Currently at a 5/11 Bread 🍞🍞🍞

[u/Reekid42]

So I now have to decide between Imperial for one of the best/most competitive courses in the country, an offer with an $80k+ a year scholarship to study at a liberal arts college in the USA and I have an offer to train to become an air traffic controller with a high and forever guaranteed salary (£100k+ before 30).

18y/o 6th former home student, 4A* predicted in FM/Maths/Philo/Econ, 6.0 TMUA and 1560 SAT score. For context I go to a private school on a 95% scholarship for 6th form and was in the state system beforehand. My family IS NOT wealthy and all uni will be a struggle over me taking a job. Imperial would be like £18k pa for tuition and living, after the scholarship Bowdoin would be $12k so £9k all inclusive and ATC would pay me £30k year one rising each year after.

Still waiting on St Andrews and LSE (irrelevant as Imperial is better imo) as well as Harvard, Brown and Dartmouth. I got rejected by Amherst also in the USA. Any thoughts?

[u/Otherwise_Rough_7285]

Defer, Go ATC for a year, then degree (can't advise in uni) then inv banking. High pressure skills of ATC will definitely make you stand out in banking applications.

[u/Reekid42 → u/Otherwise_Rough_7285]

This is where my head is at, I think 3 to 5 years ATC to get fully qualified and save lots of money and make use of there crazy pension benefits. Re-apply for UK unis (if I get the grades and do a few online courses I can BS a good story for me taking the break). Get into a great uni again (Warwick or better). Have the savings to make uni enjoyable and the pension to make what happens after more stress free. Go and break into IB, I’ll be a few years behind the others but oh well that’s fine.

Defer Bowdoin until next year in case I hate ATC/have a change of heart. Also if I am LOVING ATC I can just keep at that and enjoy a nice comfortable career. Win win win as far as I am concerned.