Unhappy with path/standing after 2 years - need advice

Student Lounge College Life
1

Hello,

I understand this is a longer post but please, please read it all if you’re willing to help me out. You won’t know how much I appreciate it.

I just began my 2nd semester of my 2nd year of college at a local branch campus of Penn State University. (Except I didn’t really “begin” my 2nd semester because I didn’t go to the first day of class…will get to this later).

Over the past few months I have come to settle on and realize that I am not enjoying college at all and that I am doing more harm than good by continuing to take out loans to pay for my classes that I am not devoted to. (I am not paying for college; my parents and I are taking out loans that we’ll have to pay back someday)

My major is Political Science, but I initially started out intending to major in Astronomy for the first semester and a half of college. Therefore, I initially took more science and math based courses before changing route. The campus that I attend is a commuter campus…almost like a community college, only the building is even smaller and the development of the campus is very shallow. I drive 30 minutes there everyday, do not enjoy being there, have only made 2 or 3 friends in 2 years there, and am overall just very unpleased with being there. I’ve had about 2 really awesome teachers…the rest have been average or below average and make classes unbearable. I can tell you for a FACT that I have learned FAR MORE outside of college classes than I have IN them since I started college. That’s because I spend a lot of time reading things online myself and learning new things independently. I know a lot about how the world works because of my own learning by being aware and interested in current events, big topics, etc. I’m the type of person that stays up literally all night long reading about the structure of the Milky Way galaxy online. And most classes that I have taken so far at college have been filled with stupid work that has taught me next to NOTHING.

I want to establish that I consider myself to be a very deep-thinking, intelligent person. I graduated from one of the best high schools in my state in the top 25% of my class, and I have taken an official IQ test and received a score of 136 (I am not trying to sound arrogant; I just want you to firmly know that I have a highly complex and smart mind because it’s important to my concerns that I will explain in this post).

I also want to make clear that I consider myself a perfectionist and I am very stubborn. I only do what I want to do; if I find something to be of no interest to me or if I find something to be stupid. I simply will not even do it. And this has led me to struggles in several classes during my first two years. In the classes that interested me and that I enjoyed, I got all As (and this is MOST of my classes).

BUT…I have also taken several classes that are “required” for my major (but still general education classes) that were horrible. Either I had absolutely zero interest in the subject, the instructor was poor, or both. And since I am stubborn and only do what I want to do, I would stop doing work that I found stupid, and then I would stop going to the class because I hated it so much, and that resulted in either (1) a poor grade or (2) me dropping the class. So far through 3 semesters, I’ve had about 7 A’s, 2 D’s, 1 F, and 2 dropped classes (that would’ve been Fs).

The thing that especially sucks is that the Political Science department at my local branch Penn State campus only has ONE instructor and she is very, very poor. I took 2 classes with her and they were HORRIFIC. And I love the topic of Political Science, it’s what I want to do. But the way the course was set up and the way she “taught” it was simply horrible and I couldn’t stand it. I got bad grades because I didn’t do work that I found stupid.

So my spring sophomore semester started yesterday and I didn’t go to class because I don’t want to. I only have one class per day and driving 30 minutes there to sit in boredom and irritation…I simply refuse to do it.

So here is the situation…normally, I would be set to transfer to Penn State main campus (University Park) this coming FALL (the start of my junior year). However, there are requirements I must meet in order to transfer…credit requirements, grade requirements, etc. Plus living arrangements, which I continually put off and haven’t even looked into yet and it’s getting late to do that. For the past several months I’ve been depressed and just feeling down about how things have gone.

My biggest feeling is just that college isn’t for me or that I want to start all over. Like I said, I am a perfectionist and I get upset when things get off track and start going wrong. And I don’t want to fight through the hole I am in. I feel like I want to get out and start fresh. Plus, I’m not a normal person who wants friends and a social life…I am perfectly content having 2 or 3 friends and working at my part-time job and spending the rest of my time alone, thinking and learning. Most people end up graduating college, working a normal job, with a family…the “common American life.” But that’s not me. I am a big-thinker. I don’t want a typical life. I have big ideas and want to do big things, away from home, in other places throughout the world.

So I have some general options in mind going forward:

  • Enroll in Penn State World Campus (everything is online and I won’t have to deal with a campus or teachers that make me unhappy)
  • Try to get into Penn State main campus (but I don’t know how I’d do this since I haven’t met all my requirements from my branch campus
  • Transfer to another university entirely

But first, I need some help as soon as possible. I am not in the mindset to go to class and complete the work for this spring semester. All that’s going to happen is I’m going to fall behind and I’ll never catch up. Plus, it’s stupid to take out a loan to pay for class when I’m not going to GO to class. So should I cancel this semester and take a break?

Thank you so much for your response in advance.

2

What are you doing at a branch campus in the first place with an IQ of 136?

3

I would consider taking a few semesters off and working. You would need to start repaying the loans. It sound like you need time to mature. Part of being an adult is accepting the reality that life requires more than just applying yourself to what you love. You also have to apply yourself to all the crap that also needs to be done in order to be successful. Maybe when you get successful enough, you can afford to pay others to handle the crap but you haven’t gotten to that point yet.

Not trying to be harsh but raw intellect only gets you so far. You need to apply that intellect to all aspects of life, You need to succeed in all the courses to move to the next level. Why, because those in power have set the requirements. I would be surprised if you could transfer to Penn State without meeting the requirements.

If you are truly gifted, maybe you can self teach and start a business. Without only a H.S. degree it will be had to get the job I suspect you feel you are qualify for. You might be well qualified but without the work experience or degree many employers are not willing to take a chance hiring you when there are a pool of workers with the degree. The degree shows an employer that you had the drive to finish a long term task that require significant effort including working on tasks that you had no interest in. Kind of describes most jobs.

4

A great question! …for the admissions office.

There were a handful of people from my high school that got accepted to University Park (main campus) for their freshman year. Ironically, these turned out to be partiers and students with modest/just proficient academic success.

Now, I never had the highest grades or GPA in high school, because I wasn’t a study-worm like some were. But I scored an 1890 on the SAT and had a GPA of about 93%. I’d like to think that’s pretty good. One of my friends, who also had similar numbers, didn’t get accepted to main campus and had to settle for our local branch campus.

But, Penn State chooses partiers and socializers for main campus over the truly smart students. It’s sad.

5

Thank you for your reply. Quick note on the loans: I am pretty sure that I don’t have to start paying them back until a few months after I graduate. So there’s a lot of time until then.

I am in no hurry at this point to graduate and keep up with my class. I don’t care. I am more concerned about feeling good about what I am learning and making sure I become an expert in my career field. 2 years into college, I feel nowhere close to that.

I don’t care what I have to do in order to come out on top someday. If I have to take a break and reset, I may do that. But I cannot continue my education at this local branch campus. It just makes me miserable…the administrators, the teachers, the feel of the campus.

But I have the options of either (1) dropping all my classes for this semester or (2) formally withdrawing from the semester or (3) taking an indefinite leave.

I don’t know what is the best for me, and my parents are only so much help because neither of them went to college.

6

You yourself sounds passive. You should be learning more outside your class than inside unless we are talking about 6th grade. Your learning is up to you. A college instructor isn’t like your 6th grade teacher. An instructor of record is often a full time faculty member at a university who is responsible for one or more classes. The instructor of record provides students with a road map of some sort-a map to help the student acquire mastery of a topic. But this isn’t about spoon feeding a student the way that a “teacher” in grade school does.

Wow about this: “But that’s not me. I am a big-thinker. I don’t want a typical life. I have big ideas and want to do big things, away from home, in other places throughout the world.”

Is this in comparison to your view of other students as small-thinkers who want typical lives? I think you probably need a reality check if that is how you view others.

Have you considered the possibility that not getting into Penn State’s main campus may have been related to your letters of recommendation rather than “But, Penn State chooses partiers and socializers for main campus over the truly smart students. It’s sad.”.

I know outstanding students who graduated from or are currently attending Penn State’s main campus. I would have your GC read your letters of rec. You come across as having a low opinion of others and an inflated opinion of yourself. If this was how you were viewed by those in your high school it may have impacted on your letters.

Yes you should withdraw and re-evaluate if you are not attending classes. It appears that you choose not to do work if you don’t want to. You believe that you know best about what instructors should be doing and should be assigning and if they do otherwise, you simply don’t do the work and get D’s. How has that been working for you so far? It makes sense to withdraw and save money if you are choosing not to attend class.

7

It sounds like you need a break. Withdrawing for the semester would be a good start. You can then figure out what your next steps in life will be. Just be sure to follow the PSU procedures (below). Once you withdraw, your grace period begins (9 months for Perkins and University loans); 6 months for Federal Stafford loans). It is important that you withdraw as soon as possible as there is a tuition penalty that kicks in starting the first day of class and the percentage increases each week. For example, if you withdraw tomorrow (within first week), there is a 20% penalty. Waiting until next week increases the penalty to 30% of this semester’s tuition.

http://studentaid.psu.edu/eligibility/withdrawing-from-school#section-0

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@lostaccount Should I even reply? Probably not, but oh well.

When did I ever say that an instructor is supposed to spoon feed me through college? Never. What I said was, my instructors have been below-average teachers, did not properly manage the course, and have made the course miserable. Ironically, the best teacher I ever had came just last year in college. He managed the course incredibly well. He gave us the information we needed to know and let us go. I studied my butt off because he was such a great man. Want to know what I got in the class? A 105%.

The second part of your post is just terrible. Never did I insult anyone else; I said that I want to work on big ideas in places far from home. Many people are content with staying near home and living a typical family life. That’s no insult, there’s nothing wrong with that. I just meant that I am different. I am less concerned with social life and more concerned with traveling and working on big projects that are meaningful to society as a whole.

9

I live in your area and one option you might consider is enrolling at Northampton Community College. It is an excellent community college and you might find courses that work for you. The tuition differential is substantial:

PSU - Lehigh Valley - $6,506 per semester (full-time)
NCC - $1,995 per semester (full-time)

If you do well at NCC, you can then transfer to PSU main campus.

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@lostaccount I don’t think it’s appropriate to start judging people and degrading them. That is exactly what you are doing here, alongside offering advice.

I have all three of my letters of recommendation and I am happy to send them to you if you are interested. Have you seen them? They are nothing like you describe. And I was pleasant and well-liked in high school by students and many teachers. I was recognized with 3 awards for helping teachers and students succeed in the learning environment…I was nominated and selected BY teachers for these.

I do not think lowly of others at all. What’s wrong with thinking highly of myself? I am extremely hard on myself, I expect a ton of myself. That’s exactly why I am disappointed with how my first 2 years of college have gone.

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My son was in a similar position and decided - on his own, without consulting his parents - to leave school. He got a full time job instead and for the past year has been entirely self supporting (well, we do pay his health insurance and his cell phone.)

And you know what? It’s been the very best thing for him. He’s more confident and involved with life than he has while he was in school. He’s learning the realities of life on $10/hour. The realities of working for not-always-appreciative bosses. The realities of unpaid sick days, having to go in on weekends and coming home physically exhausted. In other words, the realities of being working class, without education or skills that will help you make more money.

Will he go back to school? I don’t know. (I don’t think he knows, either.) I do know he thinks this time off has been very, very important and instructive to him. He’s trying to figure out what he wants from life (besides foreign travel, something pretty hard to save for when you’re earning $400/week.) If he does go back to school, my thought is he will be far more sure of his direction and goals.

So, this is a long way of telling you - take some time off. Re-evaluate what you want to study, and in what kind of setting. A year or two off college isn’t going to ruin your life. But it may very well set it on a better course.

(BTW, my son’s IQ is in the 150+ range. As someone upthread said, it really means nothing.)

12

I have worked at a local small business for 2 and a half years; the only job I’ve ever had and I plan to continue to work there for a while. At first I was a new teen employee…now I am the leader of my evening shift. I am very proud of the way I have moved up.

13

Try changing majors? Are you not doing what you are passionate about?

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@dreambig2018 Thank you for your response and that information! NCC is definitely something I am considering…in fact, I almost went there right out of high school. I hear people speak highly of the college and the teachers, so that is encouraging.

@katliamom Thank you for your response! Your son and I sound very alike…I have also had a job for 2 and a half years (that I first got as a senior in high school) at a local small business. My boss is tough, the work is not always pleasant, and I only make slightly above minimum wage. But I have moved up into the leadership position of my shift in the evening. It has taught me a lot so far and will continue to teach me about hard work. Hearing about someone else in a similar situation is really helpful. Thank you :slight_smile:

15

I like the online classes for you. You will be 100% responsible for your learning. Maybe get a job while doing it. I’m sorry you’re feeling that way. It took me 6 years to finish college cause I changed my major 4 times. Part of it was I wasn’t academically prepared, another was that I was wishy-washy with my major choice. But I did have a part-time job through the whole 6 years since my parents didn’t have the money to pay. The job helped me find what I liked doing.

From what you have posted I would have you leave that branch. Be it to begin somewhere else, the online choice or take a break. But definitely leave. You hate it. Two years is enough time and you need to move on.

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@LostHobo143 I think I am doing what I am passionate about (Political Science). I have explored the idea of changing to another, but related, major (like International Relations, Public Policy, etc). But what I have found is that those are more specific majors that are better in graduate school.

It’s more just the fact that my branch campus of college is very, very shallow, and the instructor for my major isn’t of high quality, and I’ve been miserable being there in class. At home, I spend hours and hours reading/learning about things in the field of Political Science. That’s because I am in complete control over what I do and learn.

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@cardinal2020mom Thank you so much for your response :slight_smile:

If you don’t mind me asking, how do you feel taking 6 years to finish college worked out for you? Did it completely ruin your life or career path? Or are you more glad that you took extra time to settle down with what you wanted to do?

18

I would take a break from school for a while. You are never going to find a program of study (or a career) where you only have to do what you really want to do or find interesting. Thank goodness your parents didn’t have this trait or they might never have changed your diapers. I was a good student but I certainly didn’t decide to do my school work based on whether it was sufficiently interesting. I did it because it was assigned.

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There is nothing wrong with thinking highly of yourself. But you have judged people by contending “But, Penn State chooses partiers and socializers for main campus over the truly smart students. It’s sad.” In fact, I know many very smart students currently at and who have graduated from Penn State. I understand that your statements may reflect your disappointment but they are also an indictment of those who attend the main campus of Penn State.

I got the impression you wanted to be spoon fed by reading statements about how you have learned more outside the class than in the class. That is how it is supposed to work.

My suggestions about recommendations were a response to your statements suggesting that you were in the top 25% of your graduating class but were rejected from Penn State.

Regardless, if you are not attending, it makes sense to withdraw and get your money back or take a medical leave so you are not paying for classes you won’t benefit for. Then spend some time deciding what you really want to do. My statements are based on very limited information that you provided. If they don’t seem on target, ignore them. I don’t know you personally.

20

It hurt my life in no way. Mind you, I was somewhat sheltered and very family oriented. Meaning I was not a partier. At all. However, I did sometimes regret not finishing with the major I initially wanted. There was no rush to finish in 4 years. Fast forward to now I am at the same place in life that those friends who did finish in 4 years. I may be ahead of them since they had children later than me.