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College isn’t for everyone, and it might not be for you either.

Most students don’t consider taking a gap year. I know what you’re thinking, I can’t take a gap year. It’ll set me back, and I definitely don’t want to backpack across Europe.

I think many of us choose college as a safe plan, which is fine. However, I ask the question, why not try and pursue your dreams while you still have the time? Too many of us chose majors using the process of elimination. Are we setting ourselves up for a career filled with unhappy, long work days based on a major we chose in our teens?

In a TikTok interview that went viral recently, a recent college graduate said he had a “soul-sucking job.” If that doesn’t explain where I’m coming from I don’t know what will.

More and more college students are dropping out. In July 2020, 39 million Americans were college dropouts, and less than a million re-enrolled that fall. Many experts say that number will continue to grow.

I took a gap year this year. I don’t regret this decision in the slightest. I felt pressure from society to attend college. When I started here at Syracuse University, dropping out or taking a year off didn’t feel like options. Through my time here, I realized school wasn’t for me. The constant and seemingly never ending flow of work was debilitating for me and my mental health.

Taking some time off allowed me to understand my purpose and reflect on what I wanted to accomplish in life, all while working a full time job. If school was an open wound for me, taking a gap year was stopping the bleeding.

An article by the World Economic Forum, titled More students are dropping out of college in the US – here’s why, cites unaffordable tuition costs, rising ambition for entrepreneurship and more jobs on the market — specifically ones that don’t require a college degree — as reasons for leaving college behind.

Rising tuition costs have hit close to home with SU consistently raising prices, even during the pandemic. Further financial worries only add stress and anxiety surrounding a college education, something that students shouldn’t have to worry about.

Many students might also agree that college can be detrimental to their mental health. In fact, statistics show an increased number of suicides in universities across the country. College counseling centers are underfunded, understaffed and often unequipped to support specific students’ needs regarding mental health, forcing some to go four years without the proper care they need.

In a Washington Post article, Kelsey Theis, the president of the Texas Association of School Psychologists, said there simply aren’t enough people in the profession to meet the need, which leads to waitlists of months and months before students get help. With all these reasons, there is little reason we shouldn’t all consider taking a gap year.

Many young students don’t even look at a gap semester or gap year as an option. Whether it be pressure from parents, peers or themself, we feel as if sacrificing our mental health for a degree is worth it. It shouldn’t be the norm to have 17 years of consecutive schooling.

There’s a stigma associated with taking gap years. I argue that for some, especially me, you have to take one step back to take two steps forward. College should be about unlocking newfound passions, ideas and career paths all while focusing on your mental and physical health and pursuing the life you want, not the life you feel you need.

Aiden Walsh is a Sophomore finance major. His column appears biweekly. He can be reached at awalsh05@syr.edu.

Published on January 25, 2023 at 11:05 pm