College! College? College...

Mind the gap. The first two weeks of class have given me a lot of ideas for interesting topics to write about, but for right now I have two specific ideas I have been developing in my head. Topic 1: Gap Years, Dropping Out, and Transferring This is a topic I have a personal investment in, since I have experienced or have had people close to me experience these dramatic shifts in their academic trajectory within the past few years. I would like to explore the statistics for how many students go through with these options, for what reasons, and how it has affected their prospects afterwards. I expect this topic to intersect with topics of mental health and the anxiety that comes with going to college, which I intend to fully analyze. Ultimately, I want to answer the following questions: Why do students go down these paths, if they aren't forced to? How does going down these paths affect someone's future prospects and well-being? When would it be a good time to think about these o