hello all,
i am a first - year pre health student at tufts, and i am debating what to do on my semester/ year off.
some background: i am extremely miserable at this school and my mental health has gone downhill ever since i arrived on campus for orientation. it’s gotten so bad that i am seeing a counselor. i have always wanted to become a doctor, but my grades have caused me to think about other opportunities (but still in healthcare. i’m pretty stubborn about this). and i am extremely burnt out. it’s only my first year here haha which sucks. i recently discovered my interest in science (chemistry, specifically) because it explains a lot of things that i didn’t know the answers to previously, but i feel that everything is going too fast because the level required is very high here. so i decided to not come back to tufts my sophomore fall under the pretense of “gaining a sense of direction”
should i get job(s) in different industries to see what i like best? take classes at the local community college to strengthen my science foundations and then come back to tufts, where hopefully i will do better?
On CC, you will see mostly success stories, but don’t despair, there are equally number of failures that no one wants to discuss. I think being a student should be the easiest and happiest time in your life. All you have to do is to study well, you don’t have the other concerns/worries when you step into a society: love marriage, family, home, money, job, office politics, clients, bosses, retirement, religion… the list is endless.
A small setback is the basis for a giant step in the future success, life is an uneven pass, to you, Tufts University gave you a lesson, you learned some thing about setbacks, you never know what is ahead of you when you change courses. But eventually, you will succeed in some other professions or even in medicine.
I just met a Doctor friend of mine, he has been in a successful private practice for over 30 years. He was on vacation, but when I asked him why don’t you take longer vacation to do a more comprehensive tour than just a week, he replied that he is afraid the patients may not want wait that long and turn to see a competition. So, you need to be on your toes all the time, even with a “small” success like my doctor friend.
Leaving Tufts is just a small setback, go find your life which is with lots of success.
Whatever you decide to do, it’s much easier to move forward from a good GPA with a leave of absence than a trash GPA because you refused to take a LOA. Even if this year didn’t go well, at least it’s only one vs. multiple
I think he means you’re doing the right thing by taking a LOA. Maybe it’s time for you to think about transferring to another school if Tufts isn’t for you?
@Janwel Ah I see thank you! I don’t know if I can even transfer. My GPA is kind of low and I don’t know if it’s just the difficulties of adjusting to freshman year or Tufts that is the problem.
@mylifeisgone195
Yes please take a LOA. While on it see a therapist/ psychiatrist. Many people do not realize that individuals predisposed to certain mental illness start to show signs and symptoms in their late teens/ early twenties, or the exact time when high stress of college apps, senior year, and Freshman year of college occur. There is multiple evidence to back this up.
Im not suggesting anything is wrong with you, but it’s good to check.
Yes, I was supporting your decision. If you are not in a place to commit yourself to your studies it is better to take a LOA to either get help or re-evaluate than to continue to get bad grades. You will minimize damage to your GPA which is the hardest thing to correct. You can spin a semester or year off in a positive light much easier than you can spin a couple years of poor grades.