<p>You have 18K saved, why not take a trip to NYC, SF, LA, Seattle or any major cities in the US. There are cheap airfares and hotels you could stay at.</p>
<p>It sounds like you seek a change of scenery. If you can afford to, why not take the summer and hike the appalachian trail (or the PCT, or the John Muir Trail). I think 500 or so miles of the AT are in Virginia.</p>
<p>The point is to get out there. You’ll meet tons of people from everywhere.</p>
<p>And you can start planning now. People will tell you that you are crazy and irresponsible, but eventually they’ll come around. Right now, you are the youngest you are ever going to be…</p>
<p>What is so much more constraining about SE Michigan than anywhere else?</p>
<p>One plan would be to continue at your school, but use summer internships and perhaps a junior year abroad to broaden your horizons. Then look for a job outside Michigan!</p>
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<p>It is where she comes from. :)</p>
<p>OP if you can swing it, I would absolutely try to do a foreign study. The cost hopefully will be offset by credits. Also, perhaps you can look outside SE Michigan for an internship quarter and again any costs could be offset by credit. This will break up the rest of your time and get you out of the area. I absolutely remember that “get out of dodge” mentality growing up in a smaller more rural area in Michigan and I did leave Michigan immediately after undergrad, but a foreign study and an internship definitely broke up the time and got me other places during that time I felt slight malcontent and was questioning my undergrad choice.</p>
<p>If you plan to major in French and do a graduate degree, especially a funded degree, you need to spend at least a semester in a French speaking country. It’s a requirement to find employment in French or to go to grad school, not just “per se” but because the fluency & cultural knowledge of a French speaker without that immersion experience is too low compared to others who have that experience. Also, remember that only classes 300 and 400 level (literature, history, etc) will be taken into account for graduate admission, so you need as many of those as possible.
Look for internships indeed: career center, advisers, etc. should be able to help you.
I second the suggestion in the Peace Corps: if you speak French and have Farming Skills, they’d love to have you. You’ll spend 2 years abroad and there are lots of benefits beside being useful to people who need you and living in another culture.
<a href=“http://www.peacecorps.gov/learn/whyvol/[/url]”>http://www.peacecorps.gov/learn/whyvol/</a>
I am not sure the Translation certificate is that useful, UNLESS it deals with technical translation (the type of translation that’s really needed - most students imagine translating novels… not so.) It depends on how many credits you have toward that already.
You’re qualified for the Honors College: please do yourself a favor and APPLY RIGHT NOW, as the deadline for juniors may not have passed. It’s the last possible semester you can do this (and it may already be too late, although you may be able to petition if your advisor and/or dept. chair supports the idea.)
Can you imagine doing a French major and a Computer Science minor? That would allow you to work in many places. French major and History major/minor; French/Arabic; French/Urban Studies (more demand for research work on the banlieues than on more traditional subjects)…</p>
<p>At some schools FA covers all or most of the costs of studying abroad. S only had to pay airfare. I agree that spending time in France is essential, but it doesn’t have to be during college. Look into the assistant program! </p>
<p>Although I think the Peace Corps is also a wonderful thing to do, it is a bigger commitment. BTW, years ago I knew someone who grew up on a farm in the Dakotas who was placed in the Ivory Coast working with farmers. My H was in the Peace Corps. Friends he met there went into the State Dept.</p>
<p>There are MANY avenues for you to pursue, and see where life takes you.</p>
<p>You live near Detroit Airport - one of the largest air transportation hubs in the country. Drive down the street and you can fly anywhere in the world.</p>
<p>I don’t get this talk of being stuck.</p>
<p>Don’t move permanently until your schooling is complete</p>
<p>Thank you, everyone, for all of the wonderful advice and support. It makes me feel a lot better about myself! I will definitely be referring back to all of the suggestions as I continue to contemplate everything. </p>
<p>I agree that I need to get settled and going with a major ASAP, so I’m going to make an appointment with the French dept. chair to talk about things. I’m sure she has more important things to do, but maybe those few minutes of her time can make a difference. She seems approachable and friendly and all, so what can it hurt? I’m also going to talk to the Honors College (I read online that they do take in transfer students along with other students already enrolled here). </p>
<p>I feel like I’ve already wasted so much of my college life, and if I do ever want to get out and travel, I need to get a plan going. </p>
<p>And I like the idea of going to Montr</p>
<p>OP, I agree that, in the short term, it might be a good idea to take a trip. Doesn’t have to be somewhere exotic, if you’re concerned about time or money - if you haven’t left Michigan, even Chicago might be a good experience. You can gradually work your way up from there. With the amount you’ve saved, you can surely afford a modest trip.</p>
<p>As for the future, while I think a lot of the ideas here have been great, as a junior, you need to develop a few realistic plans quickly, find out what implementing those plans would entail, and take concrete steps toward doing so. I’m a humanities PhD student, so I’m the last person to tell you not to do graduate school in French. But majoring in French with a vague idea that you might want to go to grad school is a potential recipe for trouble down the road.</p>
<p>Make an appointment ASAP to talk to an adviser in the French Department about post-grad possibilities. Make sure to also talk to someone - perhaps this person, perhaps not - who is familiar with your work and can tell you whether you’re on track to be an attractive candidate for graduate studies, or for other things like translator/interpreter or high school French teacher. While you’re doing this, you can also look into shorter post-college options like fellowships, teaching English abroad, etc. </p>
<p>What your professors tell you will give you some idea how to proceed. If they tell you that your French isn’t really up to scratch, it probably makes sense to major in something else. But whatever it is, think of a few jobs you would like and do what makes sense for pursuing that goal - specific courses, an internship, a summer study abroad, etc. </p>
<p>Good luck, and remember, being constrained now doesn’t mean that you can’t explore far more ambitiously in the future.</p>
<p>I grew up in SE Michigan and left properly for the first time to go to Chicago when I was 18. It was the most amazing adventure of my life… I almost didn’t come back. In the end I had to, and then I spent three years obsessing over getting back there. In the end I am glad I did come home, and I love it here now-- I bought a house and everything-- but I can understand wanting to move on to other places. You can find a way to do that-- you are getting a lot of great advice and support. Just don’t burn your bridges. Home might look a little different from far away. Perspective has a funny way of doing that to us.</p>
<p>I have lived in SE Michigan for almost 54 years. It isn’t any worse than any other place … it’s a place. If the issue is you want something different, I get that. My D was in Nashville and is now very happily living in Chicago. My S is a student at OU, so I understand a little of how you feel. He likes the profs and the curriculum, and he was going to transfer to UM at one point but decided to stay at OU. He isn’t especially excited to be at OU, but he is getting a good education. He has no interest in staying in SE Michigan, but he doesn’t know what he wants to do or where he wants to go. It’s just the way it is sometimes.</p>
<p>There is a whole, wonderful world around you. You will figure it out. Take advantage of opportunities … go out and find them. If you are like my S, not a real go-getter, then you will need to try to balance what you want with what you are willing to do to get it. </p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
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<p>That’s good advice that probably isn’t resonating right now with someone who is itching to get away, but I came back to Michigan after well over a decade of “roaming” so OP tuck that advice in the back of your brain. Kelsmom gives great advice, also, in her post.</p>
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<p>Actually – she doesn’t have anything more important to do (seriously). Your professors, including your department chair, are there for YOU. Their top priority is to help their students – including giving advice on future educations and possible career paths within their major, and possible advice on combing with other majors as well. Don’t feel at all shy about making an appointment with her, that is truly what she is there for and what she is paid to do!</p>
<p>How about looking into a Habitat for Humanity project trip, or some other kind of outreach trip. One of my kids did a program through their university where they worked in a soup kitchen in San Francisco for spring break. Perhaps your school has similar opportunities. Some colleges also allow students to a term at another college…worth looking into.</p>
<p>Or find a friend, and take a trip someplace. There are hostels in the U.S.that can make these trips reasonable. </p>
<p>If are a member of a church, you may find some sort of outreach trip through that.</p>
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<p>SE Michigan has anything you’d ever need. Need a job, the Big 3 are right here. Need a school, Michigan, one of the top public schools in the country is here. Need entertainment, everything except for a major theme park is right here (Cedar point is only a few hours drive). We have farms, factories, offices, schools, and casinos all right here. There’s not all that many places that have all of those things, and are affordable. I’m guessing the self-sufficiency of the area might be a reason why people don’t leave much. </p>
<p>Pure speculation though. I can’t really compare to places I’m not from.</p>
<p>Hey, persona - if you have a 3.9 GPA you haven’t wasted a lot of time at your current school. So don’t be too hard on yourself: with grades like these, you’ve given yourself a lot of options. I too applaud your desire to leave home, whether short- or long-term. It’s a healthy desire and acting on it will only enrich your life. </p>
<p>Final two words of advice: STUDY ABROAD. Make it a full academic year; after a mere semester, you’re just starting to get comfortable. OK, that was more than two final words. But you get my drift: you’re OK. You have options. Go west, young man/woman. Or wherever adventure takes you.</p>
<p>My H comes from SE Michigan. He left after college, joined the Peace Corps, and never had any desire to return there to live. His brothers have gone elsewhere for a time, but returned to the Detroit area. To each his own.</p>
<p>BTW, alumni trips tend to be very pricey. You can have a great time hosteling throughout the US and Europe for a fraction of the cost.</p>
<p>You are going to be fine. You know you want out, and you will get it–eventually. It just may take a while.</p>
<p>I am sure there is not anything inherently wrong with that part of the country (unless you are tired of winter) but there are many ways you can expand your horizons, as others have suggested. Good luck.</p>