[AlanBostick]

(1) You're just 18, and that poses something of a problem for live game play in most jurisdictions.

(2) New York is not the ideal place for a live-game poker pro to live. Los Angeles would be much, much better for you, assuming you could play in the cardrooms without getting in trouble for being underaged. Las Vegas or the SF Bay Area would also be good.

(3) If the poker would just be a way to make a living while you enjoyed life at home, I rather think that Chesspain is right: don't quit school; transfer to somewhere you'll be more happy.

(4) And sometimes it can take a while to find your groove in school. You've been there just one semester.

(5) You can just about always come back to school (unless you wind up married and with kids to support) I dropped out when I was 18, went back to school when I was 22, graduated when I was 25 and went on to graduate school, and dropped out again when I was 29. Now, at 46, I've been in school again for a year ... and have been making my bloody-awful expensive tuition by playing cards.

In your shoes, knowing what I know at 46, I think I would stay where I was at least until the summer break, getting a full year under my belt. Things could change. You could find a girlfriend. You could find your groove. You could win a seat in an online-sponsored tournament in Aruba and win it and make a million dollars. If things look tough right now, just remember that This, Too, Shall Pass. If nothing else, having the poker-playing escape to New York as an option may give you the strength to carry on where you are.