<p>I am a college freshman at Northwestern University. I am miserable and really want to get far away from the area and rethink what I'm doing with my life while doing something productive in the meantime. I know I should appreciate this opportunity, but at the moment I just can't stand it. I have become very depressed and am unable to focus on any of my work; also, my social life has deteriorated severely. I am considering taking a year off, probably beginning sometime during or after my sophomore year. What are some good service programs either in the United States or abroad that would last around a year? Ideally I would have no net change in finances and be able to return to school before having to reapply. An internship or other employment would be nice, but I can't realistically expect to find a good job this early in my college career with no connections, and I don't want to spend a year working at a grocery store back home. If it helps I'm majoring in biomedical engineering and have a decent GPA. I plan to return if I can continue to afford whatever the FAFSA says I can pay, but I also want to use this time to decide whether or not I want to transfer out. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Look into the Peace Corps?</p>
<p>If you’re that miserable and need to rethink things, why wait until Sophomore year if you already know it now? Why not finish this year and then regroup. Otherwise you may end up throwing more tuition money in a direction you really don’t want to.</p>
<p>if you decide to take a year off, and that is not a bad idea if you are not enthusiastic about your current situation, make sure you officially take a leave of absence and are able to reinstate yourself easily if you decide to return to Northwestern in a year or so.</p>