I don't know, people who do well in hs may think they know what they want to do, but I think 18 is too young to make decisions for the rest of your life I did well in hs, 3.5 gpa and ap scholar with distinction, then went to college and got a 4.0 my first semester. The problem is, I have no idea what I want to do post graduation, and getting general degrees like communications are nearly useless and a huge waste of money in my opinion. So I dropped out. I lived alone in an apartment immediately after hs, and through my first year off college. After my year of college I moved back in with my parents and in four months saved ten grand (take advantage of no rent if you can). Right. Now I am sitting in the Sydney airport about to Vito Thailand. I've been living in new Zealand for the past 7 months, and a solutely love it. After this I will twice in australia, traces through Asia and all the way Iovef to Europe. Dropping out was the best decision I could have made. School will always be there, but if you go to school, and get a real job it is a lot harder to just get up and see the world. If you plan on taking a gap year, I recommend going somewhere new, this can be as easy as Utah if you live in co or vice versa. Moving to a new place and forcing yourself to meet new people is great for character building. Also, apply and defer for a year, this will make it a lot more likely to go back after a year if that is what you want to do.