According to Partovi, in the first few weeks following her decision to leave, she felt angry at Harvard and her resident dean for what she said was effectively giving her a choice between leaving voluntarily or being forced out by the school.

“There were some times when I didn’t think I would come back to Harvard ever, that I’d never come back to college,” Partovi said. “But working, I realized how much I really wanted to be back, how much I actually loved school and loved Harvard.”

Alexander G. Smith, who similarly grappled with the idea of not returning to Harvard during the initial months of his leave, said that finding a full-time job in the fall and returning to a normal schedule significantly improved his leave. “Everything just seemed to fall into place,” said Smith, who took time off partway through his sophomore spring semester in 2013.

The process of finding a job is similar for most students who take time off: after spending several weeks at home and doing relatively little, they secure a position and work for about six months.

According to Ellison, although UHS asks students to demonstrate a period of stability—typically lasting six months—during their time off, neither the Ad Board nor UHS explicitly requires that students obtain a job. Still, working can be a strong signal that a student is prepared to come back.

“Students are not required to work while on leave, but it is important for HUHS and the College to know that a student is ready to return,” Barreira and Lapierre wrote in their statement. “This can be done in a number of different ways, including working, volunteering, or taking a class, all of which have been found to be good indicators of readiness to return to campus.”

David, whose name has also been changed, did not mention his clinical depression when he sought time away from the Harvard campus in order to avoid requirements like the “period of stability.” After declaring his intention to “explore possible options for careers,” his resident dean easily facilitated his time off—without any mention of requirements for his return.

But the details of this requirement to come back to campus are not entirely clear to some students who take leaves of absence. Several students reported different accounts of the school’s policy on work during leave, which according to Ellison does not “necessarily have to be for pay.”

According to Kate, administrators told her that she must secure a paid position during her time off, which she says forced her to take a job at a fast food restaurant.

“I can’t work at the White House because its unpaid, but I can work at McDonalds because it is paid,” she said.

For most students, however, working during their time off is not only a critical way to demonstrate to UHS that they are fit to return to campus but an important part of the healing process.

Students say that working at a consistent job, whether that be at McDonald’s, a bookstore, or a health care clinic, helps establish a regular routine that is integral to the process of getting better.

“It was a very good experience, not because it was the best job in the world—there were many times when I was frustrated by it—but it was an experience that was very far removed from the cultural climate I was experiencing at Harvard,” said George, who worked at a bookstore during his time off. “I found that to be part of that environment, and just to be working for the paycheck, it was great.”

GETTING BETTER, BUT FEELING WORSE

When George initially decided to take time off for mental health reasons, he only focused on the immediate benefits of removing himself from the Harvard environment. But several months after his recovery was underway, George began to feel not only ready to go back to school but also lonely because he could not for another six months.