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Dropping out of College

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Leafman
Posts: 2178 - Karma: 251
Thinking about doing it, anybody here done it?
Jan 27 2010 1:14AM
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Balto
Posts: 25985 - Karma: 4,404
dont
Jan 27 2010 1:19AM
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karmagod
Posts: 925 - Karma: 11
Do you have a good reason other than it's hard? Maybe try a new major or take some survey classes. If you've got an alternate plan to college then go for it. Just make sure it's what you really want.
Jan 27 2010 1:20AM
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hartig
Posts: 8192 - Karma: 10
been there, done that

i am going to UTI in the fall though
Jan 27 2010 1:21AM
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Leafman
Posts: 2178 - Karma: 251
its not that its hard its just that i dont enjoy anything about it
Jan 27 2010 1:21AM
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hewy
Posts: 1355 - Karma: 205
I'm not dropping out, but I'm going to be taking a year off once Im finished this semester
Jan 27 2010 1:21AM
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prontocuts.com
Posts: 5244 - Karma: 42
whats your major? do you enjoy that field?
Jan 27 2010 1:21AM
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mike720b
Posts: 669 - Karma: 27
how far into it are you?.. i have 4 friends that all went to good colleges right out of high school that dropped out and a couple years later they all now realized you should probably just do it haha.. turns out better for you in the end.. they all go to a community college in my hometown now.. not that there is anything wrong with that but they were all at pretty good schools originally..
Jan 27 2010 1:21AM
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hartig
Posts: 8192 - Karma: 10
oh, and to answer your question, yes it did help me sort out what i wanted in my life.
i know i dont want to be stuck in some shitty position the rest of my life
Jan 27 2010 1:21AM
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Leafman
Posts: 2178 - Karma: 251
im doing meteorology/geography and i really like that field, this is my second quarter to
Jan 27 2010 1:23AM
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karmagod
Posts: 925 - Karma: 11
You're being stupidly vague for someone asking for help.
Jan 27 2010 1:23AM
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vzdz
Posts: 782 - Karma: 87
try studying abroad, or check out the exchange programs you can do with different schools in the country...
Jan 27 2010 1:25AM
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Leafman
Posts: 2178 - Karma: 251
alright, i just dont enjoy anything about school now, i hate going to class everyday even though i like the class, i dont think i'll be able to do 4+ years of school to get some damn major
Jan 27 2010 1:25AM
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karmagod
Posts: 925 - Karma: 11
Are you sure you like the field or do you just like the basic ideas of weather and maps?

I love reading John Grisham books, but I sure as hell don't want to be a lawyer. I also like growing marijuana, but I don't want to be a horticulturist.

See where I'm going with this.

I'm in my 2nd year at university. I just added a dual major of psychology to my agenda. I was strictly a business major and hating it. When you find out what you love you'll know it. Just give it time.
Jan 27 2010 1:27AM
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bp.lando
Posts: 9297 - Karma: 1,495
i just took less classes / online classes when i wanted to drop out and now im still in the game. two days into my semester at UW-Milwaukee, and I am sitting in Breck right now... and going to school not a bad alternative.
Jan 27 2010 1:28AM
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Leafman
Posts: 2178 - Karma: 251
hmm.... giving it time is true, i might just finish this quarter and take a few years off since my credits are transferable
Jan 27 2010 1:29AM
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Leafman
Posts: 2178 - Karma: 251
i've thought about this to, are online classes pretty much the same as regular classes?
Jan 27 2010 1:34AM
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prontocuts.com
Posts: 5244 - Karma: 42
online is ten times harder IMO
Jan 27 2010 1:35AM
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Leafman
Posts: 2178 - Karma: 251
what are the classes like?
Jan 27 2010 1:36AM
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Nicholas.
Posts: 10905 - Karma: 60
online is ten times easier IMO.

but dude, i dropped out my second semester of freshman year. it was the worst decision i have made in my entire life. its a full year later and i am not even close to recovering from it. guess what all my efforts are going into right now....getting the fuck back into a school....any fucking school. if i had stuck with it for one more shitty couple months i would have gotten into somewhere decent and been on with my life.

unless you want to bust ass in retail making 12 dollars an hour for the rest of your life, i would stay in college and tough it out, cause as much as you might hate it...its easy as hell. think of it like you did highschool, its not an option....you arent gonna make a good living by getting lucky.
Jan 27 2010 1:40AM
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Leafman
Posts: 2178 - Karma: 251
thats very true
Jan 27 2010 1:43AM
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An10a_Eng
Posts: 2505 - Karma: 26
nice life
Jan 27 2010 1:50AM
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Nicholas.
Posts: 10905 - Karma: 60
im not trying to say take my advice above all others....at the time i thought id rather take a bullet in the head than keep at it....but now im way way less content (as in a bullet in the head doesnt sound so bad, not to sound absurdly neurotic...im making my way back into happiness)....think about what happens if you drop it all. like really think about what would happen, where you would end up living and what you would honestly end up doing with yourself.. making a living sounds great until you realize you cant pay rent and struggle with a grand a month forever.
Jan 27 2010 1:53AM
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Leafman
Posts: 2178 - Karma: 251
i still live with my mom so that wouldn't be a problem, but im going to for sure see how this quarter works out
Jan 27 2010 1:56AM
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prontocuts.com
Posts: 5244 - Karma: 42
If you can keep on track and up to date with everything. But as for me, and alot of people I know, everyone forgets about it and pushes it off till they fail. I also had to show ALL of my work etcetc
Jan 27 2010 2:20AM
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Nicholas.
Posts: 10905 - Karma: 60
living with mom sounds easy until you realize that living with mom at 21+ is pathetic/lame as fuck.

be your own man and realize that dealing with shit that sucks isnt that bad if it gains you something in the future.
Jan 27 2010 2:20AM
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Goglines
Posts: 429 - Karma: 303
nobody actually really likes the actual school part of college. believe me i hate it and my major is marketing.. some easy practical shit. i got caught up in the social scene.
next year ill be a senior and i still think of dropping out now and then. ive had that though since about sophomore year but i know i'd probably be nowhere if i do that.. i already put so much money into it might as well not waste it right? honestly i can learn more about the world from tripping on shrooms than havng some mindless professor shouting words that dont mean anything at me every monday wednesday and friday but i gotta just stick with it.  just do it.  if its not a huge financial issue then dont be lazy. you can finish it out just do what you gotta do. finding a legit job is hard these days.
(i also stopped smoking weed completely when i used to every day - but people are different)
Jan 27 2010 2:39AM
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prontocuts.com
Posts: 5244 - Karma: 42
Weird, I love all of my school work. Im actually considering quitting my job so I can focus all of my time on school. I love studying and doing homework.
(engineering major btw)
/nerd
Jan 27 2010 2:42AM
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Goglines
Posts: 429 - Karma: 303
mann hahah im jealous. good for you. i mean i love the whole aspect of marketing i think it would be fun as a profession but just learning this junk is really boring its all common sense and i feel like its all repeating itself..

see, it never ends. even in your later years. but you can do it! you already got yourself into it you might as well haha
Jan 27 2010 2:47AM
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prontocuts.com
Posts: 5244 - Karma: 42
yup I was going to be a marketing major, but I worried about the exact same thing that you're going through. To keep my interest, I NEED to be challenged.
Jan 27 2010 2:48AM
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Nicholas.
Posts: 10905 - Karma: 60
for me, i have aced every online class i have taken, and i have failed a few on campus ones. it's different for everyone. it's all about what motivates you i guess. i tend to push shit off when someone is grilling me, but do it all the way when its on my own agenda.
Jan 27 2010 2:50AM
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iwasaskier
Posts: 171 - Karma: 10
Just take a leave of absence. I'm doing that now to sort some things out, but most schools have a policy where you automatically get admission back for the next semester, and during it you can apply to other schools.

dont drop out now, it could work out, but it could also suck. It's just a chance you dont want to take.
Jan 27 2010 3:34AM
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theabortionator
Posts: 51643 - Karma: 162,232
This is why it's always a good idea for some pre planning. don't go to college because your supposed to. Figure out what you want to do, if you're going to school or not.  Then stick with it. Unfortunately things change. Take a break if you need to. Figure stuff out, than make a decision.

Best of luck though


Jan 27 2010 3:45AM
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steveys
Posts: 268 - Karma: 10

Do you know the difference between 'to' and 'too'?  If you don't you should drop out

Jan 27 2010 3:49AM
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Benedetto.
Posts: 2526 - Karma: 64
I did and joined the military. Just started online classes.
Jan 27 2010 4:30AM
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Meh42
Posts: 2431 - Karma: 14
Alright, I'm going to apologize in advance for being a dick.


With that being said, you're being a fucking idiot.  College is like this magical land of sheer amazing.  I don't understand what element of it you're having a problem with if you say you like your classes.  Spending 16 hours a week learning about a subject you supposedly like in return for a substantially better future is too much effort?  Really?  I love every second of the time I spend in classes I chose out of interest and tolerate even the mandatory classes I hate because they're just not that bad. 

Forget classes though, get a rewarding social life.  There really are only four years of your life where you are surrounded by thousands of your peers with nothing better to do most nights than go out, meet others and potentially fuck.  I think you're probably bummed on college because you live with your parents actually.  The commuter experience is nowhere near as awesome as the live-on one because you miss out on 95% of the friendships and drunken sex. 

In closure, consider changing your living arrangement, your major or even your college, but don't give up on the college experience.


Jan 27 2010 4:38AM
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libtec
Posts: 131 - Karma: 10
My advice would be to get an internship in the field you WANT to study. I was an atmos major like yourself, and until I got an internship I just wasn't that stoke on classes, esp the pre-reqs of endless math and physics.

Once I got the internship though, I was totally happy being in school and learning, it was awesome. Even if you're a freshman, there's going to be projects you can work on assuming your department does research. Just ask your advisor, and find an internship that you're stoked on.
Jan 27 2010 4:41AM
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Benedetto.
Posts: 2526 - Karma: 64
College is not for everyone. Don't listen to these rich spoiled pricks.
Jan 27 2010 4:51AM
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I_Am_Mod
Posts: 13214 - Karma: 3,753
lulz
Jan 27 2010 4:53AM
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Meh42
Posts: 2431 - Karma: 14
Sure, he should totally throw away the opportunity he has right now.  A college degree is essentially worthless after all, right?
Jan 27 2010 4:56AM
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KravtZ
Posts: 6637 - Karma: 2,629
enjoy the real world...then how is college? maybe your just not at the right college either try transfering and going to visit some of ur friends at others to see how there scools are
Jan 27 2010 7:37AM
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Benedetto.
Posts: 2526 - Karma: 64
I didn't say that, did I?
Jan 27 2010 8:31AM
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Flien
Posts: 139 - Karma: 10
I would stay in college if I were you, especially when you say you like what your study is, just not the classes.
Reconsider taking a break tho. I took a year off last year. Worked my ass of here at home to earn money (60 hour weeks at least) and then left for the snow. When I was out of money after a few months, returned, worked and left again, so I could ski all day and didn't have to take a shitty job somewhere in a resort. I had a hell of a time and wouldn't wanna have missed it, but I have a really hard time with being in school again now.
After a year of no school, no homework and that kinda shit it's hard to get back in that flow...
Jan 27 2010 8:46AM
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*Fujative*
Posts: 8554 - Karma: 183
just do it. I'm in my 4th year, last semester. 12 more weeks and I'm done!
Jan 27 2010 9:32AM
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Abc567def
Posts: 8756 - Karma: 801
stay in college. You will appreciate it in the long run
Jan 27 2010 9:35AM
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Dosh
Posts: 1818 - Karma: 14
i used to think about this quite a lot, especially freshman year. the intro classes i was required to take first year were very far from interesting and made me feel like i had gone back in time to high school, but even worse because the classes were 300+people. unfortunately, you just have to get through the requirements and then it starts to get a lot better. you can focus on areas of study that interest you and become far more specialized in your study. this is the part of university that i like and the reason i wanted to go to school in the first place. but even as a junior, i still have one requirement for a first year english class that i had been putting off and that shit is miserable. any survey course usually is going to be. huge class size, annoying first-year students who think they know what's up with the whole college thing can get very annoying. but the point is these classes are not inspiring and tend to kill your whole experience, but you just need to get through them and things should look a lot better. and get them out of the way first thing b/c it sucks for me to be in higher level classes and then having to go back to first year classes.
Jan 27 2010 9:36AM
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little_ey
Posts: 609 - Karma: 392
I'm going to try and give you three different stories here so you can get the idea that college is a different experience for everyone.  but first...  is your school even reputable for geography?  having a school be good at what you want to learn is crucial. You're not going to go to Cal Poly to be a philosophy major and you're not going to go to DU because you want an engineering major.  Schools stack what they're good in, and when you have a great set of professors in a given field then the experience and what you get from it will be better.

So story 1:  My sister deferred a year after high school to ski.  She was thinking about getting a teaching degree later.  After a season she gets into Cal Poly b/c she wants to be a ski designer.  She goes one semester, takes the winter off, then is back again in the summer.  Somehow, two years in she doesn't want to materials engineering, but bio engineering.  By the time she finally gets around to graduating she doesn't want to be an engineer.  6 years of work to get a BA in materials engineering and now she's taking classes at the local community college to prep to go to nursing school.  SO...  think about what you might really want to spend your time and money on.  She went to one of the best engineering colleges in the country and now she wants nothing to do with anything she learned there.

Story 2:  My boyfriend graduated HS and came so Summit and to please his parents, got is AS at CMC.  We met, and somehow he convinces himself that he should finish his BA at CU Denver with me.  Problem was, he wanted geography, or earth science, or geology... nothing UCD is good at.  He should have gone to CU Boulder or Mesa State for the physical sciences.  Needless to say, b/c UCD is not good with those, his professors sucked, then he got jaded, and now he's dropped out.  Will he go back?  He's waiting for CMC to get its 4 year accreditation.  Will his life not be as successful without a BA?  Not for what his life calling is.  He's got a different mentality then most and will make his life happy and full without the typical money making pathways.  However, he at least got an AS and gave another 1.5 years of trying for his BA.

Story 3: I graduated from UCD in 3 years with honors.  Why, I loved it there.  But I was in Political Science.  I figured that if I never used my degree at least it taught me to think and write critically.  UCD is GREAT with Poli Sci with a huge line up with professors and a great schedule.  With the exception of my senior year, I only went to class two days a week... the rest I skied or worked... remember too, i graduated in three years.  Now I'm back at UCD again for my masters.

CLIFF NOTES:
You've got a trade school story, a drop out story, and a grad school story.  At least try for a little bit.  And think about what YOU really want to study, do, and be.
Jan 27 2010 10:29AM
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Dustin.
Posts: 13839 - Karma: 7,704
Some are.  Fact.  College is not for everyone.  Getting a degree for the sake of getting a degree is the trend right now.  People spend thousands to go to a piss poor school and get a major in communications....good luck with that.

If you are going to college, expect to work hard to get a good job and/or make money.  Believe it or not, easy majors and poor grades are not in high demand and are more or less non-existent in a poor economy.

Trade schools are also a viable option, but to the original poster:  I don't like it because school isn't fun is a pretty immature way to go about it.  I recommend you stay in college until you are mature enough to make an educated decision.
Jan 27 2010 10:43AM
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sniper_6
Posts: 1919 - Karma: 1,573
You say you hate college basically cause you hate getting up everyday, going to class, etc. What do you think the real world is like? Most people who are making a living aren't motivated and driven by what they do from 9-5 everday. Working is a fucking grind, man, whether its academics or something else. Other people have explained the college phenomanon of being surrounded by peers with only 15-18 hours of structured work in a week. That is another advantage of college. I know someone will probably be like "My dad loves his job blah blah blah" and yes, a lot of people really enjoy what they do for a living. I would argue that the majority of the people who are passionate about their work have a college degree though. Something to consider.
Jan 27 2010 11:04AM
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shshatty
Posts: 23 - Karma: 10
Did a semester in Montana, loved it but was spending alot of money on gen ed classes I could go local for. Maybe take a year off and figure shit out but definitely go back to school.
Jan 27 2010 11:25AM
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Tasche
Posts: 5422 - Karma: 99
Everyone I know that has dropped out, taken a semester off, or not gone to college has told me that they regret that decision every day.

One of my buddies called me asking about jobs the other day, he thought he was so smart dropping out to do construction and now he is living on some guys couch.

Don't drop out, if you are unsure of what you want to do get a business degree or if you don't want to waste your time get a mechanical engineering degree. Degrees prove you can learn, with a mechanical engineering degree you can do anything you want.
Jan 27 2010 11:32AM
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