"If I Could Save Time In A Bottle"

First, the little news - the press release for "A Tale of Three Cities" finally came out, but there were no new details about any of the three main stories.  So, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens to Alex in New York.

The one plus side of the release was the note that Elaine Ko wrote it, so if Alex does have a little story hopefully it will be a good one.

But that's not the biggest story of the day:

Ariel has announced that she is deferring entering UCLA for a year, citing the production schedule of the show. 

I'm a little torn about this announcement.  Yes, it's fantastic news for what Alex's role might be this season, as maybe she might get a couple more big stories than I thought we'd see.  At the very least, it should keep the Alex-less episode count down (probably only the more typical 2 or 3 instead of the 6 I predicted last week).

But a couple of things concern me, at least a little, in the long term.  First of all, I hope Ariel isn't shutting a potential door or two for her future (even if she stays in acting, a college education can't hurt).  IOW, I hope it's only a temporary deferral and not an elimination of an important life choice.

The other concern?  Does Ariel know something about Modern Family's future?  Is this going to be the last season for the show?  Or, as another possibility, is this going to be the last season for Alex?  (IOW, is she going to have more time for college next fall because she feels/knows the show will not be back, or that Alex might not be a part of it?)

Truth be told, maybe using the word "concern" here is a bit strong - Ariel has a bright future no matter what happens to the show (or Alex) after this season.