What should I do???

[carly3592]

Hey guys-
So I've been doing some thinking, and I figured it would be best to turn to you all, since you've been so helpful in the past. I'm currently a Freshman in college. I have a major, but I'm not sure that I'm pursuing the right path. I've been stressing myself a lot with school (freaked out during senior year, almost took a year off, that sort of stuff). So lately I've been thinking about switching majors, transferring.... it's a bit of a mess haha. But the one thing that I have been certain of is that I'm going to do the Disney College Program. It's just a matter of when.
I've been thinking of applying for the Fall (or Fall Advantage) 2011 semester. Here's why:
-It would give me time off early in my college career to level my head and "grow up" a bit
-It would satisfy my intense desire to do the CP.
-It would be a fantastic experience in learning and meeting new people and experiencing new things.

Basically, I think doing the CP for Fall 2011 would help me not necessarily decide what I'm going to do with my life, but it will teach me a lot about myself and things like that.

So should I go for Fall 2011 or should I wait til Spring/Fall 2012? Any tips would be great.

And if you want to know more info about me so that you can get a better idea of what I should do, please ask! I am more than willing to share (most of) my life story haha

Thanks guys!

 

[symphie]

My advice is that if you're in college already and not sure you're in the right major, go do the CP as soon as possible. I've never done it (my major offers no room to take a semester off) but for my boyfriend, it was the best thing he ever did. He was in college for almost 3 years, jumping from major to major and never really happy with himself. When he left, he was a super friendly, but fairly insecure, guy majoring in computer engineering. When he came back, he was super confident about the future, living on his own, socializing and networking with people in general. And he even came back confident to switch to a new major, zoology, thanks to his job driving the KSR trucks.
I really think that if you already have a desire to do the CP and you're not positive about your major, go do it! It would give you a great time to grow up a little more, develop confidence in alot of different aspects of your life, and figure out what you want to do with your life. Even if you don't want to work for Disney long-term, it can teach you whether or not you want to work with people, kids, machinery, food, etc.
The great thing about your situation, too, is that you can apply for Fall and there's no pressure. If you get in, it'll be an amazing experience to grow as a person. If you don't, you can just take some core classes to get them out of the way for when you come back and apply again for Spring.

 

[YesIStillLoveDisney]

I was in the exact same position as you my freshman year except that my freak out came during college, lol. Basically two miserable semesters and one atrocious GPA later and I spent my first semester sophomore year in Disney. It really was a great experience for me and I decided to become a campus rep when I got back so that I could still hang on to a bit of the life I loved down there. Now I am in a major I love and actually doing well at it. It is better to have work experience and know exactly what you want to do than to float around school lost and wasting money.

 

[Sorahana]

I would go for Fall 2011. You're still at the beginning of college, so going now before you settle on a specific major and having to push back your graduation because you decide to go later is the better option.
Also, you might figure out what you truly want to do while you're down there .

 

[WishAndDream]

I agree with the others; apply for Fall 2011. In addition to what previous posters have said, I have a few more reasons. First, I think fall is a better time to do the CP in general (Food and Wine, holiday decorations, MNSSHP/MVMCP, holiday discount on merchandise). Second, if you wait until Spring 2012, you may have figured out what you're going to do and may have discovered that with all the classes you have to take it will be tough to fit in the CP (whereas if you go in fall, you'll already have done it). Third, if it turns out your future career has nothing to do with Disney or hospitality or anything that directly relates to the CP you can always explain (to interviewers, potential employers, etc) that you didn't know what you wanted to do so rather than continuing to take random classes you took a break, refocused yourself, got some real world experience, and (maybe ) discovered what you ultimately wanted to do.

Hope that helps a little!

 

[carly3592]

Thanks a lot guys This confusing period in my life is quite frustrating; it seems everyone around me has at least some sense of what they want to do with their lives, and I do think the college program would be a great way for me to learn a bit about myself.

I'm still not 100% sure if I'm gonna go for Fall 2011, but I'm leaning more towards it than I was before.

 

[DZMike]

Lets see if I get this right:
1. not sure what you want to major in
2. classwork is "stressing you out"
3. convinced that you will do the CP at some time

If you are struggling this semester, what will change in the Spring? You seem to be sure of only one thing - CP. Suggest you take a semester off from school snd do the CP - SPRING 2011. The sooner, the better.

It will probably be an easier sell to tell your parents that you want to be away in the Spring rather than during the Fall holidays.

The chances that you may have been considering dropping out are probably high. Don't quit. Finish strong and do the CP in January. You will have a great experience and have a better idea of what you want to do with your college career.

- Dad of two in college and two soon to be in college. Both DS were accepted into Spring Adv 2011.

 

[mdoll4]

Thanks a lot guys This confusing period in my life is quite frustrating; it seems everyone around me has at least some sense of what they want to do with their lives, and I do think the college program would be a great way for me to learn a bit about myself.

I'm still not 100% sure if I'm gonna go for Fall 2011, but I'm leaning more towards it than I was before.

Hon, I'm a senior in college and I still don't know what I want to do with my life! Heck, I'm even still trying to decide if I want to do the CP next fall after I graduate. The good thing is there is lots of time. I am in a major that I enjoy (Economics), but it took me about 3 years to choose it! Fortunately, your first few years of college you're taking a lot of core courses anyway, so it's pretty easy to switch majors down the line. I would recommend doing the CP as soon as possible though. I wish I had, but even now nothing's set in stone.

Hope you get your life on track soon! Enjoy college while you can!

 

[PrettyLegit]

Fall-2011 because that's when I'm going! Haha.