Dropping out of Berkeley?

Transfer Students
1

<p>Hi everyone, this is my first time posting on this site so thanks in advance for any help :) And I apologize if this is long, but I think I need to fill you guys in on my personal situation.</p>

<p>I just finished my freshman year at Cal and to be honest it went over very badly. For personal reasons I spent my first year in an apartment and so I didn't make any friends at all. I pretty much failed my whole year (although my GPA didn't tank too badly since I took most of them P/NP). I feel like I either chose the wrong college or I just went because everyone else in high school was going to college even without knowing what the hell I want to do with my life. I'm in a major I don't want to be in, I didn't take to the environment very well and the thought of going back next year makes me so stressed out. I know I got very lucky to be accepted to a prestigious school, but I've felt multiple times throughout this whole year that it's just wrong for me. I was thinking of dropping out before my sophomore year and doing some internship, foreign exchange, working abroad, getting a temporary job for experience, etc. before maybe applying to another college that is more laid back.</p>

<p>I was restricted a lot during high school, my parents had total control over all the classes and extracurricular activities I did, and pretty much all my life I was forced to study inside 24/7. Now I don't know what I want to do because I never had the chance to really explore my passions - to be honest sometimes I don't even know what I'm passionate about. I tend to lean toward the creative side (music, art, film, etc.) but I've never really developed skills in that area, and as a lot of people know, it's extremely hard to make a living in any creative industry. The only other area I might consider besides those listed would be some type of Asian/Asian American studies/languages. </p>

<p>A lot of people scoff at me when I say I want to take some time off to discover who I am. I've been advised to just suck it up and choose any "tolerable" major so I can just get a job afterwards. But I feel like I'll be wasting my time/money if I just continue to torture myself through something I just can't stand. It's gotten to the point that I have zero motivation to study or finish my work at all, when usually I can get things done very fast and thoroughly if I have a genuine interest in it. As silly as it sounds I want to do something that I love, I just haven't found it yet.</p>

<p>However I'm having problems as to HOW I am going to spend this "gap year" before applying to another college when I still don't know what I want to do. Should I just go back to my local CC and complete the GEs? I want to go traveling and such, study/work abroad but not many places will take you with only a HS diploma right? Are there any ideas of what I should do after dropping out? I feel like I wouldn't accomplish anything taking another year of college if I don't know what I want to do and my parents have been pressuring me about our financial situation. I want to get out there and do things instead of studying something just to "get by."</p>

2

<p>If you can go into your account control panel and change your settings, I can send you a private message. There are things I’d like to tell you. Mostly, that you are certainly not alone. There is another poster in this thread that is also wanting to transfer out of UCB --see if you can find that thread. If you can’t, let me know and I will try to find it for you. Maybe the two of you can meet for coffee at UCB :).</p>

<p>There is usually a GPA requirement to go abroad through your college programs, so not sure if you meet that requirement, but look into that first. Also, not all colleges will allow a 2nd years to go abroad, so read through the abroad program site for UCB and find out whether going abroad is an option for next semester, or year. </p>

<p>You could take some gen ed requirements from your local cc this summer. You usually need to turn in a Course Action form first though, so be sure you find that on UCB registrar site and get the necessary forms done before you register for any cc classes. Good idea, and it will buy you some time. Note though, cc classes are NOT averaged into GPA at UCB, but for credit only. If you want to pull up that GPA more, then you need to take courses at UCB. The abroad courses do get factored into your GPA, so that may be the route for you if you are eligible to go abroad. Maybe go to Italy and study art :)?</p>

<p>In the late summer, if you are not able to do an abroad program, and you still do not want to return to UCB, then turn in a Leave of Absence form with “continued enrollment” (wait until you’ve sent the transcript from the community college after course grades are in, and credit is transferred). You must get in the leave of absence form turned in well before the start of the semester though. This will at least buy you some time while you figure things out. Stay in contact with some professors/TA’s since you will need their recs if you do end up applying to transfer (spring or fall '13). </p>

<p>I would also strongly suggest that you see a counselor/therapist to help you deal with the feelings you seem to be carrying. You don’t have to feel guilty about how things have turned out. Do not beat yourself up! There were always circumstances that lead to where you are now, and hindsight is always 20/20 (getting the apartment rather than first-year housing…etc.). You can get your life back on track and will! </p>

<p>Read through all the stickies on the transfer threads and get a good idea of what all will be involved in the transfer process. It’s a lot of work, but worth it for many people to jump through all those hoops. :).</p>