I’ve never been the greatest, hardest working student - my teachers would agree. However, throughout high school, I still managed to take a very rigorous schedule and finish within the top 1% of my class. I wasn’t super involved in extracurricular activities, but I was the president of a club and did different sports throughout the year. I got into one of my top choice universities, Georgia Tech, studying the major of my choice and I’ve been nothing short of an abject failure.
I was so excited when I first got to college last year, my mind brimming with all types of possibilities and opportunities. I joined as many rocketry and robotics clubs that I could as well as participating in intramural sports and joined a fraternity. I got a 4.0 my first semester taking a decent schedule, 14 hours, and I was loving college.
I don’t know what happened, but my second semester is when things fell apart. It seems silly, but I just sort of woke up one day and hated it all. I slowly phased out of my classes, I dropped every single one of the clubs I was in, and I dropped my fraternity as well. I just wanted to sleep and eat. I planned my day around when I would go to the dining hall and eat the horrible food there. I had to drop my English class because I was going to fail it due to me not completing any of the projects, and my GPA dropped to a 3.0.
Then corona and summer hit, and I thought I could do some summer classes to rebound and get ahead. I tried to take English again, but had to drop it again because I was going to fail due to the same reason as before. I also failed my Diff Eq class by a large margin as I got zeroes on two tests and the final (I did not attempt them).
I’m now on academic warning with a 2.8 GPA, and I just want to give up. I want to drop out so badly, but I have no idea what I’d do. I hate college so much. I know I’m stupid and lazy, but I don’t know what to do about it.
This doesn’t sound like stupidity or laziness - this sounds like depression.
You were successful and enthusiastic. Then, you weren’t. Nothing appealed to you anymore - not the classes, not the activities, not the social life. All you wanted to do was sleep and eat. This is a classic description of the onset of depression.
Don’t give up. Take some time off if you need to, and get some help. You loved college before, and there’s nothing to say you couldn’t love it again if you were in the right frame of mind. But right now, your health needs to take priority.
I lived this, once upon a time, and know the feeling of being unable to make yourself do anything. Go see someone at the Counseling Center. Let them help you determine whether you should continue, with support, or take a medical withdrawal. The priority is to get the help you need; whether you finish this semester is much less important than your well-being. If you can only make yourself do one thing, let seeking help be that one thing.
How much do your parents know about where things stand with you?
I’m so sorry you’re struggling. You are not stupid and lazy. Something is throwing you off balance and you need help to figure out what it is and what to do to correct it. Talk with your parents and ask them to help you. Contact your school’s counseling center because they’ll be able to help too. Your health is your first priority. You may want to consider a medical withdrawal. I think a retroactive withdrawal might change some F grades to W’s, so ask your parents and counselors to help you investigate that. Good luck.
I agree that you should see a mental health provider. I read your initial post as depression too. It’s treatable! You can get on back track. Seek out supports.
I agree with the others. A regular doctor can prescribe antidepressants so maybe that should be your first stop. But also find a therapist or trained social worker who can give you advice about how to handle your issues. It’s best to use medicines and therapy at the same time. You don’t have to keep feeling this way. Please seek help today from a professional. Good luck.
Your sense of reality is out of kilter right now. This is not a time to trust your feelings, it is a time to get somebody you can trust to be beside you for a little bit. Imagine you have something in both your eyes, so you can’t see clearly, and need somebody you can trust to guide you as you walk.
Start with the college counseling office or a doctor- but get some help. It’s a hard enough road you will be walking for the next while, but it can be done. Reach out today - and if you don’t get there on the first try, try every day until it does. You - and your life- are worth it.
Take the advice about getting help with depression.
One thing to consider is why you went into this funk? This may not be the case for you but I’ve seen where some students are so focused about getting into college that they loose sight of the true long term goal. That is getting into the career that you want. First you have to decide what your career will be. What are you good student that seems like fun to you?
College is really just a stepping stone to your career. When you decide what you want to do, it can inspire you to do well and get the most out of college to achieve your goals. Kind of like the way getting into college inspired you to do well in high school.