<p>I'm a sophomore at an ivy league university. Nothing is really wrong with my school...I have friends, I have a 3.7 gpa, I really like the school and program i'm in...but for some reason i have not been motivated my whole time here...going to school just feels like an obligation. I'm not sure what i'm even going to do with my life after college although I have done numerous jobs/internships which I really liked. </p>
<p>I am considering taking a semester or year off, just to...live, I hate going to school and getting so caught up in everything that has to get done so that I forget to enjoy myself.</p>
<p>Does this taking a year off thing sound like a good idea? I am a first generation student so I'm a little concerned that I may just end up dropping out of school...which I know sounds ridiculous but it has entered into my mind from time to time. I would really appreciate if someone could give me some advice here.</p>
<p>taking 1-2 semesters off isn’t a bad idea, as long as you’re doing something productive (many people end up just partying or moving in with mom and doing nothing). And chances are you won’t drop out, unless you find something else you’d rather do that doesn’t require a college degree.</p>
<p>I have a friend who’s took last spring semester off and it really benefitted him. He was previously an Econ major planning on Law school like everyone else in his family, and now he’s transferring to an amazing Architecture school to study that. He went from an easy program to something far more difficult, but he’s more motivated because he likes it…so you never know what some time off could do.</p>
<p>Consider just taking 1 semester off. If you take the Spring off, don’t forget you’ll have 3 months of summer off too, so basically January - August, and personally i’d get bored with more than that…but i really like what i’m doing here. You might even realize you like something completely different. good luck!</p>
<p>This happened to me at the beginning of my sophomore year. I ended up dropping all but two of my classes, so for the Fall semester I was taking 6 credit hours and just generally taking it easy, clearing my head and figuring out what I wanted out of college.</p>
<p>I realized that I needed to change my major and transfer to a better school. By the spring semester I had found my motivation and registered for 16 credit hours, doing well in all of them. Now I’m set to transfer into a great school and a major that I enjoy. So for me, it was all about taking a slight breather and figuring out what I wanted to do.</p>
<p>Sounds like stress may be causing you some depression. You must have worked very hard to be at an ivy league school. Perhaps you are just expecting too much of yourself. Most sophomores in college don’t know what they want to do with their lives. Before making a big decision like dropping out, why not talk to someone at the counseling center - that’s what they are there for. The career counseling centers, in particular, often have interest tests that can help you focus your energies in a direction that suits you.</p>