bigbromskier
Active member
My gap year was the best decision I've ever made. I got accepted to a few schools, decided to take a year off, deferred admission to one, and spent the year in Tahoe. I saved up a bunch of money before I left, though, so I wouldn't have to work too hard, though I ended up working almost full-time anyway (you gotta remember the skiing lifestyle as a whole is wicked expensive, especially resorty towns.) Working at the ski area is the best though because you get a free pass and other employees hook you up with free food and other shit. Learned a shit load of life lessons that I would've missed out on had I been in school that year; not to mention learning that a college degree is so valuable--working in restaurants and rental shops can be fun and has its perks, but if you can make more money doing (usually) easier work, why not?
I'd recommend Tahoe for its awesome convenience (mountains are all very close and busses go to most of them) and amazing scenery; or SLC because it's cheaper, has amazing skiing, and you can basically live in a college town without going to school. SLC is also a real city, which has its positive and negative aspects depending on who you are, but sometimes Tahoe felt like a bunch of hippy stoner ski bums, while visits to SLC brought me to more young people with ragin' parties and other frowned-upon activities.
Now I'm in school studying something I really enjoy and my year off really put the importance of that into perspective. There are tons of kids who go to college because they feel they have to and end up not enjoying what they're studying, and not putting in the necessary effort, which basically makes it a waste of time. MSU's graduation rate is 47%, so that's proof in the pudding if you ask me. If you're failing classes why bother? Especially when it comes out to something like $50/class period for a full-time student.
It's not worth it if you don't have the motivation, so you might as well take that year off and make the most of your time while you're still young! Good luck!
I'd recommend Tahoe for its awesome convenience (mountains are all very close and busses go to most of them) and amazing scenery; or SLC because it's cheaper, has amazing skiing, and you can basically live in a college town without going to school. SLC is also a real city, which has its positive and negative aspects depending on who you are, but sometimes Tahoe felt like a bunch of hippy stoner ski bums, while visits to SLC brought me to more young people with ragin' parties and other frowned-upon activities.
Now I'm in school studying something I really enjoy and my year off really put the importance of that into perspective. There are tons of kids who go to college because they feel they have to and end up not enjoying what they're studying, and not putting in the necessary effort, which basically makes it a waste of time. MSU's graduation rate is 47%, so that's proof in the pudding if you ask me. If you're failing classes why bother? Especially when it comes out to something like $50/class period for a full-time student.
It's not worth it if you don't have the motivation, so you might as well take that year off and make the most of your time while you're still young! Good luck!
