January 2010 or July 2010 ?

I had received my enrollment offer into RMIT University - Business Management at SIM for the January 2010 intake. Yet currently, I was stucked in a dilemma of whether I should proceed to accept the offer or delaying my studies to the July 2010 intake instead. These days, certain factors have been surfaced which made me considering that I should delay my studies by 6 months instead. Here's the advantaging factors of both choices:

January 2010 Intake

The age factor

Next year I will be turning 24 and by the time I complete my 3 year studies, I will be going to be around 26-27.

Social life factor

Yes, it's true that I can't wait to make new classmates and establishing new friendships in my next level of higher education, especially after those self-inflicted conflicts with my some of Secondary School friends this year which I felt at this current moment, the future to these friendships still look soo bleak. While I do cherish my friendships with my fellow SSA comrades, NS mates, polymates and PGP colleagues, those memories of going KTV and playing manjong with these Secondary School friends had been a great loss.

July 2010 Intake

The Money and job factor

Though it could be a delay of 6 months, but that doesn't mean I will be doing nothing in the days coming ahead. I should be continuing to work at PGP to save up the money and lighten up the family's financial burden for my studies. Furthermore, I was only converted to a permanent staff starting from October and it may not be nice to leave the job in December though the reasons for leaving will be leaving for studies. It might seem to be a delay of 6 months but think this way:

Additional 6 months of fixed income + garnering more working experience

The NIE factor

Of course, I will be able to give myself another try into applying into NIE again. The mass intake for NIE will be in the earlier half of the year and furthermore, the next EPT test to meet the NIE requirements will only start from January onwards. This is another chance for me to take the test and get myself into NIE, another option for me other than taking a degree at SIM.

Other options of courses at SIM

Most of the courses in SIM will only be commercing in the July/August period. Under RMIT University, courses such as Marketing and Econs are only available for the July intake for non-business diploma students like me. What's more, UOL degrees only commerced in July every year. Though I have chose to take up Business Management with specialisation in Marketing, I might have the options to take up the fully Marketing one instead, which is cheaper and time-consuming according to the website.

Well, if you are a 23 year old male who has the wishes to take up a full-time degree, and in such a situation like me,

What will you choose ? January or July ?