I hate college. What to do?

College Life
1

<p>I started my second semester of college yesterday and I’m already stressed beyond belief. Tears are pouring! </p>

<p>Here’s my story: I’m 17 years old. I was in and out of every kind of school (public, private, homeschooled), but spent most of my school life being homeschooled (my choice). The highschooler’s in my area are required to carry 6 credits per year, all four years. I carried between 7-9 credits per year. At the end of my Jr. year, I had taken all the classes I needed to have to graduate (along with several others), except for my Sr. english. My mom wanted me to go into a program called Duel Enrollment. It allows a highschooler to take classes at a college for free (except for paying for books) and get both highschool and college credit (assuming they pass). I enrolled and took Comp. 1 (my Sr. English) and College Algebra. I passed Comp 1 with a 94% and passed Col. Alg. with an 89% (highest in the class, most people failed, teacher was horrible and the joke around school.). So, when I finished the Comp. 1 class, I technically graduated highschool - 6 months early. (this was this past Dec.). Now, I’m taking Macroeconomics, General Psychology, and Human Growth and Development. </p>

<p>The university I was trying to get into is a private school, so there’s alot of criteria I had to fit to get in. I got accepted to the school, but it’s extremely expensive ($24,900 per year), so I needed a scholarship to be able to pay for it. I worked my behind off to get a score high enough on the ACT to get a 75% scholarship to this school. I found out I got the scholarship on Sunday. </p>

<p>Most people would celebrate, but I did just the opposite. I really don’t care. The college doesn’t interest me anymore. Even looking at a book stresses me out to to the point of tears. I don’t like my teachers. Is this a burnout or what? What should I do? Withdraw and go pick up a minimum wage job application somewhere? I feel lost and my mom won’t give any advice. (She’s quite mad at my hating school.) She just says, “I did it, carried more credits than you, and worked full time, got good grades in the hardest program out there, and spent the last two years married!” </p>

<p>Homework, studying, etc. keeps me completely occupied during the semesters, so I have no time to join a club, play a sport, or even see a movie with a friend for 13 weeks. </p>

<p>My mom won’t let me take the semester off, so any advice would be great.</p>

2

<p>Maybe take a semester off. A lot of schools will let you do that and still keep your scholarship when you resume. There’s nothing wrong with working for a while, or doing some other worthwhile activity, especially when you’re only 17. Think about what you’d really like to do if you had a semester or year, and then present the idea to your mom. If you have a worthwhile idea, she should be willing to go along with it. If your mom is the obstacle, try going to the school first and get them on board, and then go to your mom.</p>

3

<p>You hate college two days after starting?</p>

<p>And all I see from

is excuses.</p>

4

<p>Knights, this is the second day of my SECOND semester. </p>

<p>I knew some people were going to reply with, “Join a club or play a sport to relieve stress.”, so they needed to know that homework keeps me busy, and I don’t have time for much else.</p>

5

<p>Oh, dual enrollment was at the same school you are at now?</p>

<p>And honestly, what I said was the truth. You’re making excuses. Even Rhodes Scholars do other things besides school.</p>

6

<p>^^^you have to prioritize though. Homework and studying doesn’t have to take up all of your free time. If it is, you are either a terrible time-manager or really burned out. You have to make the effort to do something other than study. Yes, the main purpose of college is to get an education. But you cannot get this education if you sacrifice everything else (i.e. social life). If the difference between an A and B grade is a few extra hours of participating in a club/sport, then do it. That time spent doing other things will likely make the homework/classes feel less monotonous and be far more worthwhile in the long-run.</p>

<p>No offense, but with the homeschooling most of your career it seems that one of the skills you lack is the ability to socialize with your peers. When homework and school is tough, having friends to talk to/do stuff with really makes all the difference. As I said, it’s all about priorities. You need to make time for friends or extracurricular activities.</p>

7

<p>Yes, same school. It’s a community college. </p>

<p>You’re right. I was wrong. I sometimes eat and sleep, too. And occasionally check Facebook to see if any classmates emailed back regarding our group project.</p>

8

<p>I mean, community college isn’t really super exciting from what I hear so that could be part of your problem. </p>

<p>Seriously, to borrow a quote from The Shining: All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.</p>

9

<p>Part of the reason why I took so many credits during highschool was to graduate early. See, I was doing acting in LA (films and whatnot), but I looked older than I was. To be able to work me as an adult, I needed to graduate as early as possible. I can interact with people great because of acting. I was also homeschooled, so I could take time time off to film and stuff.</p>

10

<p>You’re not the only one hating college. You need to either (1) suck it up or (2) make a change. I say this endearingly lol. I work 20hr/week and have a super rigorous course load at college because I’m doing a BS/MS program. Not only do I not have time for sports or clubs, but I also don’t have time for make-up labs, tutoring hours, visiting teachers, and sometimes I’m so tired when I come home from work, I can’t even bring myself to study or do homework. Don’t get me started on my fragile social life :P</p>

<p>If you spend all your time either in class, doing homework, or studying, and if you are, this is bad. Something is very wrong lol. Maybe you work too much :stuck_out_tongue: College is supposed to be awesome. Do you think life is going to be more awesome when you work 9-5? Maybe make sure you’re taking classes in a subject that generally interests you. ? idkidk</p>

<p>like what lena said :)</p>

<p>EDIT: If you’re not doing acting anymore then…don’t you have the free time now?</p>

11

<p>Quick question, why is a community college 24,700$ or whatever? Aren’t most CCs state subsidized making them pretty cheap?</p>

12

<p>A private community college that costs $24k a year? Something’s fishy here.</p>

<p>If literally all your time is being taken up by school, homework, and studying, you’re doing something wrong.</p>

13

<p>Can you describe what a typical day (or just one day in particular) is like? How many hours you spend in class, how many hours you spend studying for each class on your own, any time you spend on intellectual work other than your college coursework, etc.? I am pretty sure that I don’t have an accurate picture of what your days are like, and I suspect other people are in a similar position.</p>

<p>Also, how many terms – other than the summer session – does your college have in the academic year?</p>

14

<p>She’s doing dual-enrollment in her last year of high-school at what appears to be a community college and received a 75% scholarship to a private school for next year. At least that’s my read.</p>

<p>You took somewhere between 6 and 8 credits for the fall semester - did these two courses consume all of your free time or were you working too? If you consider just a 40-hour workweek, the courses would take 8 hours (at most) leaving you with 32 hours for homework. This would still leave you with time for other things. Are you saying that you spent 32 hours per week doing homework?</p>

<p>Your spring course-load looks like it is 9 credits in relatively easy courses.</p>

<p>In college a normal course-load is 12 to 16 credits per semester so you’d have to step up your game to do somewhere between 50% to 100% more work than you did in the fall.</p>

<p>Our kids both started taking college courses at 15 and my daughter is in a similar position - she took 11 credits this past fall and is taking 12 credits this spring - business, psychology, creative writing, and drawing. She took Calc for Eng/Sci, Chem and English Lit in the Fall. She had a ton of free time last semester.</p>

<p>You might consider discussing your problems in a homeschooling forum where the dual-enrollment thing is quite common. I would suggest the home-ed email list.</p>

15

<p>I was acting during highschool, but quit before college. Now college takes up all the time.</p>

<p>The community college is free because I’m in a program called dual enrollment. They pay for everything except books. Is is much cheaper than a four year school.
The $24k school is a private university (4 year with some Masters programs).</p>

<p>Typical day:
Monday/Wednesdays: Wake up at 6:40am, leave house at 8:20am for school. Arrive at school around 8:45. Macroeconomics at 9-9:50am. Head to student center (get there at 11am), attempt to study, review, etc. but get distracted by people playing pool, blasting music, laughing, trying to talk to me, etc. Walk to another building at noon, General Psychology from 12:15-1:30. Arrive home around 2pm. Eat lunch (don’t eat at school), and begin working on homework until 6pm (or a tad later) until dinner is ready. Eat dinner (sometimes while doing homework or studying), homework/study until 9:00pm or so. Clean up my room and self, head to bed. Fall asleep roughly around 10:30-10:45. </p>

<p>Tuesday/Thursday:
Wake up and start working on homework that I didn’t finish the previous day. Get ready at 11:30am. Leave for school at 1pm. Arrive at school at 1:30. Human Growth and Development at 1:40-2:55pm. Sometimes there’s a teacher that I have to talk to, a library card to reactivate, something to drop off, a tutor’s hours to look at, etc. Get home around 3:30pm. Homework, studying, etc. Evening schedule is pretty much same as above.</p>

<p>Friday:
Wake up at 6:40am. Get ready. Leave house at 8:20. Arrive at school at 8:45. Macroeconomics from 9-9:50. Home by 10:20. Homework. Daydream about weekend by realize I’m not going to get one, because there is a test on Monday to study for. More homework. Evening schedule is same as above, but maybe ending a tad earlier because by Friday, my brain has checked out. </p>

<p>I probably have ADD because I cannot stay focused on something for very long and am easily distracted by anything more amusing that what I am suppose to be working on (pretty much everything). Often times, a thought will come to me and my mind will just wonder. Around 30 minutes or so, I’ll “wake-up” and try to remember what the heck I was doing. It’s been undiagnosed, so I’m not on any medication or anything.</p>

16

<p>The library is a far better place to study - student centers are usually about having fun.</p>

<p>College is about efficiency if you want to do well. Basically always think about how you can do things better. College Confidential is a good place to ask about time management.</p>

<p>You should try to find a solution to your concentration and focus issue. Full-time college is a lot tougher than what you are doing now.</p>

17

<p>I see some noticeable gaps in time where you could do some fun things to take your mind of off school. Like here:</p>

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</p>

<p>You can easily work in something enjoyable. On the weekends, do you study 24 hours a day for those two days? Of course not, carve out a block of time to do something fun.</p>

18

<p>Do you need to take the community college courses to remain accepted into the private university? I think you said you graduated in December from high school (due to number of credits) so do you have a high school diploma? Is the district you are in paying for the cc courses since you are still “of age” to be in high school until June?</p>

<p>I am guessing part of your “hating” it is you have already graduated and there might be a feeling of what is the point of taking these courses? Do you know if they will transfer into the four year?</p>

<p>Your course load doesn’t sound too difficult, but it seems as if the homework is overwhelming you. That must not have been an issue previously since you obtained the needed credits 6 months early. What is the difference now? Are the courses really that difficult or perhaps it truly is your “daydreaming” </p>

<p>Finally, what is your goal (major or career hopes) if you do attend the four year? Perhaps focusing on the goal, the why of the courses at the cc, and perhaps being able to transfer the credits, will assist…you haven’t shared at all what you hope to do later on, other than to say you have acted previously.</p>

<p>Are you majoring in film/theater?</p>

19

<p>The general rule of thumb is that you should study approximately 2 hours or so for each hour of class. So if you are taking 9 credit hours, you should have about 18 hours of “work” per week. Not too overwhelming!!</p>

<p>The problem does not seem to be college…unless the classes you are taking are too hard for you and beyond the level of your ability, which is a different issue–it seems to be your ability to concentrate and get things done so that you DO have time to do something besides study. </p>

<p>Have you always had concentration problems? Or is the problem now that you actually have too MUCH time on your hands…before when you had the stress of a busy acting schedule, etc. you probably had to get your work done within a predetermined window of time, etc. Maybe what you actually need to do is get some other activities on your schedule to help you focus on getting your work done when you need to do it. From personal experience, I know that all 3 of my boys have achieved their best grades during the semesters with their heaviest extracurricular achievements.</p>

<p>On the other hand, if you feel you have an ADD-related problem, then you need to deal with it. Seek professional help and follow through on the help you are given.</p>

20

<p>I think I added it up. I am assuming you are a commuter and you don’t live on campus - approximately a half hour away? That would explain why it was only recorded as 24k a year, which didn’t make sense for a private university.</p>

<p>Under the assumption that you are a commuter (hopefully I am correct?) It looks like you aren’t enjoying the college life that you could because you are heading home so early. In the afternoon - I am sure that you could afford to spend A LITTLE more time on campus.</p>

<p>I really think that you could benefit by forming more study groups. Meet new people and stay on campus longer. I think you are still under a high school kind of position, where home and school are separate. College is a lifestyle! Go to their dorms and hang around, play fun games!</p>

<p>I would be in your shoes right now as well. The ONLY reason that I have survived in college is due to my floormates who have always been there for me and hung with me when I needed the support. They take similar classes and DEFINITELY helped my grades.</p>

<p>In fact, my worst grade last semester was in a sophomore level class because I had few friends who took it and even fewer who I could really talk to about the class after lecture and discussion. Believe me it makes a big difference…</p>

<p>Consider seeing if you could move on campus as well… You can meet some really interesting people who might just make your life more interesting.</p>

<p>Other than that, commend yourself for 1. getting a scholarship in the first place and 2. Using your resources wisely. Give yourself sometime, adjusting as a commuter is very hard since you don’t make as many attachments to the school…</p>

<p>Now if you weren’t a commuter this entire argument seems kinda useless XD… I tried nonetheless… Best of luck to you!</p>