I’m in my first semester of college and I already want to quit. It’s boring, I have no interest to devote my life to any of the degrees offered for me, I don’t feel motivated or like my classes. I know this is the time when you take prerequisites and core classes before completely devoting to a major, but I just have no desire to do that. The thought of having to go to school for 3 1/2 or more years (since most places aren’t satisfied with just a Bachelor’s degree these days) just sounds terrible, I’d rather quit now. I’m just too fickle and not ready to decide so I feel like I’m wasting time and money here. I’d rather just go to community college for a little while but my parents are completely against that even though they are the ones paying thousands for me to take classes I can’t stand and don’t want to attend. I’m depressed and just want to go into like a 2-year certification program so I can work earlier. I feel like the only reason I chose college is because that’s what parents and schools beat into you until you think that’s your only option for any success in life, even though many graduates have ridiculous debt and hard time finding jobs. Idk, anyone have any thoughts on this?
If my kid told me this, I would tell him,
“well what kind of certificate program, at the CC, do you plan to get that will support you and your housing costs?”
Nobody really likes taking core classes. These are not meant to be showstoppers. What did you expect?
If you really don’t want to be there then you need to have a serious talk with your parents. This has to be a rational discussion with options that don’t include you living at home, getting free room and board or spending money, or car allowances.
Then what do you want to do in life? Learn a trade? Enter the military? Work at Starbucks? Lie around on your parents’ sofa?
Have you looked at the more technical offerings at a community college? Does anything excite you? It would be a shame to turn your life upside down only to realize that you’re not ready for school of any kind right now.
I agree with aunt bea. Have a serious talk with your folks. If you can go into it with a plan, so much the better. Just don’t whine and complain. It’s up to you to make sure it’s an adult conversation.
Presumably, if you are in your first semester, you’ve been there for probably at most 2-3 weeks, and maybe even less than that. Give it a chance. First of all, your mindset might be affecting how much you enjoy your classes; if you go in predisposed to believing they are boring, they will be. Second of all, you don’t have to “devote your life” to any of the degrees offered to you; many college graduates end up doing something pretty different from their major. Just pick something that seems interesting to you to study for the next 4 years and try to build some skills that might be useful in the market.
Your parents are probably trying to do what they are doing out of love, believe it or not. The stories of college debt and job-search misery make really nice headlines, but most college graduates do not have ridiculous debt. The average amount of debt for college graduates is just over $28,000, and only 10 percent of college grads borrowed more than $50,000. (Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/yourmoney/ct-marksjarvis-graduates-0524-biz-20150522-column.html) College graduates between 25 and 35 also average $17,500 more per year than those without college degrees, and this gap grows exponentially as you get older.
That’s not to say that you aren’t right about attending community college or a trade school being a better choice for you personally. Nor is it to say that you can’t go to a CC now and attend college later. But give it a try for at least a semester. My brother didn’t attend college; instead he did vocational training and lives a pretty good middle-class lifestyle as an electrical line worker. He is attending college classes now to earn a bachelor’s degree part-time. But he DID try college (albeit community college) for a semester before making the decision.
I’m sorry you’re unhappy. Which came first, the dissatisfaction or the depression? People who are depressed generally don’t find joy in anything.
Is there a counselor at school you coukd talk to about how you’re feeling? Have you talked to your parents? I think you should reach out to them. Good luck.
I do realize it hasn’t been very long at all, but I’m more concerned about my parents inability to accept what I’ve told them. At this point I’m not going to withdraw since I don’t want bad grades on my transcripts in case I do decide to stay in school or try again later on. I’ve told them I’m very concerned with what I should do, and I’ve talked to them about transferring or even just going to community college for a little while to research more and figure out what I actually want to do, perhaps while getting a job and some experience, which college at this point doesn’t really give me time to do. My dad said at this point if I changed or went to community for a while it would just brand me a loser for the rest of my life. That might be true, but their views on college as a necessity without taking my own feeling into account makes it harder. I’m just not sure If I’m right for college. I can get some pretty well paying jobs that only require an associates degree or some sort of certification you can get after so many months (generally less than 2 years, generally technician type jobs), and I like the idea of that rather than college for 4 years and then some. I did well in high school but I just don’t want to bother with college. I might be one of those people who college just isn’t right for, I’m not sure at this point. I haven’t completely given up on school altogether, just the 4-year traditional college route that almost every other graduated high school senior decided to do.
It’s unfortunate that he feels that way because it’s so untrue. It seems like your parents are going to be difficult to deal with though. You don’t want to get in a situation where they won’t pay for you to go to school but won’t let you live at home either. Students don’t have to choose a major until their sophomore year or later, so I’d suggest that next semester you try to fit in courses that interest you without worrying about a degree. If your parents are willing to pay for a degree now, you may need to take advantage of that while you can.
@naz123 - I’m sorry that your parents feel that way, and that you feel the way you do. If you were my son I would be thrilled that you wanted to do a certification or AA program, so long as you gave me a solid blueprint of how you planned to support yourself.
My oldest took a gap year, and then decided not to go to college at all for now. He is moving out and far away from home this month, and has done a great job working and saving money, and moving in the direction of his goals and dreams.
Maybe you finish some gen-ed classes this semester, and seriously look at how you go about getting your AA, and moving out from under your parent’s umbrella.
Ultimately it’s your life, and you have to do what is best for you. Most of us parents mean well, and we try to steer our kids away from dumb or ill-conceived ideas. But if you’ve really thought something through, and can present a solid plan - your opinion deserves to be heard and respected.
Wishing you luck - try not to base your decisions on not letting your parents down. Again, it is your life. Success on anyone’s terms but your own = failure (within reason of course).
I think you should look into whether you really are depressed…go to your college’s counseling center and talk to them about what you talked about with us.
Whatever you decide to do, it’s up to you whether that’s going to come true or not.
^^that!
Your current college has a career center probably where you can get pro help with this planning issue. Start meeting with the advisors there.
Many of the certificate requirements offered at a community college are still going to have gen ed requirements. It is likely that some of the classes you are taking now will transfer and be useful.
You don’t seem to have landed in what type of technical certificate you want. Computers, cars, dental hygienist, radiology? IMO you need a plan before you decide a four year school is not for you and the career counseling seems like a way to get one. In the meantime, study, make friends, work, try one semester. You might find you like it after all.