college

[psiv19 0]

I am currently a high school senior and have been accepted to all the colleges I have applied to: University of Minnesota, University of St Thomas and Hamline university. All of which are good schools. I am planning on taking a year off before college to play juniors for hockey in hope of being able to play college hockey. Which will be a good experience regardless of making college team or not. Recently I have been looking at what I would do if hockey doesn't pan out and I am really interested in engineering and was looking at going to RPI. My question is would this 'gap year' make it harder to be accepted there? I have a 3.57 gpa and I got a 30 on the ACT and am planning on taking it again trying to get a 32 (which I think I can do if I prepare properly). I have also seen an article from harvard that recommends taking a year off to prevent burn out (don't know how accurate that is). But would this year hinder my chances of getting into RPI?

[bigdmac 12]

It shouldn't, but I'm not 100% sure. Most places dont really care about the "gap year" as long as you have the grades. Again I'm not positive about this, so it would probably be best if you checked with your guidance department or ask a teacher.

[chippa13 1844]

I'd say it depends on the kid. Some kids need a year off to recharge and others need to jump right into it so that they keep up the good habits that they developed in high school. The trick if you're going to take a year off is to make sure that you do something with that year. No school would be thrilled to get a kid who took the year off to catch up on Hogan's Heroes reruns.

[sickwilly 37]

If you get good enough during your gap year, it might help you get recruited or get an admissions "push" from some colleges. I graduated early and took two "gap years". I'd do it the same way again. I also wound up getting into a better school than I had gotten into because I improved enough to get on their recruit list.

Like chippa13 said, I'd also try to make sure that I did something meaningful during that time. Nothing says you can't take a couple of college courses as a non-matriculated student somewhere while you're playing.

[gerbe3:16 19]

I'd say it depends on the kid. Some kids need a year off to recharge and others need to jump right into it so that they keep up the good habits that they developed in high school. The trick if you're going to take a year off is to make sure that you do something with that year. No school would be thrilled to get a kid who took the year off to catch up on Hogan's Heroes reruns.

100% true. Well said.

[Axxion89 32]

I am currently a high school senior and have been accepted to all the colleges I have applied to: University of Minnesota, University of St Thomas and Hamline university. All of which are good schools. I am planning on taking a year off before college to play juniors for hockey in hope of being able to play college hockey. Which will be a good experience regardless of making college team or not. Recently I have been looking at what I would do if hockey doesn't pan out and I am really interested in engineering and was looking at going to RPI. My question is would this 'gap year' make it harder to be accepted there? I have a 3.57 gpa and I got a 30 on the ACT and am planning on taking it again trying to get a 32 (which I think I can do if I prepare properly). I have also seen an article from harvard that recommends taking a year off to prevent burn out (don't know how accurate that is). But would this year hinder my chances of getting into RPI?

I do not think it makes much of a difference to admissions as long as you explain to them the reasons as to why you took the year off. Some may ask and some may not care. One of the things you may want to think about is how are you going to be prepared for college after a year off. I know for me personally, it would be harder as the schooling would not be as fresh in my head as if I were to jump in from HS but thats just me. Also, consider the long term as well. If you have the chance of getting a full ride at college and a quality education I would say do it as student loans are a pain to pay back and free education would help you a lot. With that in mind, if you are going to go to a school just for the sake of playing college hockey with no financial incentives (which would mean that you are not the top of player who will make it to the NHL for arguments sake), I would think twice because although the experience may be fun, your job prospects and financial scenario may not be as good. In the end its your call but in short, with your academics I would say if you got accepted into RPI once already, you should again and if you did, ask for deferred acceptance so you don't need to apply again.

[lampliter87 8]

I've taken two years to play juniors. If anything, I think it helps your cause.

[frankie56 0]

Talk to the admission people at RPI. Don't be shy about it. That is what they do. Listen carefully to what they say, and not what you want them to say.

[GoBucky 0]

Id pass on Minnesota. Its universally accepted by people around here as being nothing more than a safety school.

[adam14 182]

If I could do it again, take a gap year. At my university (in canada) guys coming into the hockey team every year are the overagers from their junior teams, some of which have been out of high school for 2-3 years. I didn`t take a gap year after highschool and should have, like many have said, it depends on the person, and I can say first hand that I was way too immature for university, living away from my parents at 18, and my schooling reflected that. I`m only just starting to get into a serious habit, and i`m in my second year. Don't worry about a gap year. as long as you have the grades coming out of highschool, that's whats most important.

[chippa13 1844]

Id pass on Minnesota. Its universally accepted by people around here as being nothing more than a safety school.

One person's safety school is another person's reach. Different situations will decide which school is best for which student.

[GoBucky 0]

One person's safety school is another person's reach. Different situations will decide which school is best for which student.

Quality of education is one thing that doesnt vary and if someone is planning to have a backup plan incase hockey doesnt work out, it would be wise to go to the best school that you can get into.

[chippa13 1844]

It would be wise to go to the best school that fits the student. Different schools excel at different disciplines. Around these parts UMass Lowell isn't the highest regarded simply because it is not the most competitive school to get into but if you were looking for an engineering degree, then that is the place to go.

[starsfan71 9]

100 percent agreed with Chippa

[TeamHonda401 54]

+1 for Chippa's comment. It all depends on what you are going for. I go to Purdue North Central, which is easy as hell to get into, but if you want a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology, it's one of the best in the US. Relatively large student body, but there are only 50 upper classmen that are MET majors.

[Rustpot 1]

+1 for Chippa's comment. It all depends on what you are going for. I go to Purdue North Central, which is easy as hell to get into, but if you want a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology, it's one of the best in the US. Relatively large student body, but there are only 50 upper classmen that are MET majors.

Engineering Technology degrees put you on the track to become a Technologist, not an Engineer.

If you're looking to become an engineer, RPI (assuming that's Rennselaer Polytech) is a good choice. Keep in mind that's a private school with tuition much higher than a public university. The level of education between any ranked, accredited engineering program is comparable since engineering is going to be taught more as a way of thinking and background skillset with the majority of what you need being on-the-job taught and learned with years of experience. Make sure the college fits you since it will be 4+ years and jumping colleges and degrees sets you back in time and money.

My school gave all engineering majors an entry aptitude test as well as requiring a year of "Engineering 101" before any core curriculum classes to help focus students into disciplines or weed out those who just thought engineer sounded cool. I suggest finding something like that, and once you're in college to try and get an industry internship ASAP. A lot of people burned out of the ME program I was in, most due to trying to stick it out through a program their heart wasn't in.

[psiv19 0]

Thanks for all the responses it helps me a lot. ^^^^It is Rensselaer and I have seen the high tuition cost, they are supposed to have good scholarships they give out. But the tuition is about the same as St. Thomas or Hamline just a bit higher. But I think RPI would definately be a better school for what I'm interested in. I just was worried that this year off might hurt my chances. But as lampliter87 said I think that the experience might help my cause.

[HolyRollie 0]

It would be wise to go to the best school that fits the student. Different schools excel at different disciplines. Around these parts UMass Lowell isn't the highest regarded simply because it is not the most competitive school to get into but if you were looking for an engineering degree, then that is the place to go.

This right here. Great engineering program at UML.

[dw91 0]

Broken record here, but I thought I should pass it on since I heard it a million times: pick a school that has everything you need academically, and if theyve got a good hockey team, awesome. my first year was great, hockey was awesome, and I was developing a lot just playing club, and I wasn't a complete schlub to start out with. This year, the team got a new coach who played football in college and never cracked a book. You can guess how this engineer that kept up on his schoolwork was treated after missing a few "optional" captain's workouts that amounted to the captains burning off their hangovers for 20 minutes in favor of studying (bit of a soapbox there, sorry). 3 of 5 engineers on the team quit mid-season. My club hockey days are over, but Im not too heartbroken about it, since Im at a school where Im getting a great education. An education will outlive your playing career by far. As far as the gap year thing goes, its hard as hell to get back into schoolwork after a summer off, I can't imagine a whole year.

[forbs02 20]

If you are planning on playing hockey in college, make sure you look into NCAA eligibility rules before you take any college courses your gap year. It may start your clock ticking of how many years you have to play college hockey.

Pick the school that will give you the best chance of doing well after college.