<p>Arrow03, I think some of your assumptions are wrong. You have only been at the college a little over a year. I can’t think of any reason to think that you are so embedded in a particular major that you can’t change. Do the awards that you have received compel you to remain in the same major for financial reasons? If not, I would think that another department would be happy to have a student who has had a change of interest. Figuring out where your true interests lie is part of what college is about–adults generally understand that. You would have to re-start the networking, but some of the most effective networking involves having friends, and it sounds as though you would benefit from spending time developing friendships, too.</p>
<p>When it comes to your desire to “not be constantly competing with my peers,” that one has an astonishingly easy solution: focus on your subject areas, and not on your relative standing. When you have found the right major, you should be sufficiently wrapped up in the subject itself to work on it for its own intrinsic interest (to you), and not to out-perform your fellow students. This can be done at HYP.</p>
<p>I can understand and sympathize with your desire to just get away from your current environment, but your alternative plans sound rather hazy to me. What exactly would you be looking for, in a different college? I wouldn’t recommend transferring unless you know the answer to that. Your idea of a clean slate and getting to know yourself “or whatever” does not sound like a good argument for any particular alternative.</p>
<p>A gap year, or gap semester, could conceivably be the answer, but it would need some clear planning, to have a chance to help you re-direct yourself and/or fill your needs that aren’t being met currently. Study abroad for a semester might be a good option, depending on the availability of a suitable program. You might think about study abroad for the summer, if that is feasible financially.</p>