Hi so I’m a high school senior currently taking a dual enrollment English class (college class during high school that is paid for by the school) at Young Harris College and honestly, I feel like crap. I understand the lectures and the lessons, I can handle the essays mostly except for minimum word count, but then there’s the homework. There’s just so much and while it may take someone 30 minutes for some of them, I have trouble staying focused on doing long tedious work that is redundant, so it can sometimes take hours for me. There’s a lot of assignments that just feel like the same thing over and over, and it just feels like it’s less homework for a grade and more busy work to grade and keep us busy. I’m behind and while I have extended time because of my Individual Education Plan and accomodations, it just keeps piling up and I am so stressed over it. It feels like it’s just taking over my life and that I’m getting worse and worse with all these assignments, and I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to handle college if this is what all my classes are going to be like in college. It also doesn’t help that my parents are somewhat emotionally abusive (at least I think they are from my research) and keep getting on me about doing the work when I’m trying but they won’t let me work at night, which is when I work best on assignments that I’m not as interested in because of my ADHD and autism, and instead I’m forced during the daytime which doesn’t help me at all. I apologize for the rant and probably wasting everyone’s time, I’m just losing my mind over all this stress and I don’t know if college is normally like this, so feel free to say whatever you feel is helpful for me at this time, whether it’s saying that I probably can’t handle college or saying I’m completely wrong and just lazy.
You should talk to the professor as well as to your high school counselor about whether you have passed the drop date for this class and if so, how you can be more successful in class. Perhaps the weekends are a good time to get caught up. Perhaps your instructor will allow you to get an incomplete with the understanding that your work will be completed before the next semester starts. You probably shouldn’t take dual enrollment classes next semester.
There is nothing your professor hasn’t seen, heard or dealt with. Set up time to talk to him/her. And as Cheddar suggests- follow up with your counselor.
You do not need dual enrollment to do well in college. If this class is dragging you down, get help in figuring out the best way to disentangle yourself. Withdraw, incomplete, take the class pass/fail, find out what your options are.
If you have been working with a therapist or counselor, now is a good time to set up a meeting with your parents and the counselor. They may need to hear from a third party that their expectations/requirements are colliding with reality right now. And if you haven’t been meeting with this person recently, get back to it. You need an unbiased ear helping you figure out what is normal (being challenged) vs. what is abnormal (feeling like everything is falling apart) and some coping strategies.
Hugs.
Thank you both for the advice. I’m trying to using the weekends currently to get caught up but there’s just too much work to get it all done then and I need breaks. The drop date ends this week but since I’ve already put in so much effort, it feels like a waste to quit and then take the normal high school version next semester. Sorry for the excuses, I’m just stuck between rock and hard place.
The only rock and hard place is your lack of perspective.
If the course is ruining your mental health and interfering with your ability to do well in your other classes, that’s your answer. Drop it. The only waste is having the opportunity to turn this around and not taking it.
Google “sunk cost” and learn how many terrible decisions end up getting made due to over-valuing a sunk cost. The effort you’ve already put in- that’s the sunk cost. The risk of everything really falling apart going forward because you didn’t see the handwriting on the wall- that seems like the true cost of continuing on your current path.
There are companies that have been driven into bankruptcy because the leaders were focused on what they’d already spent- money, talent, time-- instead of looking forward to calculate how much would be required going forward. Hence- the fallacy of the sunk cost.
It’s fascinating when you aren’t the one circling the drain or losing your mental health over it…
If it’s too much work to get caught up now- and it’s only October- imagine how you’ll feel in three weeks AFTER the drop date…
After you talk to your professors, get in line for a Powerup planner. I just found out about it. A grad student put it together based on strategies she used to graduate with honors from UC Berekely, while working 2 jobs or something! Her site is called Powerupplanner.