Doing poorly in college and I need comfort from strangers on the internet.

College Confidential Community
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I just finished my second year of college as a Biology major and have an overall pretty lousy GPA, somewhere between 2.5 and 3.0 I think. Likely I earned me my first ‘D’ in Calculus II as well (Will definitely go ahead and retake that one). I don’t feel I lack for the required cleverness to do well in college, but I do lack for the required motivation. I never do what’s required of me and I net myself the foreseen consequence of failure. My parents, well within reason, tell me they’re likely to stop paying my tuition, and I think I’ll have to drop out. Hopefully I won’t be taking more than a year off, but I still find this an upsetting position to be in.

I can’t seem to get my head in the game and worry I have too permanently damaged myself to do well in further academic pursuits. Like graduate school.

I’m thinking changing my major could help, but I don’t want to give myself an easy excuse like that and waste more of my parents money. And just resolving to have better work ethic has so far failed me. So I feel like I shouldn’t go back to school until I have a solid reason to believe that I’m actually going to perform closer to my potential this time.

Anyhow, what I’m really hoping for is encouragement that having a few crappy unmotivated semesters isn’t the end of my career and chances at a happy existence as well as perhaps even some advice on how to get motivated in college, if anyone would be so kind.

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I doubt you have “permanently damaged” yourself for future academics, but it sounds like counseling would be useful in helping you figure out why you are unmotivated. Counseling might also help you clarify what you hope to accomplish in your time off from college.

Don’t stress about the future of your academic career. Plenty of people have done poorly in their first year or two, taken time off to “get it together”, and rebounded. For now, though, it seems like you could use some help in sorting through your options and gaining insight into what your interests and goals really are.