I am currently a sophomore student at an engineering school and am currently a mechanical engineering major. I love it here, mostly. The people are nice, the campus is active, and I have made a small amount of good friends while here. The problem is, after having a lot of trouble transitioning (homesickness, increased anxiety, etc.) I have developed major depression, and am seriously questioning if I should transfer next fall.
I am no longer interested in engineering, which is surprising to me because from classes I took in high school I loved it. But I haven’t really felt any interest or passion since freshman year and I am absolutely miserable. I thought it was the depression, but I do still have interests in other fields of study. Unfortunately for me, this is an engineering school, and the majors here are incredibly limited outside of STEM fields. So if I want to change majors, I’ll need to transfer.
I really want to take some time off, just a semester, to really put a lot of thought into what I want to do and try to get better mentally. I don’t want to make a rash decision. I am doing very well here academically (3.93 GPA) but I just don’t have my heart in what I am studying. I’d like to say I can try to get through one more semester and then transfer in the fall, but my depression has gotten exponentially worse, and it’s hard enough trying to get through these last few weeks of the term.
Has anyone else been in similar situations, taking off a semester and then transferring? Does it make it harder to apply while not being in school? Is there anything I should do with my time off (volunteer, work, take classes)? Any advice would be sincerely appreciated.