PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE HELP! I can't decide if I should drop out of college or if I should stay.

College Confidential Community
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For as long as I could remember, I’ve always had a passion for cooking (mainly baking). So when I was in the 6th grade I decided that I wanted to go to Culinary School after graduating high school.

While in high school I was able to have the opportunity go to attend a technical education center that gives you some training in the field that you are thinking about going into too. So I did that my junior and senior year. BUT while I was there, I noticed a change in myself. Suddenly cooking was starting to get to be less and less fun for me and I was losing the passion that I had for it.

All of that being said, when it came time to fill out those college applications I told myself to give culinary school a chance. So after I filled out my application for culinary school and mailed it in, I received my acceptance letter. I was happy and so was my family. But then I realized how screwed I was because I had no idea what in the heck I wanted to major in.

Choosing a major for me was one of the hardest decision of my life. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to major in Baking & Pastry Arts, or Food and Beverage/Hospitality Management, or if I wanted to major in Culinary Arts. After racking my brain for God knows how long, I finally decided that I wanted to major in Baking and Pastry Arts. BUT then after doing some thinking I decided I was going to major in Culinary Arts.

Everything was going great in school for me until I actually started to attend my culinary classes. I have a 9AM-12:40PM lecture on Mondays, followed by a 9AM-3PM Culinary Lab on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and finally to top it all off I have a 4:30PM-8:10PM Culinary Math class on Thursdays.

Ever since starting these classes, I’ve started to dread getting up everyday more and more. Cooking isn’t fun for me anymore and I feel like I’m wasting my time and the instructor’s time by going to the classes because I know that if I am not fully interested in something, then I won’t put 100% effort into anything related to said topic(s).

Which brings me to the situation that I’m in right now. The situation being that I feel like I want to drop out of culinary school. I’ve always had that thought in my mind but I’ve been to scared to act on it because I don’t want to disappoint my friends and family members. But I am truly unhappy with what I am doing with my education right now.

I don’t know if I am unhappy because maybe the major I chose wasn’t the right fit for me or if I’m unhappy because cooking isn’t what I want to do with my life.

If you could please give me some advice as to what you think I should do. Should I drop out? Should I wait a while longer? Should I change majors?

PLEASE! I really need advice, I’m so confused.

THANK YOU!!

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DON’T DROP OUT OF COLLEGE!! YOU’VE MADE IT THIS FAR. THIS IS LIKE RUNNING A MARATHON AND GIVING UP A FEW STEPS BEFORE THE FINISH LINE. Sorry for the caps. You should change your major if you really feel you don’t like culinary. Remember whatever you do, you’ll be doing it for the rest of your life. If you don’t wanna do culinary, find your niche.

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Well, I think that depends. I think your options should be whether to change your major or transfer, not to drop out completely. But it sounds like you are at a school that only does culinary studies, so you might have to transfer if you don’t want to cook anymore.

Do you have the option to try classes in one of the other majors you were considering, especially baking & pastry arts? If you can take one of those classes as an elective next semester, try that and see how you like it. You might rediscover your old passion, or you may decide that cooking is something you like to do for fun but not for a living.

Even if that’s the case, I don’t think you should drop out - but you should transfer somewhere you can pursue another, more general major.