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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=sparky][quote=Anonymous]I'm a teacher and I'm usually a big fan of gap years (my own two oldest kids both took gap years and had great experiences), but as you probably know, the standard advice is to apply during your senior year and then take the break.  I've known only a couple of kids who applied to college during gap years and outcomes were not optimal in either case.  I'd say that's likely to be the case with you as well, particularly since you allude to some behavioral incidents at school.  And you'll have to give up the UNC and UVA acceptances, you know.  That's putting a lot on the roll of the dice (especially the Echols Scholarship -- congratulations on that!).

Moreover, as you acknowledge, you don't have a burning passion for taking a gap year.  Your motivation is simply that you want to to take another shot at UofC.  I do understand that UofC has a distinctive culture (although that's changing a bit) and for some students it might seem like the only place where they'll find their tribe.  But UVA and UNC are both big schools with diverse student bodies -- you'll find your people on either campus.

Finally, and maybe most important, you need to get some distance from your family situation.  You've already seen the damage it's causing you -- behavior problems at school, applications fouled up.  Get out now, go to UVA and move on.  If you get there and find that it's not the right fit culturally, work hard, get the best grades you can first year and then transfer -- you'll have a good shot at UofC, especially since the HS behavior will be farther in the past and you'll have recs from first-year profs at UVA.

Good luck and take care of yourself![/quote]

It's not for solely UofC, but I might do the first year transfer plan. I am planning on contacting a UofC alumnus professor to potentially do a research project with him[/quote]

Sparky, this is me again -- the teacher who posted above.  Are you talking to a counselor about your family and school situation?  I urge you to find a counselor and get some help working through these issues.  Whether or not to take a gap year, whether or not to transfer -- these are important questions, but not as important as getting some help in dealing with your family meltdown, your estrangement from your father, and your relationships with your peers.  Ask for help in identifying a counselor -- ask your school counselor or a teacher or your doctor, if you have one, or your mom if she can cope with this.  You're carrying a heavy burden and you don't have to do this alone.     [/quote]

Counselors are absolutely feckless in my school. I'm seeing a psychologist. Peer relationships are much better (more like nonexistent from the start, so it didn't really take much to fix) [/quote]

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