I began college this semester as a pre-pharmacy major. I had a tough courseload including calculus, chemistry, and biology. I’m now failing and plan to withdrawal from chemistry, and I’m barely passing calculus. I feel like a failure. I wasn’t top of my high school class but I did fairly well and ended with a 3.9 GPA. I was not prepared for how tough college was going to be. I don’t know how to study effectively and I don’t know how to change it. Every time I fail a test, I’m less motivated to study for the next one. With this poor attitude I feel like I will not be able to succeed in any major and that I’m wasting my money going to college. In addition, I’m introverted and have no social life. I have some friends from high school and made a few friends during orientation, but they have stopped hanging out with me because I’m always studying or working. I am alone and I feel like a failure and I don’t know if college is worth the emotional damage. I have looked into other majors but I have no true passions or interests. I am good at English and the medical field intrigues me, but there are limited english careers and I don’t believe I have the social skills needed to work in the medical field. I also like biology and hate math (aside from algebra). I really don’t know what to do. Should I take a semester off, go to community college until I know what I want, or find another major? I would like to have a family someday and I want to be able to support them financially but also have a flexible schedule so I can spend sufficient time with my family. This is an important factor in choosing my future career, so I figured I’d add this in case anyone has career suggestions. If anyone has any recommendations for a potential major, career, or any other suggestions or criticisms, I’m open to all of them. (I know people are going to comment that I’m wasting my time complaining when I could be studying, but I just really need some advice to put my mind at ease).
It’s really the course load, and not you. Calculus and Chemistry are college weed out classes for potential Engineering and Pre-med students, so they are extremely difficult. You should do like you’ve planned to drop the Chemistry, but try to keep up the Calculus. Get help from TA, tutoring center, or study group to get better for the Calculus. Get yourself a bit more free time to enjoy the college life and talk to family members until you feel better. Decide what to do during the winter break but not now. Daughter took both AP Calculus and AP Chemistry the semester in HS, and she repeated saying that was the dumpest choice she took.
Def drop one of the classes asap. Go to prof office hours and the tutoring center. Join a study group, try forming one if one doesn’t exist. Go see an academic advisor and next semester, try not to pack in all very challenging classes. Use the pass/fail option for a class if possible, but maybe save it for next year because most colleges don’t let students have too many of those. Make an appointment to see a counselor at the counseling center, right away. As soon as your schedule frees up, or now if possible, get involved in some campus activities. Volunteer, you will def meet people.
It’s still early days in college. You aren’t a failure, but I think you bit off a little more than you could chew. Don’t beat yourself up. You can do it.
@amNotarobot, you are going through a lot and it probably seems overwhelming. It also may feel as if you have to figure your whole life out at once (study habits, social life, grades, college major, career, lifestyle factors…that’s a huge pile of issues all rolled together.)
It’s OK to put on the breaks and focus on what’s right in front of you. You CAN’T know it all…it will happen one step at a time. Try to take some future worries off your plate for now (for example, I’d bet there are SOME positions within the broad medical field that are suitable for introverts…but that’s something you can think about later.)
You are taking some hard classes all together. Also, if you are working so continuously that you have no time at all for friends please don’t judge yourself for being a social failure OR a slacker. It’s just the tough period you are in right now. (Being an introvert, in and of itself, is not a sign of social failure, BTW! It’s just your “normal,” a different style of approaching things.)
So, have you been regularly visiting your professors during office hours? Finding out about tutoring? That would be the first places to start. Your professors really are there to help you. Do you find your professors approachable?
Also, if you’re really overwhelmed, go to the college counseling center. Lots of students do this…adjustment to college is hard for many. Anxiety and depression over your situation can make it difficult to make decisions and can really mess with your confidence. Please get help with this! Working with the counselor can help you clarify what to do in the present and future.
If you stay in your current school, do you have wiggle-room in your schedule next semester to take a course or two that you will enjoy and that will come easier to you? (English, by the way, is NOT impractical. Almost any career is greatly enhanced by a command of the written and spoken language.) There is an ongoing debate as to how much college should be goal-oriented career training vs. open-ended learning-for-its-own sake. In a perfect world, the latter would lead to a great career suited to your own aptitiudes. Its doesn’t always work that way, but exploring subject matter that you like may lead you to a suitable major, and career that you never dreamed of before. For example, an old friend of mine liked both biology and writing. The two seemed incompatible. But she earned a BS in biology and later a masters degree in science writing. She became a successful free-lance science journalist. I’m not suggesting this career to you, per se. Just saying, there are many paths that could lead you to a good life. Also, many students eventually end up in well-paying careers that don’t have an obvious connection with their college major. Please don’t let your current difficulties discourage you.
Your school probably has a career center too. They may have some career exploration activities and information to help you figure out if your major a or intended career path is right for you and what other options might be. One step at a time. Find and use resources around you if you can.
Thank you all so much for your kind words of advice. I haven’t been using the resources on campus as much as I should be, so I will definitely have to look into it. I’m still not entirely sure what I’m going to do next semester, but your comments have helped encourage me to keep trying. Thanks again 