During the fall of this 2017-18 school year many seniors are sending their college applications to universities they are interested in attending. Some seniors, however, are undecided about college and are researching other options. Last year 96.7 percent of the Oak Park High School senior class went to college while 3.3 percent did not attend college at all. This presents a decrease in college attendees compared to 2016 when 98.1 percent of students attended college right after graduating high school.

There are four predominant routes students can take if they choose not to enroll in a four-year college or not to complete a traditional high school education: taking a gap year, potentially transferring to a community college, carrying out alternative high school educations or enrolling in the military.

Gap Year

A gap year program allows college students to take a year off their college education for freedom to participate in various activities of their choice. Students can attend supervised gap year programs or take a gap year off of college to travel independently.

In the United States, the average cost for a formal gap year is $30,000 for room and board, TIME reported –– compared to CollegeCalc’s report that the University of California Los Angeles’ average yearly cost for in-state California residents is $34,056, including total tuition and living expense budget.

According to the American Gap Association, 92 percent of students taking a gap year do it to gain life experiences and grow personally, 85 percent do it to travel and experience other cultures, and 82 percent want an academic break.

“The best antidote for academic burnout could be a gap year. During a gap year, students can ditch the textbooks and pursue interests that just weren’t possible when they were overdosing on five AP classes a semester [in high school],” Lynn O’Shaughnessy wrote for U.S. News & World Report.

The gap program is usually made available to students during their undergraduate education, between the ages of 18 to 24. Military-minded students are additionally eligible for a gap year. The AmeriCorp program provides full tuition for their gap year in exchange for the student serving the army in a 10-month commitment.

“Colleges routinely let students postpone the start of their freshman year,” O’Shaughnessy wrote. “Harvard, for instance, usually allows 50 to 70 accepted students to postpone their frosh start date per year. At Princeton, the number ranges from 25 to 30 students a year.”

The Associated Press reported that 2015 saw a 22 percent increase in students taking gap years over the previous year. Even though gap years are gaining popularity, they can negatively impact a student’s education if they go unplanned before implementation.

“If teens are prepared to make the most of it, a gap year can afford opportunities for genuine self-growth and success ahead,” Geoff Williams said in a U.S. News & World Report article. “If it’s squandered, or things don’t go as planned, teens may someday look back on that year as a true gap — 12 months of life they wish they could have back.”

Transferring and Community College

Transferring from community college to a university is a route for students who want to explore their options and save money on their tuition, while still being able to graduate from a four-year university.

UCLA has an undergraduate yearly tuition of $33,604 for in-state residents living on campus – for a total four-year price of about $135,000. On the other hand, if an in-state student attends a community college, such as Moorpark Community College for a yearly in-state tuition of $19,829, for two years and finishes an on-campus education at UCLA for the remaining two years, their total approximate four-year tuition would be around $105,000.

However, the acceptance rate for transfer students coming from a community college or from a four-year school into another four-year university is lower than for incoming first-year students –– 64 percent for transfer and 69 percent for four-year, according to the National Association for College Admission Counseling –– due to the decreasing room for transfer applicants. In the 2016 case where 93 percent of transfer applicants to UCLA were from CA community colleges, 5,667 students out of 22,281 applicants were accepted.

Difference in grade point average matters between transfer students and incoming freshmen. USA Today College reported that at the University of Nevada, Reno transfers need a 2.5 for completed college coursework compared to the 3.0 from students having just taken high school courses. Additionally, UCLA’s high school GPA requirement for freshman is 3.0 for in-state applicants and 3.4 for non-residents, versus 3.2 for transfers.

Even as transfer students, U.S. News & World Report wrote that some colleges provide the option of merit scholarships –– 81 percent of small colleges, 66 percent of medium sized schools and 67 percent of large schools provide merit aid to their transfer students.

A community or junior college is a two-year post-secondary college that may provide gateways to four-year universities. The Community College Research Center in Columbia University reported that almost all community colleges are open-access, meaning anyone applying will be accepted.

Inside Higher Ed wrote that one out of every five community college students transfer to a four-year university, usually after being granted an associate degree when they graduate from their two-year undergraduate studies. Afterwards, 71 percent of those transfer students earned a bachelor degree within four years at the university, with 80 percent either graduating or still enrolled.

California’s community colleges are one of the largest systems of higher education in the U.S. Throughout the nation, there are 1,123 community colleges that high school graduates can attend — 114 of these are in California. For example, 29.9 percent of OPHS’s 2017 graduating class attended Moorpark College, where students from 52 different countries come to attend Moorpark to receive a college education.

“Personally, I’m going to Moorpark Community College because it’s a cheaper financial option and I am going to transfer into a bigger school after two years,” senior William Osborne said.

The Association of American Colleges & Universities wrote that in the majority of colleges, the material being taught is embedded within the curriculum of community colleges, giving the required amount of education to receive a bachelor’s degree.

There are both ups and downs to attending a community college.

“Small class sizes, affordability, convenience and faculty who are focused on teaching – as opposed to research –​ are often cited as the main benefits of attending a community college,” the U.S. News & World Report wrote.

However, Odyssey Media said that students only get 18 months to live out a college experience within limited housing and are often presented with fewer degree options than four-year universities, mostly in the pursuit of “general studies, liberal arts, or humanities fields.”

Military

Joining the military exempts students from paying for their college tuition.

“Not only does the military pay up to 100 percent of college tuition while you serve on active duty, the military also offers the [Government Issue] Bill (about $36,000) to use for college up to 10 years after leaving the service,” the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs wrote on their website.

The military actively supports the pursuit of a college education for those in uniform. The GI Bill is the opportunity for any members of Active Duty, Selected Reserve and National Guard Armed Forces to earn a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs education benefit.

Senior Nick Ullman applied to attend the United States Naval Academy after graduating high school. The USNA has specific requirements in order to be accepted for a free, four year college education: service in the Navy’s “Sea, Air, and Land” Teams or the Marine Corps for five to seven years after college.

“My brother was a Navy SEAL and I saw the impact he made and how he was a role model for so many people so I decided I wanted to be like him,” Ullman said.