<p>Consider Deep Springs College?</p>
<p>[Deep</a> Springs College](<a href=“http://www.deepsprings.edu/home]Deep”>http://www.deepsprings.edu/home)</p>
<p>You really need to figure out what you want–perhaps a gap term/year while you work for AmeriCorp or PeaceCorp?</p>
<p>This reminds me of an article posted here a while ago about a student that went to BU and ran up a huge amount of debt. He didn’t have the money and his parents had split up but he liked the intellectual atmosphere of Boston University and went deeply into debt instead of going to his state university.</p>
<p>It may be that some need intellectual stimulation as a motivator in high school or college.</p>
<p>I heard Jack Wilson (President of UMass) on the radio this morning and he was taking phone calls. He said that you have to be highly self-motivated to get into and graduate from UMass. That includes doing things that you don’t like doing for whatever reason. You’re going to run into problems wherever you go - it might be a professor that can’t teach or that grades unfairly or that gives you poorly written assignments or that shows up to class 30 minutes late for every class. Or it may be boring classes that you’ve run into.</p>
<p>Learning how to get the little things done shows others that you are ready to take on the bigger things. In real life, there are a lot of tasks that aren’t intellectually stimulating: changing diapers, waiting in line at the DMV, taking out the trash, fixing a flat tire, doing the dishes, ironing shirts, etc. But they are necessary tasks in life and we just do them. We can control our own attitude in doing these sorts of things.</p>
<p>There isn’t much of this semester left and cramming EC in may be hard but it might be possible to ask for an Incomplete and work on EC materials over the winter break.</p>
<p>if you can get your parents to support the cost (maybe through insurance), I would highly recommend cognitive therapy. It’s a practical approach-very action oriented, and it’s highly successful.
Here’s a link - maybe there’s someone you can see in your area.
I think you need some strategies for dealing with your boredom and lack of motivation. It may be you’re suffering from depression. Whatever it is, this kind of counseling can help.
Good luck. [Academy</a> of Cognitive Therapy - - What is Cognitive Therapy?](<a href=“http://www.academyofct.org/FolderID/1059/SessionID/{40C379B7-2FF0-4677-9168-1B5BB7B12AA3}/PageVars/Library/InfoManage/Guide.htm]Academy”>http://www.academyofct.org/FolderID/1059/SessionID/{40C379B7-2FF0-4677-9168-1B5BB7B12AA3}/PageVars/Library/InfoManage/Guide.htm)</p>
<p>Make a plan and set short term goals. Just make a deal with yourself that you will attend every class and do every assignment this week. Do not think of grades, think of just getting it done for one week. Being motivated is not something you just get up one morning and are. In reading all your posts, I am suggesting making a different type of goal that has little to do with what you ultimately want – at first. Add the weeks and the grades will come.</p>
<p>2nd. The harder the classes the better my son always does. The more he has on his plate, the more capable he is of managing his time and getting it all done. Who knows why. So… I think you ought to either take harder classes or think about transferring as soon as your grades improve – which could be motivating in itself.</p>
<p>If it’s about money, some schools have very generous financial aid packages which make the costs almost equiv to state schools, depending on circumstances. The upside is that while you are shooting for the goal of transferring, you might just find yourself starting to like it.</p>
<p>Try to write for the school paper. I actually think you are a very decent writer and I can easily “read” your frustration. If that’s not easily done, there are definitely other outlets in online blogs etc. I am not a club person, never was. But projects, which are shorter term, have a clear beginning and end (again… committing to something with a time frame) gave me an out if I didn’t like the people or the project. Do you have a community service board? Becoming involved in the larger community might also be helpful – and too… it gives you something to write about.</p>
<p>And the counselor who said it’s about feeling like you’re being heard? Feeling heard is having someone help you find solutions or at least see them. Since the school is large, you prob have a university hospital system as well… If you have any kind of insurance, it should be helpful and if you are a student and they use a sliding scale, you should be looking at something closer to free. Plus… this whole limit thing as to how often you can go or use the service? It’d be my opinion that this is your first opinion piece as to how that is just absurd to the long term mental health of the school.</p>
<p>Lots of things can affect energy levels: food sensitivities, environmental sensitivities, ADHD, hypothyroidism, a sleep disorder, depression. Since things fell through the cracks even in your happier high school years, it would be worth figuring out why your “laziness” prevented you from completing what you started.</p>
<p>Have you considered transferring? Here’s a list of colleges that work to ensure students’ success:</p>
<p>[USATODAY.com</a> - Newly listed: 20 colleges that foster student success](<a href=“http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2005-08-28-colleges-success_x.htm]USATODAY.com”>http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2005-08-28-colleges-success_x.htm)</p>
<p>I would agree with JHS on most every point. I don’t mean to be harsh but if you were my child you would have been home and working at a job (any job) when you were put on probation.
You have the ability to do the work, you just don’t choose to.<br>
Lots of people who are successful adults started out flipping burgers at McDonalds, including me. It wasn’t entertaining, it wasn’t fun, I wasn’t learning anything. I needed the money and I chose to do what I had to do.
Suggest you do the same.</p>
<p>Sounds like you would be a better fit at a small school. Consider taking a year off to recharge and then applying somewhere that fits your learning style better. If that isn’t an option, you can at least use the on-line prof evaluations to find someone who has a teaching style that matches yours and find classes that are highly rated. No one review is meaningful, but in aggregate, you get a feel for is respected and whether a particular profs short-comings are ones you can live with. I also suggest that you sign up for more classes (6-7) than you plan to take and drop the ones that clearly don’t work for you-or audit a few classes this semester to see if you’d enjoy them next semester/year. You can borrow the textbooks from the library while you make up your mind about joining/keeping a class. Finally, form some study groups-its a good way to meet people, you’ll have more interesting discussions, and it will motivate you to get your work done in time for the group meeting.</p>
<p>I second the recommendation for testing for ADD. I’m not understanding the huge decline in your performance from high school to college. Large state schools may not be a perfect match for many kids, but you can still get a first rate education there. Go to every class, do your homework, read the books, and study for tests. It’s really as simple as that. Even if the teaching is not great, it is your job to work as hard as possible. Going to office hours and getting to know your professors would help. Also, read Rate My Professor evaluations for faculty at your school – there are bound to be a few professors with great reviews. Normally, upper level classes are smaller and more interesting, but if the problem is the professors in your major, maybe you could sit in on some upper level classes outside your major. The suggestion above for shopping multiple classes at the beginning of next semester is excellent.</p>
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<p>Since you’ve been so unhappy about this for so long, are you at least willing to consider the idea that perhaps it’s not everyone else who is confused about the root of the problem but rather that it is you who is confused? I do not mean that at all in mean-spirited way, but rather in a straight forward way. Productive adults do not seek advice until they hear what they want to hear, they seek people/places that are in a position to provide good counsel and listen. </p>
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<p>Part of becoming an adult is realizing that if you continue doing the same things with the same attitude, nothing will change. You are old enough now to be expected to do what you are required to do inspite of your attitude or feelings about it. </p>
<p>Your attitude towards TA’s also illustrates that at least some of your assumptions of what college would be were simply wrong. Adjusting your expectations to match the reality of where you are is a crucial skill in life. </p>
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<p>Nor should they. It’s one thing to offer extra credit to students who are truly making an effort yet still coming up short, it’s quite another to offer it to those who simply did not do the work. </p>
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<p>You need to define “it.” Because what we truly want, we do what it takes to get. My spouse is a Marine, I know young men and women your age who are working on degrees via on-line or via mail from combat zones. And before you assume you are simply brighter than they are, I assure you that is not the case. </p>
<p>I highly encourage you to follow most of the wise counsel given here but most of all I encourage you to be honest with yourself. I also disagree with those who think perhaps what you need is a change of campus size. If this were your freshman year, maybe. But this is your sophomore year, you are in danger of losing your scholarship and you’ve made yourself unattractive to other schools/financial aid. That’s a huge lesson learned the hard way; doing poorly where you are greatly reduces your odds of getting to something you believe is better. This is simply not the time to begin daydreaming about a geographical cure to your problem of low motivation and unwillingness to show up for your life when it’s not what you thought it would be.</p>
<p>Not really sure what your advice is, or other posters who say to “adjust your attitude”. Is that not what I’ve been trying to do? “Hey guys, I need an attitude adjustment.” “Adjust it.” </p>
<p>Hm, thanks!</p>
<p>I have merely been saying that I know I’m smart enough to do the work, but I suffer from motivational problems, boredom, etc. So I am asking for ways to motivate myself or become more interested, etc. It seems like many of the responses are just, well, suck it up, life is boring. I don’t really believe this. I believe there must be something I can do to make myself feel more excited about it. I can suffer through my terrible job - just like another poster worked at McDonald’s because he needed to do it - because my job is supposed to be boring and dull (if you were wondering, I’m basically a janitor, so come on now, don’t tell me I don’t know how to do work I don’t want to do). But college is supposed to be exciting, right? Learning is supposed to be exciting. It’s not supposed to be like a job at McDonald’s, where you just grind through the motions. I was once excited about it. I believe it is still exciting. So I am wondering how to recapture that.</p>
<p>I applaud your husband for finding something in life that matters to him. I’d rather be a marine than be in school, if I can’t find anything that matters here. But I think there must be, somewhere.</p>
<p>I like the suggestions about talking to professors more in office hours, signing up for a lot of classes and testing them out, setting goals, etc. I do read reviews online but there just isn’t enough of those to make an informed decision. Or, when there is, those few profs’ classes are completely backed up. I’m number 30 on the waitlists for two classes with great teachers, and I don’t assume to be off them ever…</p>
<p>Hmm… I’ve been reading over this thread and I’m hearing a real sense of meaninglessness in your perceptions of your current environment. And the relatively sudden and rather significant loss of motivation sounds a bit like depression to me. I don’t necessarily mean clinical-get-on-Prozac depression, but something more like disappointment and loss.</p>
<p>It does not sound like college is meeting your expectations; after your obviously wonderful h.s. experiences, the state college does not seem to be what you expected, for a whole variety of reasons.</p>
<ul>
<li>it could be the environment (size, number of students, relatively detached professors)</li>
<li>it could be that you don’t really know what you want, intellectually or career-wise</li>
<li>it could be something else</li>
</ul>
<p>But I think just stepping back and recognizing it for what it is, is part of the battle: it’s not measuring up and you’re very disappointed in it.</p>
<p>Now, where to go next?</p>
<p>First, I would investigate whether there is an honors college at your school. I know your grades aren’t good now… we’ll get to that in a minute. But some honors college situations offer small class sizes, priority scheduling (so you get the best teachers), small-scale living arrangements that emulate a small-school environment, and extra-stimulating coursework. Does any of what I just said ring any chimes with you? If so, look into this - maybe your environment is one of the issues, and maybe there is hope that you can solve it without making a big change.</p>
<p>Second, your grades… I’ll state this and you can take it or leave it… I’m not saying this applies to you; only you know. But if you’re taking any type of mood-altering substances, and/or over-indulging in video games, that could be part of the problem. If you can’t stop, then get it treated as an addiction. </p>
<p>If the above does not apply to you then ignore it. </p>
<p>Only you can sort out whether it’s the content of courses that has you low, or the environment itself. But regardless of whether you’ve found the “right” major or not, you will get out of your courses what you put into them: you either need to show up to class, EVERY TIME, take reasonably good notes, and apply yourself, or you should take a leave of absence and go to work until you’re clear on what you really want. It sounds like you are not clear on what you want and/or your are somewhat depressed as mentioned above.</p>
<p>I, myself, took 9 years and changed majors 8 times. My first two years were nearly exactly as yours. But one day, my father showed up with a van, said, “you’re coming home” and that’s what I did. I worked for a year, before I realized that I really, really, really wanted my degree. I went back to school (a different school). It took me 6 more years, and I had to pay my way for much of it. But I graduated, with a 3.8, and took some heavy courses. Ended up at an ivy-league grad school.</p>
<p>I’ll try again…let me repeat something</p>
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<p>You do not necessarily need to change your attitude although it would make what you do need to do a hell of a lot easier. You need to change your <em>behavior</em> and waiting until your attitude changes to change your behavior is a trap. </p>
<p>You are learning some really tough lessons right now about choices in behavior and I fear you are missing those by continuing to focus on attitude. But if your dedication to yourself and your goals becomes non-negotiable including not dependent on your enviroment, then you start taking the actions that support that and attitude follows. </p>
<p>Something is in your way; make it your mission to find out what it is and deal with it. Stop assuming you already know what it is. If you could have fixed this on your own by now, you would have. You change your attitude by changing your actions. Get tested for depression, ADD or AHAD. Get some books out of the library on self-discipline, cognitive therapy and goal setting. Figure out if you really want to be in college right now or would a break supporting yourself be helpful. Every small step you take towards improving your lot will motivate you to take the next right step. </p>
<p>No one is promised an exciting college career or even an exciting life. But the opposite of that is not boredom, it’s learning to sustain your inner excitement for life & learning, it’s setting goals and working towards them relentlessly and it’s pride in honoring your commitments to yourself and to others. </p>
<p>I wish you the very best of luck on this journey. It’s going to be hard but you owe it to that young person who is working as a janitor to take advantadge of your chance at a higher education, no matter how far off it is from what you expected.</p>
<p>I tend to agree too that you’ve given it a try and it’s not working for you and that perhaps you need to take a “time out” and figure out whether it’s the school or the major or you. We know a student, spectacular in high school, who managed to bomb out of a very well known school in a rare major that seemed perfect for him at the time. He took three years off with no parental $$ support because they were majorly upset, returned to a different college in a different part of the country in a major related to his original major only by a hair and paid every penny of the this time around…he graduated this year Summa…some people need time to figure it all out - everyone is different.</p>
<p>My 2-cents:</p>
<p>During the summer between junior and senior years, I worked at an auto plant in Detroit as a grunt worker. No air conditioning, backbreaking work. I really didn’t want to be doing that the rest of my life. That helped me keep my nose in the books during my senior year.</p>
<p>Schopenhauer, as I recall, made a clear case for the avoidance pain being a more effective motivator than the attainment “positive” things like of glory or pleasure. I bet if we still had the draft, and flunking out meant an all-expenses-paid tour of Iraq, you’d find an increased desire to study. The military IS an interesting option, however. I did 10 years as a Navy officer, and then went to grad school, and my perspectives on the subject matter were much fuller due to my real-world experience.</p>
<p>I never saw a college test with an item on it that was not discussed in class…so paying attention in class and studying your notes, in a lot of subjects, is more effective than studying textbooks.</p>
<p>I’d be wary of books about self-discipline…if you need them you won’t have the will to read them.</p>
<p>It’s ridiculous to diagnose over the Internet, and I’m not doing that. But I will say that the symptoms the OP described are exactly what many people with inattentive ADD experience. So, OP, it’s worthwhile to check out whether you might have ADD.</p>
<p>I agree with those who say that you just sound lost at this huge, unfriendly school. I feel you – it’s hard to keep plugging away when it doesn’t seem to make any difference, and you’re used to being a straight-A, top-notch student.</p>
<p>I think you’re in the wrong environment. You need more personalized attention. You need more intellectual stimulation. You are dying on the vine for lack of something INTERESTING. </p>
<p>At this point, you may be better served at a less prestigious but more friendly school. The honors program at a non-flagship state U. A SMALL local community college where you can get great grades easily. A small private that really needs formerly stellar high school students. </p>
<p>How about this? Withdraw from this semester. You won’t blow your scholarship by adding another bad semester. You won’t add another semester of crappy grades to weigh you down. The money spent for this semester is a sunk cost; let it sink.</p>
<p>What to do next semester?</p>
<p>Your options: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Take next semester off and go to community college in a beautiful place. Go to Maui Community College. Go to Tahoe in California. Go to a smaller one near San Francisco or Santa Monica or Boulder or Miami. Your courses will transfer later. You’ll get better grades. It will probably be about the same price (even with non-resident tuition). Network like a fiend while there and get an internship for the summer. If you can’t, do a cheap study abroad over the summer through the community college. </p></li>
<li><p>Just take some time off and work at something you find interesting. Live at home (if possible) and intern with someone in a field you find interesting. New educational opportunities will open up, and you won’t keep racking up bad grades that will get in your way in the future. </p></li>
<li><p>Work at Americorps, etc. It looks good on a resume, gives you time to think, and time to refocus.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The new environment will refresh you. You can do transfer applications this Spring. Maybe you’ll get some new perspective on your current college and want to go back. Maybe not. Either way, you won’t keep hurting your GPA and you’ll keep moving forward.</p>
<p>Don’t listen to those who are blaming you. Your feelings are legitimate. Find a new place for yourself where you can shine!</p>
<p>Again, I agree with Cardinal Feng (and myself previously). She is describing inattentive ADHD to a T. I could then suggest there is a comorbid condition of depression. Very typical. And there is NOTHING WORSE than someone telling you to just try harder.</p>
<p>Modadunn, let’s just say that my knowledge of inattentive ADD and college problems is not just theoretical. 
And there is nothing less helpful than someone saying just try harder. You can’t just try harder. You have to try differently, and quite likely you don’t know how.</p>
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<p>Very well said.</p>
<p>Sometimes taking time off from school is a very good idea. You might consider Americorps for a year or a job. Just be sure you are careful to arrange for your return before you leave your university. </p>
<p>I am a university professor. I want my students to know that what they learn from their peers is as valuable as what they learn from me. As a college student you should be part of a learning community, and your fellow students are much smarter and more interesting than you might think right now. One of the great (and stupidly maligned) aspects of a big university is the TA system. These incredibly intelligent young people are learning, yes, but they also have much to teach. And it is great to have someone only a few years older than you to bridge the age/knowledge gap with professors.</p>