Wondering if I should drop out...

<p>This is my first year of college and it's not even mid-terms yet but I feel that I am not prepared for college. I'm thinking about dropping out to save me money and work for a year at my old job. I know that if I do, it will be much harder for me to come back but... I'm just so damn miserable here. The grades I get back don't look so hot and my classes for my major feel like a rehash of stuff I've already learned in high school. Hell, I'd even stay if I had made at least one friend. I just don't know what to do but I've got to make a decision fast because one of the loans that I received can be returned if I act quickly enough. I need some advise because the "college experience" isn't working out for me...</p>

<p>Sometimes a school is not a good fit and there is no way of knowing that until you get there and experience it. But in the meantime, try joining some clubs & meeting more people should help. Some entry level freshmen classes can feel that a rehash especially if you had a strong high school foundation in the subject. Are the students at your college more competitve than at your high school, thus it is more difficult to get good grades and it may take more studying to raise the grades? Is homesickness a possibility? A common occurence - need to get out there and make more friends. There must have been something about the school that attracted you to it. Are you living in a dorm - perhaps talk with your RA about what you are feeling. Do you want to stick it out for one semester and earn some college credit that can be transferred to another school if you decide you gave it your best & it doesn’t work out. Good luck to you and it all will work out!</p>

<p>Good advice from blueskyforever. Talk to your RA. Try to go to one new activity a week. Talk to your advisor, too. Maybe consider a different major? Do your best and give it a little more time. You always have options.</p>

<p>Before I give any advice, it would help if I knew two things:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>If you felt you were having “the college experience.” would you be able to make it work academically? On the one hand, you say that you are woefully unprepared. On the other hand, you say it is a “rehash of high school” courses. It’s a tad contradictory :).</p></li>
<li><p>This is for the social part of it – is it a small college or a large university?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>One thing I learned the hard way in college was that just going off the course description to pick a class wasn’t enough to pick good professors and interesting classes. Of course EVERY class isn’t going to by a great experience. But you can improve your chances next semester of getting into a couple of classes that do spark your interest. </p>

<p>Start by talking to people you sit near in class. Ask what else they are taking, and if they have other classes and professors they really like. (Also a way to start conversations with people!). And while you have to take the comments with a grain of salt, I think Rate My Professor is a valuable tool – just watch out for the few students who don’t like a prof because they actually make their students work. But the more comments, the better chance you have of getting a realistic picture of the professor and their classes.</p>

<p>Did you get any info on resources in orientation that might help you improve your study habits? If your grades are ‘meh’, it might be because you are approaching your work the same way you did in high school. That doesn’t always cut it in college, you may need to up your game for college. Some things that may help: </p>

<ul>
<li>Assuming you are dorming, take your books to dinner with you and head straight to the library after dinner for a while. Go back to the dorm and you get sucked into something there and never start studying sometimes.</li>
<li>Reward yourself when you finish an assignment (essay written? 15 minutes of internet. problem set and quiz studying done? coffee drink!).</li>
<li>Use your professor and TA’s office hours. Mark or make a list of what you don’t understand and go see them. That is part of what they get paid for.</li>
<li>Join others in your class to study if possible.</li>
<li>If you are really struggling, consider getting a tutor. Worst case, drop a class if you are still inside the drop window.</li>
<li>If your college has a writing center, use them for help reviewing paper drafts. Check their rules for making appointments (last minute isn’t as helpful, and some of them won’t help at the last minute). My kid used to make an appointment as soon as she got an assignment, and that forced her to work on her draft to be ready for that.</li>
</ul>

<p>I would suggest you not drop out. If it still isn’t working out for you at the end of the second semester, then consider a change for next year. But give it and yourself more of a chance.</p>