Dropping out of college

[Tricto]

I guess i'll give you some background on my situation, my parents pay for my housing/food and schooling as of now (nothing else), it's halfway through the semester and i have no job, and i don't think i can manage working and studying. If i'm forgetting something, let me know.

My problem is, i do decent (a few d's, mostly c's and b's) on my coursework, but i feel that if i get a job while studying, i won't have enough time to balance out myself, my schoolwork, and my job. I think i'm being too big of a bitch about this considering that many people work multiple jobs to pay their way through and they somehow manage to pull it off.

It's my sophomore year and i still don't have a major...and i feel like the only reason i'm still going to school is i don't want to have wasted my parents kindly donated money, but if i keep going and fuck up academically, i'll have wasted even more.

Any insight or experience about college difficulties and what ensued, even slightly related, would help me decide what to do with myself and be greatly appreciated

[Prophet Saddam]

I'd suggest sticking with it. Have you looked into taking out a student loan to help pay? Or financial aid? Any on-campus jobs that would probably be flexible with your schedule? There's a lot out there available if you're motivated enough to seek it out.

As far as wasting time - I took 6 1/2 years to get a BA, but I don't regret it. Like you, I was undeclared for the first couple years, then selected a major, and changed it. Some of my favorite classes didn't even count towards my major...

not to say that you should waste your time/money in college, but use it as a learning experience for life.

/attending class is half the work of college

[mr.nobody]

yeah really man, stick with it. Doesn't matter too much right now that your undecided, thing is you're there so stick through. So take your time and decide what you wanna major in, and get that job man. . im sure you'll be able to do it, just gotta manage what little time you are gonna h ave for other friv shit right.

[reggiedrugs]

Dude, I'm in the same place as you are.
My parents pressured me into going to college because they wanted me to "be something in life" and stupidity I gave into it and got into a program I thought I'd be interested in. All in all they paid for tuition and I don't really enjoy it and want to drop out and don't want to waste their money. The only difference is I have a job and enough money pay for my own tuition right away (not sure why they gave me more cash) so there's that but they'd still be pissed, I'm sure.

I'm sticking with it though, at least til the year is over. I don't know since you don't have a lot going on like a job, maybe just stick with it until the year at least. Gives you something to do and maybe you'll enjoy it better. if you really wanted to drop out you could just get a job somewhere, work full time and pay the parents back after a little while.

[stateofkane]

I fuckin hate college.

[SageTree]

There are definitely ways to help you stay if that is what you want to do. Financial aid and student loan, in particular, have little interest on them while you are in school and a low one on the pay back. Don't be scared to have a little debt for this year. You can work in the summer to make some money for next year and also figure out your $$ situation more.

As for your grades, don't hesitate to find a peer tutor or a group of people to study with. Having help or being intermingled with it will help you for sure.

You have the power to do what you want in this.

So if you get a small loan, get your studying schedule tightened up, after Christmas break you may find you have some time for a p/t job. OR perhaps you could look into finding work for the break to help pay for next semesters books anyways.

Hang in there man. I have no advice on the major other than you have time to work on that one.


Sage

[hijabihippie]

Definitely-hang in there with the college thing. It took me from 1978-2009 to get my BA.
It was worth it. Tutors and financial aid will also help. As to choosing a major, follow your heart and your bliss. Being in the right school for you also helps a lot. For example, I went to a community college and was bored out of my mind. It simply did not challenge me. I remember a math final exam I took there. The teacher told me if I did not take the final, I would get a B for the course. Therefore, I did not study for it. I went to the exam stoned out of my mind, and found an error in the exam. It is impossible to convert milliliters to centimeters. Cubic centimeters, yes. Honesty compels me to add that it was a remedial class. I went to a Research I university afterwards, and was much happier because the standards were higher and I could work at capacity.

[Tricto]

Well fuck it, i'm already here anyway and if i stop and came back, it'd be twice the hassle. I'm not gonna like it but no matter what happens it's 2 more years max, i'll try to hack it.

Thanks for the advice, it really helped, was in need of some hints

[verklingen]

good on you bro i still haven't made it back to school. . .

[hijabihippie]

Yet.

[Mikey]

your making the right call!

[osirus2020]

You don't have a job, your parents pay for what appears to be most of your expenses and you're getting C's and D's. Perhaps you are having trouble with your course work, however school doesn't take a lot of time out of your day and I see no reason for such low grades with seemingly no obligations.

Most colleges provide learning resources. For example, the only reason I passed my Pre-calc 2 class was because I utilized the free tutoring lab my school offers. I ended up getting a B+ in that class, which I was very happy with considering the difficulty I had keeping up with my professor.

[Tricto]

The b's and c's outnumber the d's by a pretty big margin, but yes I agree I could probably do better if I showed more initiative. And I'm applying for jobs.

Yeah I may have to give the student success center a try.

[osirus2020]

Do you have any academic goals as far as a specialized degree, course work you want to take, anything?

[SpankyMcLankey]

Just try harder dude, I'm pretty much in the same position as you(except no D's). My brother and father got A's and B's in school and so I really feel compelled to do as good as them considering I know it's physically possible.

You don't even know how lucky you are to not have to pay for college. Just try harder, it may seam like a bitch at the time, but it will pay off later I'm sure. It's okay that you don't have a major, just keep going.

[Tricto]

As of right now, the gen ed classes I've been doing have been for a liberal arts degree, wish i could be more specific as to what i want to do, i'm taking a career exploration class, but as of right now i still don't have one picked out.

[SageTree]

As of right now, the gen ed classes I've been doing have been for a liberal arts degree, wish i could be more specific as to what i want to do, i'm taking a career exploration class, but as of right now i still don't have one picked out.

So what if you could do ANYTHING you wanted, what would it be?

[hijabihippie]

Check out your school's Career Counseling Center, too.

[Tricto]

Anything huh?
Realistically, I'd like to be a firefighter, a high school teacher (psychology, history, Spanish, social studies maybe?), a paralegal, a park ranger, cameraman or photographer.

Something that makes it hard to talk to most people about college and prospective jobs is how different what i want out of life is from most people around me. They're all concerned about graduating, getting a high paying job, getting married, buying their dream house, having kids, etc. Although those things are nice, other than graduating, i don't want any of that in my lifetime as of right now. I'd rather develop some inner peace and grow as a person, rather than complicate my life with all those other things when I don't even have myself figured out yet.

[wellfleation]

I fuckin hate college.

I loved it.