<p>Heres my issue - </p>
<p>I'm currently at Arizona State University pursuing a degree in Health Science (Pre-Med track) and am paying ridiculous costs as an out-of-state student and racking up some serious loan debt. My freshman year was a fail because i was adjusting to being away from home and my social life was very vibrant and didn't spend al ot of time studying and received a cumulative 2.55 GPA while withdrawing from BIO 100 and failing HST 100 my first semester and failing BIO 201 anatomy my second semester, but I re-took the HST 110 class my second semester and received a B which replaced my failure first semester. Anyways, I am considering taking a year off to gain in-state residency for tuition purposes and getting myself into focus and then coming back a year later and dominating the pre-med coursework, I know I'm smart enough to do it, I just need to be focused. Would taking a year off during undergrad be looked at as a bad thing from med schools if I came back and did really good academically? What should I do?</p>
<p>No, it wouldn’t be considered a black mark if you came back and had a very improved GPA. </p>
<p>Woohoo for ASU btw.</p>
<p>Actually, from what I’ve seen, read, and heard, it would look like a good thing (alone) if not neutral, and if you were productive with your stop out year it would look even better.</p>
<p>I actually think it would look better in many ways, especially for you and for your grades. Definitely it would be much worse showing a collection of bad grades than a year-off and a bunch of straight-As.</p>
<p>Sounds like a smart idea. It is always good to minimize undergrad loans when you are looking towards med school!</p>
<p>I think it might be a good idea. I know a lot of people who get rough grades keep trying to “just do better” semester after semester with little success… if you can take the time to get refocused it might be a good thing for your grades. And saving money on tuition is always a plus. Just make sure that you think about all the pros/cons of a year off and find something productive to do with the extra time.</p>