Hey guys, basically i'm thinking of taking a year off from college this year. It's for personal reasons and I'm not thinking of transferring or leaving permeantly but i do believe I a year away from my school would do me some good. In thinking this out i'm trying to talk to a varierty of people (my parents, friends, school advisors, students i know that have taken a year off, etc.) and i was wondering if any one here has taken time away from school. And if so, if they could share their experience. Basically just what did you do during your year off, how did you like it, how did you feel when you came back to school, just general answers like that. Thanks
I'd do it only if you are going to use the year constructively. It's very easy to say you'll take some time off from college, then find that time off stretches waaaay too far. There's nothing wrong with it - but you'll have to finish sometime, and it won't get any easier as time passes. If you use the time to get some issues in order, maybe work and save up a little money, or just to get a better idea of what career path/degree you want to take, that's fine. But just be sure you commit in your mind that you will return within that year.
Rokkit I agree completely. If i do decide to take a year's leave it will be to do something constructive. Obviously if i'm only deciding this now, two weeks into school, i haven't set everything up. My tenative plan would be to go home for now, work, possibly go to mexico or costa rica on a program or something for a month or so and work on my spanish. Finally, and probably key to the whole year off, would be to get a spring internship somewhere. Basically i've just been unhappy at school for the past year. I have this idea of what i want my college experience to be and it's just not it right now. My situation here at school could change for the better, but at the least, it would be the same and i would just be a year more mature to be able to handle everything. I don't know. I'm a little confused on what to do. The most important thing for me is to graduate from the school i'm at. And i'm going to do that whether i take a year off or not. Behind that, the second most important thing to me is to be happy during my last two college years and i just don't see myself being happy here in the near future. And this is such a big decision for me i don't want to make the wrong choice one way or another
As a recent college graduate, my personal advice is to "stick it out". I had contemplated taking some time off on more than one occasion. However, I never did, and I can look back on that and know that I never wanted to leave for good reasons, but rather because I was unhappy. Unhappiness itself if merely a temporary thing though. Don't push yourself to become happy, or to make your college experience be something you desire it to be. In this case, you don't know what you want it to be, and you SHOULDN'T know. Just let it happen, let it flow, don't worry about how things will happen, or what you expect or desire, but rather be fluid -- shape yourself to the things around you. I say this because I was in the exact same situation when I was in college. I had 2 years left, and was ready to take some time off and go away for a while. College was not what I expected or wanted, and things were really going badly. The summer when I was really talking about this, I was working at a place in San Antonio. I hated working there, and I hated my supervisor, but she did give me ONE PIECE OF ADVICE that was worthwhile. She told me "Don't leave college. You'll say that you'll return, you'll say "I'll go back", but you won't. No matter how resolved you are on returning, it'll wind up that you're 35 with no degree, wishing you could go back." Obviously, I stayed, and I can honestly say that I am eternally grateful for it. I found that I was trying to make college into some sort of pre-packaged experience, and expecting it to be a certain collection of things, but I couldn't seem to arrive at the experience I was desirous of. In the coming months, I learned that the problem was not college, it was not situations or people -- rather, the only thing making the situation bad was <i>myself</i>. The simple fact is that you are only this age ONCE. You will NEVER EVER EVER EVER have the opportunity you have right now again. No matter what. You must make the most of it. Don't sit around, moping and wishing things were better. Just let them be better. Take a positive outlook on life, enjoy things. You can enjoy life in so many ways that are your own. And by the end of college, you'll wish you could do it all over again. Get involved in your community, go tutor children, or work at a homeless shelter. There is no better time than now. The popular answer to your question of "Should I leave?" is "If you think you need to, then do it, but remember to return". My answer is "Hell no, forget what you THINK, you MUST stay. Find a way to enjoy it. Meet new people, do new things, get involved in your community. Eliminate those things that cause you worry and angish (women, hehe), and focus on being a good person, and being content with yourself. Enjoy it, and you'll thank yourself you stayed".
I too have to agree with Vengeance. I am graduating this December after 6.5 years. I've been in college since I was 15 and man, it feels good to be near the end. There have been sooooooooo many times that I wanted to take a "break" and maybe travel for a little while, work, "discover" myself, but thank God I didn't. If you're getting a little frustrated, don't abandon it for any period of time, take a few classes but keep yourself in the flow. Not only do you get to relax a bit, plus you're that much closer to finishing your degree As Vengeance said ... school will take a backseat to your other commitments, and your priorities will definitely change. I have a cousin who is 29, and he ALWAYS says he is gonna go back for the last 6 years, hasn't happened yet ... and I doubt if it will. Besides, time is going by sooooooooo damn fast these days, you'll be done in no time Hang in there ... good luck!
I agree with all of the sentiment expressed so far. I would not recommend taking a year off. I have several friends that claimed they would take a year off, and it quickly become two... I pondered taking a year off, but then I would feel too damn lazy. Even if you just take it part time, stay in. Stick with it. You will feel a lot better when you make resumes, that's for sure.
why do you need to go to school when your son is making 6 million a year? Just bum off of Kelvin. Afterall, you brought him into this world.
I took 2 years off, and then went back. I bartended and waited tables. Then one summer, I looked around and realized that all my old friends were getting closer to their degrees, and I was good at making cocktails. So, I packed my things, took a job as a bartender in San Marcos & Austin, and got back into College. You know what, it was the best time of my life. Of course, the fact that I joined a fraternity helped get me into the college scene. My advice would be for you to do WHATEVER you think you need to do, and why does it have to be a whole year, why not just a semester? However, if you do take it off, make sure that you REALLY are going back to school. I don't regret getting my degree one bit, and it means something to employers when you have that piece of paper. Unless you are a bad A$$ programmer, then give my company a call. DaDakota
Thank you all very much for sharing your advice and experiences. I appreciate every bit of yall's advice and will take everything in to consideration. This is a very agonizing time in my life and i just want to make the right choice. The reason i am thinking about taking a year off and not a semester or just go part-time is because my college doesn't allow part-time students. you have to take a full schedule and you have to take an entire year off. you can't just take a semester. i'm really torn because the advice i'm getting is either fully for it or opposed to it. My parents are having the reaction a lot of you are and are basically opposed to it, although they will support me in whatever i do. My school on the other hand actually recommends that students take a year off at some point, though preferably before entering. And actually probably the three people closest to me my freshman year have since taken a year off from here. like i told my parents getting my degree from here is one of the most important things in my life. And i'm going to get it whether i take a year off or not and i'm going to get it whether i'm happy or not. I'm just tired of being depressed here. And i honestly believe a year off and everything that will and could come with that(a year's perspective, a year's maturity, more academic focus, enterance into an eating club(what the social scene here revolves around) and an almost clean start) will help me become a better more focused student and a better and happier person. and that's all i want out of life. So basically it's whether i get my degree in 03 or 04 and it isn't important to me and i don't think it should be important. What is important is that i do well in school and that i'm a happy. Cause in fact, this isn't a race, it's my life. so basically those are my reasons for wanting to leave in a big nutshell. And to be honest it is what i want to do and would do if i have the chance. But, alas i don't know if i'll get that chance. I talked to my parents a little while ago and they said that the school policy is that after two weeks of school(it's just been two weeks) none of the board is refunded and only 40 percent of the tuition is. if that is indeed true that the means if i withdraw now, my parent would still have to pay 20,000 bucks for this year. obviously if that is the case i'll just stick it out here. and the whole thing is moot. i'm going to check it out tomorrow. well, anyways thanks again to everyone who replied.
My advice: Be careful.... My situation is/was most likely a lot different than yours. I started college at UH without the slightest clue as to what I was doing. I was intelligent, but I just didn't know how things worked at a university. Neither of my parents went to college, and I was the oldest of my siblings. Also, I didn't know anyone from highschool or otherwise that was attending UH at the same time. All of this coupled with extremely poor study habits developed after graduating from a public highschool after attending private schools up until the 8th grade, equalled disaster. I got one F in each of my first three semesters (BIOL, CHEM, HIST). My GPA was down around 1.40 and I was academically suspended (for the summer... oooh on no). Other crap was happening in my personal/family life and I decided to go back for one more semester and show that stupid university that I wasn't r****ded. I got two As and a B, then I dropped out. I just wasn't mentally ready for college, and especially not one ran as poorly as UH. I knew I always wanted to go back. I didn't want to work like my dad did his whole life (sunup to sunset) outside in Houston. I saw how he didn't get to spend a lot of time with us as a family. I never begrudged him for it. It was the only way he knew how to support a wife and four kids. I just knew I didn't want to be like that. Me in my stupidity (with all my smarts, I'm an idiot sometimes), I kept putting off going back to school. Finally, after FIVE years off, I went back part-time. I couldn't go full-time, because I had too many bills (rent, credit cards, electricity, gas, insurance, car maintenance, girlfriend, cats, etc). So, this prolonged my graduation even further. Luckily for me, I chose to go to North Harris Montgomery Community College when I went back. I love that school. I ended up with a 3.90 GPA at NHCC. I am now in my last semester at UH. Since I've been back (Fall 97) my GPA has been about 3.63, and I'll be graduating Magna c*m Laude. I'm not sure what the moral of the story is..... But, I can think of a couple possibilities. Don't put things off too long Stick with it Do things for yourself and not others Find what makes you happy (just don't take as long as me) I still get down sometimes thinking about those 5 years I wasted, but I do like where I'm at now. I just wish I wasn't almost 32 yrs old.
I'm a senior in high school and already need a break.. i'd love to take a year off beteen high school and college... and i know i'd still go to college but it would just put off everything a year and i'm not sure how easy it woudl be to get back into the swing of school after a year off.. oh well... maybe i'll take ayear off between college.. and graduate school
Here's my advice: Major in Electrical Engineering Sleep with a bunch of chicks Study your ass off Intern at Dell Drink your ass off Tough it our for 4-5 years Graduate Get a job with Dell, Cirrus, Cypress, Intel, AMD, Applied Mat..... Move into an apt. in the hills Buy a big ass TV Buy a black leather sofa Buy a brand new Tahoe Enjoy life....
