I want to drop out of college but I dont have any plans.

College Life
1

So I am currently a freshman almost done with my first year of college. I love the school I go to- it is in a great location and the program that I’m currently in is very good. Right now, I am a business major and when the year started out, I was content with what I was pursuing. As the year has progressed however, I find that I am just so dissatisfied with the course my life is on right now. I was never particularly interested in my major… I only picked it because I knew that it is one of the higher paying business majors and my parents suggested it. Additionally, I am so bored by the classes I have had to take. I am not passionate about them and go to class every day unexcited and unmotivated. I have also changed a lot in the months since started college and I have realized that the whole sit at a desk 9-5 scenario is not for me and I personally feel like I would be wasting my life by pursuing that kind of lifestyle.

I know that some would suggest changing my major but the problem with that is that I don’t really have a certain area of interest/topic that I am passionate enough about to devote my education/career to. Thus comes the suggestion of dropping out of college altogether. The problem with this scenario is that I don’t have any plans for what I would do after dropping out so therefore it is not practical. I don’t know what my career outlook would be long term and I don’t want to live with my parents and continue working my crappy retail for the foreseeable future.

Another option I have considered is taking a gap year and doing some traveling with the hope to return to college in the future without losing my scholarship. The problem with THIS scenario (lol) is that I don’t have any friends with whom I could travel so I don’t know how rewarding this would be. I was planning on doing a study abroad in Spain my junior year because I am a Spanish minor so one option I considered was to maybe get a job and live in Spain for a year then return to college. I don’t even know if that is practical.

This post turned out to be more of a rant rather than a question but if anyone has comments/suggestions after reading this they would be greatly appreciated lol.

2

Well…

First of all- a career in business is rarely about sitting at a desk from 9 to 5. It always gives me a laugh when a 19 year old says that. I know a lot of 32 year olds in business who said it when they were 19. But I can’t convince you of that.

As a freshman are you even taking business classes yet? If so, why don’t you take your gen credits while getting some career advising? Take the history, government, English classes everyone has to take first. Picking a major because your parents suggested it may mean it really isn’t for you.

Not sure what you would be qualified to do in Spain with one year of college behind you. Even if you had a friend to travel with, do you have the money?

Career prospects with no degree are pretty easy to determine. A lot of research out there on that. Maybe you should Google it. There are trades- plumbing, electrical, cosmetology, etc. that do not require a degree. Anything like that appeal to you?

3

I agree, take your general ed/other distribution requirements now while figuring out what you want to major in. I went into college completely undecided – there was nothing I could particularly see myself doing for the rest of my life. So I took a bunch of courses that sounded interesting and that also fulfilled my distribution requirements. It took until my sophomore year for a subject to really stand out to me (up until that point I would change my mind on a major about every other week) and now in my second semester of sophomore year I feel like I’m really taking courses that I’m passionate about.

You aren’t expected to know what you want to do with the rest of your life now, but college is a great way to explore all the different possibilities. I’ll also easily graduate on time despite not declaring a major for the first two years. The first half of college for me was exploring a bunch of different subjects while fulfilling requirements at the same time, and the second half will be focused on my major/minor courses. I really don’t think dropping out of college is the right solution; plenty of people change majors or explore different fields of study and I think doing that instead will solve your problem.

4

If your education is being funded now (by parents, scholarships, grants, etc) you have to factor in what giving this up will do for you. This opportunity for funded education may disappear and getting back to school after a gap may be harder to afford.

You are a freshman. You are at the point where the newness, shine, excitement of getting to college may have worn off and you are a bit bored with the entry level classes. This is not a reason to stop, even if you feel undirected right now. The campus probably has a careerc center where you can do some career exploration. Further, as above posters have noted, you can spend time taking your core requirements and take a variety of interesting courses to help you try to figure out what you want to do with your life.

5

Are you ** passionate enough about ** living with your parents and working a crappy retail or factory job?

The fact that you are concerned about losing your scholarship indicates that your family isn’t wealthy. If so, then who is going to fund this voyage of personal discovery? Getting a job in Spain that pays a living wage, w no legal marketable skills is not very realistic. Then agsin, on another thread, a poster suggested selling a kidney…

You mention you love the school. So why don’t u just pick a major you reasonably LIKE. It doesn’t have to be cataclysmic passion. Lots of collehe grads go on to jobs/careers not directly related to their major.

6

You have one more year to decide on your major. Your situation 's very common actually - most freshmen realize they don’t really know what they’d like to study. That’s why you have the opportunity of taking many different classes in various subjects, to discover what you enjoy and are good at. You like Spanish, Right ? So keep those classes. And for next semester, take a sample of classes from various disciplines. You may discover that you love economics, anthropology, criminology, biochemistry… :slight_smile:

7

You are a freshman and you want to drop out? Surely at this point you are taking gen Ed classes. No wonder you are bored. As a grown adult, I will advise you not to drop out. Your prospects in today’s world with no higher education are ZERO. How will you enjoy working at a shoe store in your 50s?

I will quickly tell you a tale of four siblings. Three didn’t go to college, one did. Three struggle to this day to make ends meet. One of those three did go on to have a very respectable career in public service, but often has worked two jobs, employed full time at both for a while. Of the other two sibs, one is on the verge of bankruptcy all the time. The other is struggling in an apartment, after having owned a home for decades. The point being that none of the three sibs without college degrees have anything to fall back on. The three sib’s have 9 kids between them, only one as of now has gone to college.

The fourth sib, who went to college, has, in middle age, begun a new career in education because that sib has a degree from back in the 80s. The fourth sib married another college educated person. They aren’t fabulously wealthy, but they manage to have vacations and own their home. They have saved. Their kids are going to college. Not that the fourth sib’s life is charmed, but the fourth sib and spouse definitely had higher incomes due to being educated.

Which life do you foresee for yourself? Furthermore, the honeymoon of freshman year is over, and you are bored. Break out the violins playing “my heart bleeds for you” If you think college is boring, you should try flipping burgers until you retire. Paying bills isn’t exactly a fun night on the town. Living in an apartment will get pretty old after a few decades.

If you are so bored you literally can’t stand it, just deal until it’s done for the year, and next school year, choose your classes more wisely and try to take some interesting or,challenging ones. You don’t have to declare a major yet, so try something different. And why can’t you travel in the summer? Or do,what I did, and try the six year plan if fianances will allow. I spent much of my college years traveling and taking semesters off to work, to fund the travel.

The good news here is that even though you can’t imagine it, you will grow up to be a bill-paying adult one day. The bad news is that you actually have to make that scenario one you will be happy to live with.

8

“one option I considered was to maybe get a job and live in Spain for a year then return to college. I don’t even know if that is practical.”

I’m afraid it’s not practical, or even possible, unless you have citizenship in a European Union country. You’re not allowed to work in European countries as an American unless you have a work permit - and unless you have an unusual skill set no other European can offer, that’s not likely to happen.

9

Don’t make any decisions now. Finish out your classes. Use the summer to travel maybe not Spain but just to get away. Perhaps try to shadow different careers to see if you actually sit behind a desk 9-5(many jobs do not). Stay in school but take different classes. Something will interest you. Believe me there are many freshman that feel the same way. If you drop out and get a job and tell yourself" I’ll work a year then go back". Many times people never go back. So in the works of Aaron Rodgers R-E-L-A-X!!! Stay in college. You will be fine.

10

Do not drop out of college. I am a high school grad who didn’t go to college right after high school and I Regret it! It sucks, being an adult and working full time! I’d rather be in school and studying. You don’t know how good you have it until it’s gone. That’s my two cents.

11

Did you take out student loans? If so won’t you be required to begin repayment? I agree with others, stay in school and take all your gen ed classes before choosing a new major. The money/scholarship situation will never get better if you take time off.