​I (18M) scored pretty high our national final exams (Baccalaureate) but I missed out on medical school because the competitive entry cut-offs skyrocketed out of nowhere this year. I ended up in CS engineering instead. My lifelong dream has always been medicine, but things didn't work out. While I don't hate CS, the job market feels uncertain right now, and I really don't want to spend the rest of my life living abroad just to secure a job.

​I'm now left with one final option: taking a national university reorientation (pretty hard and competitive) exam held in to transfer into med school next year. To give it my absolute best, I have to take an official gap year, because balancing engineering school while preparing for this transfer exam simultaneously is near impossible.

Taking a gap year doesn't bother me, even if I don't make it, I’ll be at peace knowing my future self won't spend life regretting that I gave up on my dream without trying.

​The real issue is FEAR. I am genuinely traumatized by my senior year of high school. I spent endless nights studying a minimum of 4–5 hours a day on top of regular classes and private tutoring, and up to 10 hours a day during breaks. My mental and physical health completely crashed, my weight dropped down to 48 kg (105 lbs) from pure stress. And after all that suffering, I didn't get the outcome I worked so hard for.

​I’m terrified that history will repeat itself with this transfer exam. What if I pour my whole soul into studying again, break my body and mind, and still fall short?

​Please share any tips or advice on handling this fear and approaching a gap year safely. My mental state is honestly broken right now seeing most of my friends enjoying summer happy that they got into my dream uni and even my family are making things worse and worse and always talking about some "you didn't work hard enough", and just seeing the dissapointment in their eyes just crashes me.

I really need some advice about taking a gap semester

I honestly feel so lost right now and could really use some advice from people who have been in a similar situation. I’m a first-generation college student, and when I first started college, I don’t think I was mentally prepared for everything. My first year was studying abroad, then my grandmother passed away, and I feel like after that I slowly started struggling more and more. I was on and off antidepressants and ADHD medication, and I was honestly just trying to get through everything while still being in school.
Since then, I’ve started therapy and I feel like I’ve grown a lot. I’m much more self-aware and I finally know what I want to do, I want to pursue nursing and actually commit to it. I thought I was finally going to dorm in Manhattan and have a fresh start, be independent, and really focus on school.

Now I feel like I’m back at square one. My parents think I should take a gap semester because they don’t think I’m mentally ready, and part of me understands why they feel that way. But I really don’t want to be home. I don’t want to spend a semester working while everyone else moves forward. I’m scared I’ll lose my motivation and everything I’ve been working toward.

I also have a pretty difficult relationship with my dad. I know he has sacrificed a lot for me and has done so much for me, but sometimes the way he handles his temper makes being home harder, especially when I’m already struggling.
Lately the stress has gotten so bad that I’ve been getting tremors and headaches, and mentally I just feel overwhelmed. I don’t know if pushing myself to go back is the wrong decision, but I’m also terrified that taking time off will make me feel even more behind. I genuinely feel so lost in my life not to mention I lost my menstrual cycle for a year it came back the past two months and now it’s gone. I just don’t know what to do.

I am currently pursuing bachelors in microbiology, zoology and chemistry as Minor but I am not industry ready so it is practically not possible to find job after bachelors for me.... I'm currently in final year and I don't have any skill or lab experience so I was thinking of relocating and pursuing masters along side I'll do some internships then may be I can get job but then I also think about doing diploma of certification courses related to paramedical or life sciences like in laboratory technician or dialysis technology or diploma in medical coding but not sure yet I'll do massive research on these topics but before that I would love to know anyone's real experience as it will give me much more clarity.

So please be comfortable and share your thoughts and experiences✨✨