Thinking about taking a semester off. Thoughts?

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>Hey all, thanks for taking a look at the thread. I am currently a junior attending a top 20 LAC and am wondering if I could get some opinions about taking a semester off from college. Over the past two semesters, I've been considering if this option is the best for me to pursue. </p>

<p>To give a little context about my situation, I feel that on paper and to an outsider my experience in college looks absolutely great. I'm a starter on a varsity sport and somehow have maintained a 3.8 GPA after four semesters here, and I've found a wonderful group of friends here that I wouldn't trade for the world. I'm conducting research with a professor and getting ready to pursue an honors thesis in one of my majors. I like my school for its progressive atmosphere and in general the student body really encourages individuality. Ultimately, I feel like I have a whole lot to be grateful for but I can't bring myself to fully appreciate it.</p>

<p>I think I'm having a bit of a mid-college crisis. I was originally intending on going abroad this spring to get away from campus for a semester and take a break, but as a double major doing research with a professor, I ended up choosing academics over my study away because my senior year schedule would have been absolutely unbearable (think 4 300 level classes both semesters) while applying to grad school and jobs etc. I'm really starting to think that I made the wrong decision.</p>

<p>Why? I feel like I've been living a bit of a lie the past four semesters at this school. I applied to this school because I wanted to get away from my high school experience of cliques and for a lack of a better word, superficiality. I was excited to be a part of a campus that kind of championed the individual rather than the group. I actually was not recruited to play my sport; I walked on expecting to be turned away but instead got a starting spot on the team. I had no idea that committing to a team would mean getting wrapped up in the social drama that I wanted to avoid when I applied to this school. This sounds contradictory, but I actually do love my team a lot. I don't feel like an outcast. The problem is more that I feel like being an athlete has become my identity here, and it has made a small school become even smaller. I feel really claustrophobic in my social circle - we all have the same routine (practice, academics, drinking) - and what's worse is that I feel like there are no secrets in the athletic department here. Everyone "knows" you before they actually know you. This has been especially hard for me in particular because I've dated within the athletic department and I feel really defined by my past relationships. I feel known as the girl who dated so and so, who so and so broke up with etc. And that's all people know about me, besides the sport I play.</p>

<p>This has really worn down on me recently. As a freshman, I thought that this was just the college experience and I was pretty excited about it. But now I'm really disenchanted with the person I've become in college. I've found myself really questioning everything I've built for myself - questioning the drinking/hook-up culture and questioning my positionality in the school. A lot of people have suggested quitting the sport, but I only have a season left with it and it truly is my stress relief and my escape from everything. Playing and practicing has to be one of my favorite parts of the experience. To cope with these feelings, I've kind of isolated myself from a lot of my friends because I feel like I can't be happy in front of them and I don't want to bring them down. A recent break-up with one of my best friends and fellow athlete has really thrown me for a loop because everyone knows about it, and it's been so difficult dealing with everyone's questions and has really exposed to me that I'm not about the life I've lived at this school before. </p>

<p>I know deep down in my heart that I love this school's principles. I would definitely come back after my semester off. But I think I need to be separated from it in order to fully appreciate it and be able to make my last year the most fulfilling possible. I would be taking classes at my local university for the semester and living at home during my time off. I just don't want to feel this depressed anymore and am hopeful a semester away will allow me to reevaluate who I want to be as a person and allow me to gain the confidence to stay true to myself.</p>

<p>Sorry for the length of the post! I just wanted to hear about your experiences taking a semester off. Was it helpful? What did you take away from it? Does it sound like something you would advise for me? </p>

<p>Thank you SO much! :)</p>

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<p>First world problem is my first thought… Why don’t you look into going abroad someplace next summer if possible, since you couldn’t do it for a semester due to academic constraints. Maybe pick someplace that you KNOW will make you appreciate your life here more. Volunteer in a third world country for the summer or something like that. Your college is going to be the same when you come back to it. Living at home and taking classes someplace else (which lots of colleges won’t allow anyway) isn’t going to change you much, either, IMHO. You have one year to go, I would say don’t get off track. When you are done with college, you could also consider taking a gap year then and applying for jobs and grad schools after that.</p>

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<p>Did you check to see if those local university courses will transfer back into your college? Being away might be a welcome break. Would folks have “moved on” by the time you return?</p>

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<p>Yes, I would be able to take two (potentially three) classes for credit to be used toward my majors if I took classes at my local university. As for the moving on part - I’m not sure if people would move on but I think being away would be more about me “moving on” past my old self, if that makes any sense at all. </p>

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<p>I like the idea of doing something next summer as a break - volunteering as intparent suggested or doing a summer study abroad. Most likely you would come back recharged and ready to finish off your college career.</p>

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<p>I think you’re just going through a funk, to be honest. It’s happened to me as well, and I too always feel like I’m living a lie. I think that’s normal for smart, humble people who sincerely feel shocked to have met such success. You don’t feel like you’ve done anything extraordinary yet you always seem to do well. I totally get it.</p>

<p>Specifically in regards to your situation, it sounds like you really just don’t like the clique culture, which is due to the sport. But since you don’t want to give up your sport, you’re continuing to place yourself in that small - world atmosphere, which is making you unhappy. </p>

<p>You deserve to be happy, and I know you think taking a break will make you happy, but try to fix what’s making you sad before you just take the easy way out. You can just treat the sport like a job and try not to get too involved in the drama, and as for the recent break up, who cares if it was with with a fellow athlete? Your sport and former break ups do not define you, and don’t ever allow yourself to think that they do. You are more than that and I’m sure everyone else can see that, especially since you’ve have great grades and good research experience. </p>

<p>College is supposed to be a time where you can discover yourself and refine your skills so that you can proceed on to the next chapter of your life. What I actually just took to heart recently is that after graduation, your college life will be over. It won’t matter how you got a C on that paper, forget to do that homework set, didnt study enough for that test, missed class because you got stuck in a pile of snow in the parking lot; in retrospect, it’s all going to a compilation of moments that don’t always directly affect your future. Of course there are those that do, but sometimes we all get tripped up with those that don’t. </p>

<p>In the end, I’d really encourage you to stick it out and try to fix what’s dragging you down. There are going to be times in life where you need to adjust instead of leave, and I have a feeling that you can make this work. When you go home for Christmas, really appreciate your time at home and don’t think about school. Look into study abroad prospects for the summer and talk with the advisors to see what you can do.</p>

<p>Good luck, and I really hope it all works out for you!</p>

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<p>I think it’d be better to do a gap semester, so to speak, with interning, volunteering, traveling, etc. Unless the uni is offering an amazing course you can’t get at your college, it’d be better to try these alternatives. Of course, you must consider the impact on grad date, housing, and fin aid.</p>

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<p>For me, taking a semester away means breaking entirely from the “go to school” experience. Living at home and taking classes at another university probably will just (a) continue the academic level of stress, and (b) make you miss the parts of your university that you like. There could also be problems with transferring the credits back afterwards.</p>

<p>A better plan, if you really want a break, would be to organize some sort of job/internship (based either at home or near school) - it sounds as if you’d be pretty qualified, or volunteer work, or travel. The idea of planning something like that for the summer also sounds like a good idea to me.</p>

<p>And of course, you can always reach out to the campus counseling service for your depression. Depression is real, and pretending it’s not there doesn’t work very well.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all of your responses - I forgot to mention that I’m planning on taking a month over the summer to go abroad, and I’m glad that people seem to think that’s a good idea.</p>

<p>Has anyone personally taken a semester off, though? I’m curious to hear how their experiences went. </p>