Is having kids 5 years apart a bad idea?
Siblings come in a wide range of age spans from twins born just minutes apart to those born 10 or more years apart. There is no "bad" age span. Each comes with its own list of pros and cons. In some families the age spans are chosen while in other families the age spans are a result of surprises. There is no such thing as an age gap that is too much. Every age gap can be managed and be workable. My husband and I have been married for 32 years. We have 4 children. Their ages are 30, 28, 25, and 12. Needless to say, our 12 year old joined our family after a surprise pregnancy. I conceived quite unexpectedly when I was reliably taking birth control pills for 11 years. It wasn't planned and we had some issues dealing with the adjustment of our long-term goals. Our oldest was a senior in high school when we found out I was pregnant. She graduated in June, our baby was born in July and our oldest left for college in August. It was not how we planned for our family to be and we certainly didn't plan to start all over again. We had our kids young with the idea we'd be in our 40's when they were leaving the nest. Now I am 51 getting ready to head into those tumultuous teen years again. Things happen and you deal with them the best you can. I actually know 2 families who planned for their kids to be 5 years apart. Their reasoning was that it gave them time to focus on one child at a time before sending them off to school. For some families that is their ideal spacing. For other families 5 years might not be their ideal, but it's what they get. I have been a child care provider in my home for 22 years. One of my long-term families had their 3rd baby in September. I will begin caring for him in January. His older sisters are 10 and 6. This was a planned pregnancy. Personally, I feel if you don't think the age gap is too much than it won't be. If you have trouble, think about me with my 2 youngest being 12 years apart. It can be challenging, but all of our children are precious gifts whether we planned for them or not.
Gap year... good or bad?
So I live in Buffalo and I want to go to college in Virginia. My dad lives in Virginia and I live there during the summer but my address is listed as being in buffalo NY. I want to go to college in viriginia but don't want to have to spend 3 times as much money for out of state tuition. I am contemplating taking a gap year and living with my dad in Virginia in order to qualify for in state tuition. however I am wondering if it will be worth it or not. I don't want a year off to affect me academically and for me to get out of practice of doing schoolwork (not sure if that makes sense or not) and im extremely anxious to go to college and I don't know if ill really like taking a gap year. I heard that most people take gap years for planning but that isn't a problem for me I literally have planned everything out for college and afterwards. would a gap year have a negative affect on me?
Is there any harm in taking a year gap after graduation? Why can’t companies appreciate taking this gap year for introspection?
I have told my daughter she will take a gap year. She has to travel, volunteer, work in our foundation, spend some time in Africa with the animals. Learn photography and simply do nothing. Hope I can really convince her.Chuck all demands and norms. Take a GAP year.The current situation - NEW EDITNot only she did not take a gap year, she went on to intern with the United Nations, and now finishing her masters and wants to do another master- plusss a MBA as well. So I think it’s a personal decision. A CONSCIOUS CHOICE. She does travel both for work and holiday. I long for a gap——year. Waiting.
How does taking a gap year affect your university admission?
A gap year could be the best decision, depending on how you plan to use your time. If you plan to gain professional experience you will be better off than the majority of students who are personal students and many won't get real jobs until their mid twenties.Without occupation exposure, how can you know what you like, what your good at, and what career will keep you motivated?Statistics in the US show only 13–20% of graduates Landing a job in their field of study upon graduation. They also say the average undergrad student changes majors 2–3x.I share content you may find valuable, check out this blog post. The College Disconnect – Are students unemployable?
Did a year of law school, not going back. Should I have it on my resume?
Based on the limited info you provided here, I would generally say include it. I've been to many an interview and never had an employer ask me about my GPA, so I just would leave that out. If it does come up, as long as you have a good GPA in the relevant field I think that that will be much more important. Just make sure you have a really good explanation for why you didn't finish, because the interviewer will very likely ask you about it. If you're applying for jobs in non-law-related field the person interviewing you can probably understand why you don't want to be a lawyer. So as long as you emphasize how you realized you really had a passion for X (the field that you're now in), and that's why you left law school -- I think that will work in your favor. For example, I'm a writer. If I had a year of law school on my resume, the editor I'm interviewing with would not hold it against me that I decided I didn't want to be a lawyer. Obviously, I want to be a writer. But I think the experience of being in law school could be seen as valuable. That's why I would include it. The key question here is: what is the unrelated field that you're getting your masters in? What types of jobs are you looking for? The answers to those questions is really key in being able to accurately access whether it makes for you to include the law school experience on your resume. Update: After reading the additional info you posted, I say with more confidence that you should go ahead and list it. Like one other person responded, it does show that you were able to get into law school. And it's also a plus that you took a leave of absence to pursue your true passion; that's different than if you say, flunked out. I don't see any negative to listing it. The only reason I would leave it out is if you have so much other fabulous stuff taking up space on your resume that you just don't have room. (I am of the opinion that resumes should be one page, but that's a whole other can of worms!)
Would taking a gap year before college hinder my chances of getting the college I want and financial aid?
Most people ask if it will help to get into a more elite college - and it is hard to see how much it could help when you have a matter of five months, not twelve, before the ED application would go in (the biggest help to getting into a more elite college). If your senior year is going much better than junior year, academically, maybe it could help.It is harder to see that it would hurt your chance of admission, if you were competitive before, unless you totally screw around during the year (or waste your time on SAT/ACT prep or some other admissions prep activity).However, it is far better to get into the college you want and then defer entrance for a year to do “gap” activities. That is generally very favorable to colleges, though you should check before accepting admission if a gap year is very important to you.Need-based financial aid shouldn’t change depending on when you enter college, assuming you still enter as a freshman (you have not attended college somewhere else for a year). Transfer students might not be eligible for full aid, depending on the school. Merit aid is always a crap shoot - how much does the school want you? I suppose your chances could be better, or worse, following a gap year (is your merit athletic? has your eligibility or skill changed?).Paying for the gap year is another story. There isn’t financial aid for that, and your parents might not want to support you for an additional year (especially considering that you might take five years to graduate in some majors or if you have future grad school plans). If you are planning to work during the gap year to save money for college, that seems perfectly reasonable, except that your income and savings count much more towards paying for college than your parents’ income and savings. That might have some impact on financial aid, or complicate the process (you will need to explain that your income was temporary). Elite colleges guarantee to meet 100% of demonstrated need, so it doesn’t really help to reduce your need. If you were looking at a college that doesn’t make this guarantee (it “gaps”) or you can’t demonstrate need but your parents have high expenses, saving for college won’t change your financial aid eligibility and might help you to afford college.
Is it frowned upon to take a gap year before uni?
I didn't take a gap year. But I don't see anything wrong with it. Taking a gap year will probably make you more mature and you'll be ready to settle down and focus all of your energies on your studies instead of wondering "if I could of, would of, should of" . Good Luck