. Whether it is a trip to Israel to become more in tune with Jewish roots, or snorkeling in Djibouti to broaden your cultural repertoire, new experiences can be valuable both to your knowledge of the world and to your mental health.That said, traveling isn’t necessarily the only or the best option for everyone. Several seniors who were interviewed will be spending their gap year working, hoping to pool together enough money to pay for college tuition and still have some spending money left as well.

“Tuition, textbooks and living expenses really add up,” said Davis. “And if I want some spending money in college, I need to work for it.”

If you’ve been denied your dream college, consider your other options. A gap year could be just the thing you need.

 *wishes to remain anonymous.

Community College  

By Jenny Deutsch

 Most community colleges are considerably cheaper than four year schools. According to the College Board, the average tuition cost per year to attend a community college is $2,544, while the average tuition cost for a four-year school is $18,500. One can also save money by living off campus as opposed to paying for pricey dorm rooms or apartments. Most students, upon leaving high school, are not yet aware of the career they want to pursue. In this case, a community college can be the best place for students to learn about themselves before making such an important decision.

Vanessa Puertas, who graduated from WJ in 2010, made the decision to go to Montgomery College for a variety of reasons.

“I have no idea what I want to do later in life,” said Puertas. “Right now I’m just doing general studies and then I will go to Spain for two more years of schooling, once I decide.”

Although attending a community college is a non-traditional alternative to a typical four-year college experience, many successful and influential people have attended this type of school before moving on to undergraduate and graduate institutions and beginning their careers. These include Jim Wright, Sam Shepard, Jim Lehrer, Ross Perot, George Lucas, Billy Crystal and Sarah Palin. With a community college education one can become a presidential candidate, congressman, famous movie writer or media mogul. The opportunities are never-ending.

Out of State School

By Sari Amiel

What if that school you’ve always seen yourself going to doesn’t work out in the end? Just in case that happens, you should prepare a backup plan that you can be excited about.

A great option would be to attend an out of state school. Those offer ideal opportunities for a fresh start, new friends, different classes and a chance to rethink your plans in life without unnecessary discomfort and stress. And these are welcome improvements when life doesn’t work out exactly as planned.

When WJ ’06 alumna Anna Gorodetsky didn’t get into her choice school, she decided to attend American University, from which she graduated last spring. Gorodetsky feels that she enjoyed being at American more than she would have enjoyed her first choice school.

Even if Gorodetsky had gone to another school, her plans for life, which include going to graduate school, would not have changed.

“[At AU, I enjoy] the environment, networking opportunities and people,” said Gorodetsky. The only student in her class to attend AU, she was offered a fresh start at American.

It may not have occurred to you as a possibility before, but going to an out of state school can actually unleash new opportunities and force you to become accustomed to the unknown and unexpected.

 State School

By Taliah Dommerholt

For many, the bottom line when choosing colleges is, how much can you afford or are you willing to pay when it comes to higher-level education? Maryland state schools will offer you an alternative to expensive private schools.

The University of Maryland is one school to consider. Newsweek rated Maryland fifteenth in “The 25 Most Desirable Large Schools” and “U.S. News & World Report” ranked Maryland eighteenth of the best national public universities. From the school spirit to the familiar faces, Maryland is a close-to-home, more affordable option than private schools. In fact, Maryland was ranked eighth in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine’s “100 Best Values in Public Colleges.”

“It’s a large public university and because it’s an in-state university, it’s a good value for your money—it is also going to be more affordable than other state schools, like Pennsylvania State University because we live in Maryland!” said college and career coordinator Bryna Blaine.The University of Maryland offers a variety of class opportunities and a multitude of clubs. Almost everyone can find a niche when attending UMCP and, you can even go home to do laundry. As graduate schools increase in popularity, attending a public college can leave you with more options financially and therefore can enhance your future options.

“It’s a large state school with one of the best business programs,” said senior Martha Afework, who is also applying to schools such as Bryn Mawr and Barnard. “Not only would it be cheaper, but it would be practical.”

Cost, however, is something she will take into consideration when choosing the right university. Maryland is an economical choice that offers opportunities for many and caters to broad interests.

Be Careful What You Wish For

By Alexandra Sanfuentes

There’s always that little kid in every kindergarten class who knows that they want to go to Harvard. These kids have it already set in their minds where they want to go to college and what they want to be when they grow up. Most other kids catch up in middle school. But some kids will get the idea in their head that one school is the place where they are destined to be, all reality aside. 

Senior Naomi Lisse is one of many high schoolers who has been set on one school since she was a kid.

“I started pretty young,” she said. “Since elementary school. [Princeton] was one of those things that was a far off dream.”For Lisse, her decision to apply to Princeton was partially based on both of her parents’ experiences at the university. However, their attendance was not a major factor in her final decision to apply.

“My parents never said, ‘You should go here because we went here,’” said Lisse. “What they specifically went through at their school was appealing for me. I was very comfortable there.”

However, this preconceived idea of where kids think they are destined to be is not always just careful planning ahead. In some cases, lacking an open mind about college possesses some psychological dangers.

Kids with so much pressure from their parents and from themselves to get into that one school are under more stress than the average senior applying to college. Not only is there pressure to get the applications done, but there is the added weight of not knowing what you will do if you end up not getting in. The stress of just waiting to hear back from the school is enough to distract students from their other school work. If a student does not get into their ideal school, then problems such as depression can arise, that stem from parental and, therefore, personal disappointment.

Due to such potential dangers, it is important to get research in first, and be willing to accept other schools as being equal or better choices than the kindergarten dream school.

“I’m preparing myself for ‘it could not happen,’” said Lisse. “Yeah, I would be hurt [if I didn’t get in] but what you have to remember when you’re applying to certain schools, some of it is just luck. Don’t beat yourself too much if you don’t get in.”

A student may not be going to Princeton where the princes go, or playing football at Notre Dame, but chances are they will find the school that is a better fit for their learning style, academic goals and financial situation.