I currently attend Umass Lowell as a freshman in computer engineering. I loved building my own computer so I thought that would be a good fit for me. I wasn’t the most popular kid in school but I still has plenty of friends, but since I moved here, the only friends I seemed to have made is 1 out of my 3 roommates and commuters. I also hate engineering, I still love everything with computers but I just can’t seem to like it. And the best part of this is that I love being home more than I do at school. My brother and sister were “popular” in high school and college and seemed to love college, which made me think that I would have the best time of my life while I was there. Unfortunately, this is not the case. I hate every aspect of college, the food here stinks, you have no privacy in your room, my floor mates are loud and annoying, I hate all my classes minus one which is college writing and isn’t anywhere close to my major, and I love being home every chance I can get. My sister finds it weird that I want to come home every weekend. I told her that I haven’t attended a party yet and she was flabbergasted. I was never one to like school but this takes my hatred to a whole new level. If anything I would like to attend a college which is right down the road from me, not 40 mins away so I could stay at home and work. That is how much I hate college, I would rather work 40 hours a week than go to what is supposed to be the best 4 years of my life. I don’t know what to do, I don’t want to disappoint my parents. Whenever they ask how school is going, I always have to lie to their faces and say that I love it. But this just isn’t the case. I am miserable all the time and I want to either transfer or dropout all together. I don’t know what to do.
@lemontown have you considered switching dorms? A sizable part of your college experience is which dorm you stay in, so be sure to pick a dorm that you feel fits you (in terms of single/double/triples, facilities, location, culture, etc.).
If your dorm has an RA, have you talked to him/her? That’s what they’re there for!
Most importantly, try to get a more positive approach to everything here and see if you can come up with ways to fix some of these problems. If you hate engineering, why are you majoring in computer engineering? Do you think a slightly different major might interest you more?
First of all you need start being honest with yourself and your parents. If you are so unhappy, they can’t help you to figure what to do (and what is affordable) if they don’t know the truth. It sounds like your choice of major may not be a good fit, another computer related major may suit you better. Then you can figure out if your current school or the other one closer to home would be the most suitable for you. In any case, honesty is going to be your first requirement. In the meantime, do your best to finish and pass your current classes.
Take care of the room situation right now. You may be surprised at how much a bad roommate can weigh on you mentally. Personally, I go home every weekend, and I have a perfectly good social and academic life. Do not feel guilty for going home every weekend. I go home because I love my family, have no interest in partying, and because I love being at home in general. I used to give too much thought to what people thought about me going home, but then realized that it is my life and that there is no sense worrying what other people think.
Your major needs to change, your place of residence needs to change, and you ought to tell your parents how you feel. You DO have options.
Also, it is not an absolute given that college is lovable. It may not even be likable. But even if it isn’t, it still might be worth doing for future employment and learning how to navigate the world. You have one friend and one class you like, so even at this time it’s not a zero.