<p>So, I am seriously considering taking a leave of absence from college for a year. I don't know why I am in college, and I'm really burnt out on academia in general right now. I'll be coasting on fumes until the end of the semester. However, I do want to finish eventually. </p>
<p>I'm not sure how my parents are going to respond to the idea, but I'm sure they won't be supportive financially. Sure, I might be able to live at home and work from there, but as for getting any money out of my parents to pay for travelling around the world like a lot of kids seem to get, no chance. I see this as a good thing though. I don't want my life handed to me. It just narrows my options a tad, I think.</p>
<p>I personally was thinking of working to save up to pay for a trip abroad to teach English and/or learn Spanish somewhere. Learning Spanish has been one of the things on my agenda for a while, and I also have never yet been out of the country. I think it would be a good experience to live in an undeveloped country and be on my own there. Meanwhile, I might be able to figure out what I want to do with myself in college and after college. </p>
<p>But I'm still totally undecided about taking a leave of absence at all, and especially undecided about what I'd do during it. These are just some thoughts.</p>
<p>So, I was wanting to get some thoughts and opinions on this whole leave of absence thing. Has anyone here taken one? What did you do? Was it worth it? What were your parents' thoughts? Any advice?</p>
<p>Is there anything you are particularly passionate about? Would you be able to do research in anything...?</p>
<p>For me, the red flag that pops up when I read something like this is that chances are good you won't actually return to school once you leave for a year or so. It seems to be an epidemic that most people when try to take a year off end up either never going back or, if they do go back to school, they end up going to a community college and simply earning an associates at most.</p>
<p>Having once been a student who left college as a 1st semester sophomore and not going back for several years, I can say it gets tougher to go back once you get "off the track".</p>
<p>With that in mind, and acknowledging your interest in Spanish, look into a semester long study abroad program. This will accomplish several things:
provide you with the more intensive language focus you want, change up your environment from the current college scene you're in, all your Financial Aid (loans/scholarships) will still apply, and most importantly, keep you in college now.</p>
<p>My D is a junior and an excellent student, so her burnout had more to do with where she was living, the day to day stresses and some monotony of the "same old same old" after 3 intense years. She's doing a semester abroad now and feels completely reinvigorated. She is able to take a much smaller class load and really enjoy the environment. Not to mention the new perspective it gave her on life in general. Now when she goes back, she only has senior year left, and is really ready to appreciate it.</p>
<p>It seems expensive but once you examine the costs vs housing/tuition it you may be surprised that the costs aren't that different. Depending on your school, you may have missed somedeadlines for the Fall Semester, but likely there are still some programs to apply for Spring. Just think how much you'd have to look forward to, if you knew you only had one more semester this fall and could do your dream trip. Check it out. It really does wonders for so many kids, and particularly for the ones with interests in language and cultures outside their own.
Good luck.</p>
<p>One more thing---I also meant to acknowledge that taking a gap year can be a great thing to do, allowing you to get a better perspective on what you want. However, if possible, trying the study abroad first could help you feel more fulfilled AND would keep you in a college "mode", it would be worth a try.</p>
<p>Not likely to get a Fullbright unless you have a very strong history of doing research, and also are very interested in doing resarch. Fullbrights are hard to get, and go to highly motivated, not burned out students.</p>
<p>I agree with those that say a gap year can be a good thing. First, however, you'd need to plan what you would do during your gap year. That means, you'd need to do the research about options, and line up a job if those options would cost money. Doing these things will increase the chance that your parents will be supportive, and also will increase the chance that the gap year will be helpful to you professionally and personally.</p>
<p>Your college counseling center and career centers probably can offer additional help.</p>
<p>"For me, the red flag that pops up when I read something like this is that chances are good you won't actually return to school once you leave for a year or so. It seems to be an epidemic that most people when try to take a year off end up either never going back or, if they do go back to school, they end up going to a community college and simply earning an associates at most."</p>
<p>I find this statement to be very stupid. College is not for everyone there a lot of people doing just fine with out it. Whats wrong with just an associates degree? People can make a good living with it.</p>
<p>Another reason why I suggest the counseling center is that what you're describing could be signs of depression, and if that's the case, the counseling center can help you emotionally cope and figure out if a gap year is what you need or if you need stress reduction or medication.</p>
<p>"For me, the red flag that pops up when I read something like this is that chances are good you won't actually return to school once you leave for a year or so. It seems to be an epidemic that most people when try to take a year off end up either never going back or, if they do go back to school, they end up going to a community college and simply earning an associates at most."</p>
<p>I don't find that statement stupid at all. Of the people I know from high school who took a year off in between graduation and college, most are now either not in school at all or at community colleges. I really don't recommend it.</p>
<p>While people certainly can "get by" without college, it is, for better or for worse, becoming more and more of a necessary part of our generation's education. If you look at the differences in salaries between someone with a HS diploma or an AA/AS, it quickly becomes evident that it is generally best to at least complete a BA/BS. I agree that college is not for everyone, but what I said was a general recommendation. If the OP has already begun college, it may be best to find ways of continuing unless that was Trima's intention (to not finish). It was simply a warning about the potential pitfalls of taking time off.</p>
<p>OP- I can relate to you. Actually, it was during my FIRST semester of college that I considered taking time off in my "sophomore" year to do Peace Corps or something. Just get out- I felt pretty burned out after 4 intense years of high school (even my senior year, I didn't let myself get a bit of senioritis). Somehow I plodded through the rest of the year and made it to summer. </p>
<p>Like curiousmom said, it's mostly just the routine that gets tiring after a while. I ended up transferring (due to different reasons, including personal) and I totally welcomed the change in pace. Even so, I got a little burned out at the end of my sophomore year and junior fall semester. It's all part of college. What I try to do each semester is to get involved with different activities that would let me get different perspectives on life, it's a good way to see different parts of the campus. Now I am abroad and couldn't be happier. Also, I did my summer internships away from home (all in DC) so that helped a lot . They were actually pretty different than what I'd experience in college (all in museum field) so I always came back with a refreshed attitude towards academics (but burned out from the internships!!! :)).</p>
<p>Bottom line: Look for something to do over the summer that's drastically different from what you experience in your school. Taking time off isn't necessarily always the answer unless you have serious mental issues. Find out the residency requirements from your school- see how many semesters away you get can and still transfer credits back in order to graduate on time. (I know for Smith College, you can do up to 4, as long it's no more than 2 semesters in a row).</p>
<p>I'm really glad someone posted this thread...</p>
<p>I'm a second semester freshman and I'm wanting to get away from college for a while. I'm applying to transfer to other schools, but I'm afraid that I'll end up stuck at my current college. I also didn't have the greatest high school experience, and while I'm succeeding academically at college, I'm afraid that I will crash and burn again, just like in high school. </p>
<p>I know of an internship opportunity in Asia, and all I have to do is say yes and I'm gone... for six months. I'm pretty sure my parents won't support me in this. But this feeling of wanting to get out is getting stronger every day and I'm getting desperate. (Sorry, just wanted to vent.)</p>