Hi, I am a freshman studying for a biology major, but I’ve been extremely unhappy with this choice and worried that I have chosen the wrong major. I have always loved art and have been looking into design, possibly to become an interior design major. Assuming that I end up deciding to change my major, I will need to go to a different university. What I want to do is take this spring semester off in order to think about what I want to do a little bit more and work. I also have some health issues, and I think it would help me to take a break and relieve some of my stress.
At my current university, I have the option to either cancel my registration (leave the school indefinitely) or request a leave of absence (leave temporarily and come back in a semester or two). If I plan on going to a different school in the fall of 2017, would it be best to drop out of the school completely, or should I take a leave of absence, then transfer to the new school? Would dropping out cause me to lose the credits I earned from my first semester, or can I drop out and still transfer those credits to a different university?
If you are 100% certain that you will not return to your current university (under any circumstances), than I would cancel your registration. Other than that, I would request a leave of absence. I’m not sure about the credit policies at your particular university, but you should maintain the credits of all classes you passed during your first semester.
If you decide to come back to your current school but change your course of study, the leave could be beneficial. It might also make you feel more relaxed about making a decision. But it really depends on how you are feeling about making a change and the alternatives you’ll consider. If there are no circumstances under which you’d return to your current school, there’s no need to preserve the option to return which the leave does.