决定休学/间隔年之前必须要了解的6件事

Although most of us might be familiar with the term gap year (when a student takes time off before starting college), the term “stopout” is much less familiar within the field of higher education.  While derived from “dropout”, the term “stopout” is used when a student decides college is not working out for them at a certain period of time in their life. Students will then decide to take some time off from college.

With all the uncertainties surrounding studying in the U.S. (e.g, COVID-19, immigration policy changes, difficulty in traveling), you may be considering taking time off from your college.  Even prior to the current situation we face, one study found that among community college students — which make up 45% of undergraduates — 94% stopout at least once, with male students more likely to stopout.

There are ‘dangers’ to being a stopout and one could argue this is just one step closer to being a college dropout.  This is a real concern as more than 1 million college students drop out each year with nearly ⅓ of college freshmen dropping out before sophomore year, and Asian students dropout at a rate of 10-35%, depending on type of institution.

If you are deciding to take time off from college, you must consult with your school officials before just deciding to not enroll in classes or not return.  Colleges have individual leave of absence and withdrawal policies for students who want to take time off and it is important to fully understand these policies before considering time away.   For example, the University of Chicago’s policy is ‘time limited’, allowing for students to be away for a specific amount of time before they are official withdrawn from the school.  New York University also limits time away, also adding that students cannot be reinstated if registration deadlines have passed.

While some colleges may allow students to return easily, others may not.  Some colleges allow students to re-enroll after two years off with no hassle. Other schools, however, may have readmission requirements with forms to complete, along with conversations to be had with school officials. For example, Wellesley College states their requests for readmission are considered by their Academic Review Board and thus, we do not know if it is a simple readmission process or a more complex one.  The University of Miami and East Carolina University require students to submit an application for readmission and pay a fee after missing only one semester of school. 

Not understanding the return policy and missing deadlines could lead to further postponement of studies along with limited college housing options upon return, and more importantly, schools do not have to readmit students who take time off.  Thus, while you might want to return to your studies after one semester, the school may not permit you to.  For example, Purdue states that a student’s return date is subject to term scheduling and availability. The University of California Berkeley’s policy specifies that readmission and reenrollment is not guaranteed.  We have heard of at least one school which will not guarantee specific time of readmission after a stopout due to COVID-19 and thus we encourage you to fully understand your school’s policy for return before you take time away. 

If unprepared for their stopout, some students who walk away from academic studies will find it more difficult to re-engage in good study habits when they return.  Additionally, depending on time away, a school may require students to re-take previous courses if they believe the time way from specific academic knowledge has been too long — adding both more cost and time to completing a degree.

Additionally, most schools do not proactively engage their students who have taken leave. Academic policies, requirements, timelines, and regulations can all change quickly while you are on leave, and the onus will be on you to know these changes, despite taking time off.  Similarly, if you had scholarship funds prior to taking time away, there is no guarantee that those funds will still be available to you upon your return. For example, at the Rochester Institute of Technology, school scholarship funds will be returned to the school.

The question of what you will do if you stopout is also important to consider. Taking time off without concrete plans of what you will do if you are not studying is ill-advised at this time. Global economies have been affected by COVID-19, and jobs may not be readily available. We recently learned that although many of our rising high school seniors want to volunteer and help others, the opportunities have been severely limited due to COVID-19–even offering this “free labor” is not an option.  Thus, if you had planned to take time off of school due to COVID-19 and hoped to work or volunteer, those plans should be confirmed before you file the paperwork to take time off of your studies.

Stopouts, so long as they do not lead to dropping out, could be beneficial to a student as it can mean time to grow, mature and appreciate what they can learn in the classroom. However, they should be considered and approached with guidance and planning so that there are no unexpected surprises when returning to school.