Have you spent a year or two in college and found that it's nothing like what you expected it to be? Do you find yourself wondering why you're even there in the first place? If you've decided to take some time off from school to find yourself, here's how:
- Explore the options at your school for spending time off campus. Many colleges and universities offer you the chance to work full-time or study abroad while still earning credits. The downside is that you (or your parents) will still be paying tuition towards a degree that you're probably not even sure you want (or will ever use). Another option to consider is taking a leave of absence. That way, if you decide to come back to that school, you can re-integrate more seamlessly than if you just drop out.
- Think it over. What were you expecting college to be like? How has your current school not satisfied your needs? Could those needs be fulfilled by attending another school? More importantly, what do you want to spend your life doing? And is it likely that having a college degree will help you in getting there? In other words, if you have a sneaking suspicion that your life's calling is to be a painter, then a degree in medical toxicology will probably do more harm than good (although a degree in graphic design would make better sense).
- Talk it over with anyone who has a stake in your education--probably your parents. Whether it's an emotional stake (a classic one being that your parents want you to have opportunities that they never did, even if they are opportunities you're not interested in at all) and/or a financial stake (Are they footing the bill? Or the loans?), you have a better chance of enlisting their support if you ask for their input and outline your reasons before you take a leap.
- Get a full-time job immediately, even if it's a job that you don't like, and even if you don't need the money. The last thing you want to do is mope around the house waiting for the next step to fall in your lap. It'll never happen, and you'll be well on your way to living in your parents' basement for the rest of your life. And if it's a job you hate, that's all the more motivation to go back to school so you can get a job that won't make you this miserable.
- Motivate yourself. Now that you don't have professors and deans hanging over your head, threatening you with failure, you have to learn push yourself. This is, by far, the most important lesson you can learn in taking time off from school. Sit down and write out some goals for yourself, and start moving towards them ASAP.
- Visit different colleges and universities, even if you don't want to go back just yet. It's good to see what's out there, and the perfect school you never knew existed might be waiting for you. Go online and pull up course catalogs and find out what courses of study are out there. If you find one you're interested in, contact schools that offer it AND...
- Find a job doing something you think you might want to do for the rest of your life. There's nothing like getting paid to test the waters. It's much easier to switch jobs than it is to switch schools, so before you go back to college thinking for sure that you want to be an airline pilot, or a professional chef, or a clarinet player, work in the field for at least a few months and ask yourself: "Can I imagine myself doing this for the rest of my life?"
- Go back to school if, and only if, you have a firm idea of the direction you'd like to take your life. Otherwise, you'll be back to square one within a semester or two, wondering "What am I doing here again?" With a renewed sense of motivation, and some real life experience under your belt, you'll be a better student than ever.
- It's likely that your parents will be against your decision to leave college. Don't be hurt or suprised. It's parental instinct to want the best for their children, and it's commonly accepted in our society that a college degree is always a good thing. Explain to them that you want to get the most out of college, and that you can't do that if you aren't focused, and you can't focus if you're too busy working towards a degree you're not even sure you will use.
- Having a full-time job during your time off (that is, making money instead of spending it) will also help keep people off your back about not being in school. If you're a jobless freeloader, people (even strangers) will find it very easy to attack your decision, and make your soul-searching all the more difficult.
