Should I stay or should I go?

[x30Jx]

Just want some outside opinons...

I am in my junior year, working on shredding my marks and getting an 85 average this year. I plan to go to Waterloo for the Computer Engineering program as soon as I am done my senior year, as in no victory lap, but now several persons in my family are trying to convince me to do one. If I did, I would likely do a coop and possibly Data Man. and some other filler course and working as much as possible to get cash before I leave.

So what should I do?

a) Stay a year, and cross my fingers to get lots of hours at a full time lifeguarding job slash some other part time job, do one semester of Grade 13 and then go?

b) Go immediately, go broke even faster (with OSAP, so spending wise, broke, but still paying for school and stuff) and working during summers?

Mind that this will be a Co-op program, so there is that.


Also factor in that I desperately want to escpae my parents

[Tony]

If the University accepts your application, there is very little incentive to do an extra year.

[jernst]

Every year you delay finishing is another year you could have been making money....or doing something else.

[Prabhakar Ragde]

You'll also be rusty if you just piss away the year working and maybe taking one course. Besides getting a bit of cash (never certain in this economy) and being around to help the family as needed/commanded, what is the point?

[endless]

i think unless you are staying to take a special program or something, leaving after gr. 12 is probably the best option.

i took an outdoor leadership program (4 periods, 1 semester) when i was in gr.12 and am now in my victory lap taking my math/ science courses. the program has nothing to do with computer science besides giving me something to put on my AIF, but has improved my lifestyle and no regrets.

many of the other people in my grade that have stayed back for other reasons (like money) wish they had gone after gr.12.

[octopi]

I also know many people who wished they had traveled and taken their time before going to University.

If your a smart kid, and you know what you want to do with your life, then go to University. If your not ready for it then don't go, your just wasting your time. Take your time and get your mind into a position where you're ready for school. If your at school and don't want to be there, you won't do good and you'll regret it later on.

[x30Jx]

Hmmm.... thank you for the great input. My friend Jason told me that "staying at high school for even one semester sucks. And an $8000 cushion for cash does not matter that much when you are paying more than that for annual tuition for four years. So it is almost dumb to even consider it."

Plus, I know where I want to get, how to get it, and I am willing to work as hard as possible to get it. So there really is no point to me staying a year, as I would likely end up doing stupid stuff, like buying a car or a new PC, or other stuff that I do not need.

[Clayton]

Just as a sort of note, you don't actually get paid by your Co-op employer in high school (eschewing under the table-like stuff), so don't count on that anyways.

[x30Jx]

huh?

Quote:

As a co-op student at Waterloo, you'll have 16 to 24 months of work experience and $38,000 to $77,000 in potential earnings by the time you graduate.

from U of Waterloo's Co-Op Overview page

[[Gandalf]]

Clayton @ 2009-05-09, 5:10 pm wrote:

Just as a sort of note, you don't actually get paid by your Co-op employer in high school...

x30Jx, aside from what you may have heard, Waterloo isn't a high school...

[x30Jx]

oh, good lord. Sorry; I must confess that I was "quasi-conscious" at the time I read that.

*PHEW*