tigershen23

That's awesome, I'm looking into it now. Thanks man!

Thanks! Being a minor restricts a lot of my options as far as being in less-developed countries for too long (liabilities, etc.), but it's something I'm interested in.

Any suggestions for specific places to go?

Huh, that's interesting. I have the option of taking just 6 months off and then going to college in the Spring semester - is that what you would suggest doing?

If you don't mind me asking, do you think you could go into more detail about what made the first six months great and the next six not so much?

I speak English + Spanish, and want to learn Chinese but it's so different from the others. Thanks for your suggestions!

Sweet - I'd be lucky to accomplish half of that.

Re: networking - do you think age is a factor? In your experience, have these meetups been inviting, or did it take a lot of effort on your part to start making connections?

- Any recommendations for specific places? Spain (I speak Spanish) and Japan are my top two destinations as of now

- Definitely.

- Sweet - would you recommend any organizations that organize this kind of stuff, or am I better off just googling around for things in my area?

- No question.

Thanks!

Awesome :) I'm very interested in photography, and I'm determined to document the year, so that's something I'll definitely be getting into.

As a minor, traveling is a bit more trouble (not impossible), but getting away for a few months would be amazing. Thanks dude(tte)!

Interesting thoughts, thank you. I feel like taking a gap year is an opportunity to learn things that I couldn't necessarily in a classroom.

Applying again next year, I'll be able to include all of my grades and test scores from this academic year, which will be an improvement. As long as I show that I'm not just wasting a year of my life, I don't think a gap year will hurt my chances of getting into school.

You also said that I'll have a lot of free time in college to explore my own interests, but isn't that a valid reason to take a gap year too? If I can go into college already knowing what's important to me and what I want to do, won't it make the experience that much better?

WDYT?

Yup, I mainly just want to learn/experience things that I wouldn't be able to in a classroom. Thanks for your suggestions! Travel will definitely happen, and I'll definitely document everything I do.