Struggling in college, need advice

it's not uncommon, bro.

i wasted most of my first year BS-ing around with the new friends i'd made as a way of alleviating the pressures of adjusting to college. i almost got on academic probation too, and i jeopardized my scholarship. i took it as a learning opportunity, righted my ways, and did well enough to graduate (on time to boot).

look into the services offered by the student services division of you school. i know my school offered a set amount of counseling sessions for students through the counseling and mental health center. you can also get tested for anxiety, earning you different testing measures and additional help.

with that said, try and get your butt in gear and do well these first couple of years because it becomes exponentially harder to raise your GPA as you progress toward graduation.

I didn't really party either, but i wasted lots of time doing nothing. Making a schedule can help with this, prioritize school work and studying, and also reward yourself with free time. When you need to study find a place away from the usual distractions, and maybe find a study partner so you can hold one another accountable.

I started college fall '06. I went one whole year - 2007 i think - without using fb. Obviously it wasn't as popular back then, but I proved to myself I could let it go if need be. Try something along the same lines: start small, no fb for a set amount of hours during your "study time" on your planner" No fb for 1 day, weekend, etc. Disable the option to be emailed everytime something happens on your fb, this way you can cut down the temptation some more.

the stress is not gonna go away anytime soon. learn to manage it, by changing the things you can to help you cope better with it like planning assignments in advance, visiting your professor during office hours, or setting up appointments with the TA's to discuss material.

your focus is mired by the lack of value you accord to studying. find ways to make the material in your classes meaningful to you (assuming your professor/TA isn't doing a good job of it). you're probably taking general courses right now, so it's not yet time to panic and rush into switching majors (although this could be a source of your study woes).

Stop saying you'll do better, and just start doing it. When you had goals in running did you reach them by constantly saying you would run xx:xx? hell no, you went out and put the training in. make small changes here and there, learn good habits from others in your classes and at your school who are doing better, and apply them to our own situation.

See a psychiatrist or psychologist. Get a referral for a doctor to get some Ritalin.

Start taking it; 10mg twice a day should be adequate for you. Study 3 hours every weeknight. Do what you want during the weekends.

You'll be on academic honor roll at the end of the semester.

did you take a year off after high school. maybe you need to learn about the real world. find a job in florida or california and spend time working and living on your own til next fall. don't be a loser, don't join the military, don't go on a hate group mission, or something stupid like that. being on your own you'll find out new things which will help you in college.

Thanks for the advice guys, I really appreciate it.

okay, last thing i wanna add. you mention you might be reinstated w/ financial aid. think about the people financing your education - yes, even if the government may be one of the parties - and how much money they have riding on you. parents, scholarship committee, etc. if you're just gonna waste it all -- wouldn't it be better served going toward someone that is gonna actually make an honest effort? wouldn't it be better for you to just do something else if college is such a bore for you?

if you're helping finance your education, this may be easier - it helps to visualize the actual amount being devoted to making sure you're able to attend that school.

you sound like you DON'T wanna waste all that money.

start helping yourself by utilizing the resources your school offers....resources your tuition helps cover.

you made it to college, meaning someone other than yourself thought you deserved to be there -- someone else saw potential in you....prove them right.

Structure your life so that you get the outcomes that you want.

Look-- if you want to spend more time studying, designate a two hour period each day when you will pack up your backpack with books (no laptop), go to a deserted corner of some library on campus where your friends can't find you, and try to study. For me it was always right after dinner-- it is when I study best-- but you can do it whenever you want. I knew every day that I would be unavailable during this period and had to arrange social and other activities around this time.

Make studying a good habit-- just like running.

Treat it as a job. Put in at least 8 hrs. day. That's probably what your parents had to do to get you in the position where you had a chance to go to college. Or if not your parents, your grandparents. Don't go to facebook or letsrun 'till after you've put in your 8 hours.

Enter the job market. It's a great time.

4runner wrote:

Make studying a good habit-- just like running.

This is great advice!

Also, stay in touch with your professors. Register if you can for small classes (some, I know, have to be the large lecture variety, but where you can, look for classes with size limits, seminar classes if possible). When you're not just a face in the crowd, you'll find you have to commit to the work because your non-participation will be that much more noticeable.

Moreover, such classes are often populated by majors in the field who are passionate about the subject (so make sure that if it's not your major, it's something that interests you enough to stick with it). This kind of energy is contagious.

Definitely, see a counselor. And ask yourself what YOU really are interested in studying, not what others tell you is a good major to get a job. No use studying something you hate so you can get a job if you end up hating the job too.

Good luck!

There is already some good advice here but I want to suggest something unusual.

Maybe you should take a year off and work. My biggest regret was not taking a year off after high school to work. I took university for granted and didn`t really make the best of that opportunity. Working some shitty job for a year will really give you perspective on life and will motivate you and you will really appreciate the opportunity to get an education at the end of a hard year.

Or maybe just move back home for now and transfer to a community college. University life is a lot to handle and some people can benefit from a more gradual transition. I know I definitely could have. And college credits are easily transferrable so you can return to university in your third year and still graduate on time with a 4 year university degree. This will also be a much cheaper option (here in Canada, anyway).

Finally, consider whether you are really invested in what you`re learning. It seems like the topic doesn`t interest you or you don`t see a future for yourself in that field. Maybe it is time to rethink your plan. Again, community college is a place where it is easier to try out different things and explore unusual career paths.

Good luck!

Start smoking weed. honestly. does wonders for focus problems, eliminates worrying, allows introspection. worked wonders for me. went from 2.1 - 3.3 in one semester. moderation is key tho. best of luck bud. use a vaporizer if you're worried about your lungs and running.

Reasonable wrote:

Start smoking weed. honestly. does wonders for focus problems, eliminates worrying, allows introspection. worked wonders for me. went from 2.1 - 3.3 in one semester. moderation is key tho. best of luck bud. use a vaporizer if you're worried about your lungs and running.

I thought the same thing when I read his post. Kid, almost every problem that you have I have also experienced. If you get baked, you look at your life and be able to see your problems as if you are watching a movie and cringing as the main character makes poor decisions. After that, whenever you think to "check your notifications," you'll remember that facebook is nothing more than a world of everyone's doppelgangers. You also might see your future, which at this point consists of living in a cardboard box, so you'll put forth that bare minimum of getting a 3.0, and that can be done just by going to class everyday. You didn't mention it, but you porbably could also use the ability to talk to girls. Weed won't help you with this, but alcohol will. Just take 3 shots everyday when you wake up, then one every hour to maintain your blood alcohol volume, possibly a few extra in the evening to make yourself even more friendly. You won't notice this small buzz, but it'll oil you up like any social lube.

This is probably ADHD-type inattentive aka ADD. Same thing happened to me. Vyvanse/Adderall solved my problems. I also made some lifestyle changes and stopped caring about shit that doesn't matter(for example, facebook, whether other people would judge me/think of me as a failure..etc). I got re-admitted and now I'm kicking ass in college.

Read up on ADD/ADHD. I know it is overdiagnosed and there are many critics who believe it is not a real disorder, but when you actually have it, you know how humiliating it can be. The disorder is due to a lack of dopamine or overabundance of dopamine transporters in the brain or something like that. It is a chemical imbalance in the brain. This is a fact. It's been proven over and over again. If you are extremely shy or have social anxiety, that can also be related to dopamine. Many people including myself, get diagnosed with the inattentive type in college or adulthood, because they've been able to cruise through primary and secondary school by being very smart but not needing to do much, and from having a support system from a stable family at home. Once you get out of high school and have to fend for yourself, ADHD type inattentive rears it's ugly head. It's very difficult to adjust when your brain circuitry isn't right.

I suggest you get tested for ADHD/LD. Do this first. Your university's counseling center or a doctor should be able to get you referred for one. Call immediately, because it will take a few months before getting the referral. When I did it, it turned out to be some IQ tests that took several hours over the span of a few days, but they were very accurate in showing what was wrong with me. Sustained attention was very poor. My doctor put me on Vyvanse and I can finally do things a normal person would do. You can build a tolerance to the drug, but if you know your body well, you can use it effectively regardless. And you have to eat a lot and stay hydrated, but you'll get used to it. I know stimulants seem scary, but they really aren't that bad. They are the most effective treatment for the disorder. There are other dopamine boosting things out there, but they do not do much for ADHD sufferers compared to stimulants.

Take classes at a community college, keep the gpa up, and if you want to reapply to the same place, then talk to whoever is in charge of that stuff and you should be allowed to petition. You will probably have to write an essay explaining what happened and how you solved your problem. Only try for readmission once you've solved your problem and shown progress at a community college or from doing something productive. This won't happen overnight. It will be a gradual process but you'll get through it and you'll be extremely tough afterwards.

Don't listen to people who say that ADHD is bullshit. They don't know what it's like. I had to fight with my parents over this issue, but now I'm better and they've forgiven me. And remember that thoughts, memory, feelings and all that other shit is just chemicals in your brain. Good luck.

Hey man I didn't do as bad as you my first semester. (2.5 gpa). But I had some problems that you have. Mostly with the focusing part, you have to force yourself to enjoy the subjects and really pay attention in class. Many people I know doze off during class and don't get anything out of it. Do not waste 3 hours a week doing that. Instead immerse yourself into what the prof is lecturing about and then review it later in the day for 20 min or so. I guess the goal of that is to have a pretty good idea about the material that is going to be on the test before you are a few days out from the test and start studying for real. Doing this helped me get almost perfect grades this semester. Hopefully this winter break will get you motivated to do well when you are back. Take it one week at a time and don't worry about girls and partying too much until you have a grip on the grades.

I just glanced over the responses, but I gotta agree you need to see a doctor because there are only two reasons anyone should ever have problems in intro classes in college:

1) They forget they're in school and don't bother going to class or studying at all

2) There's something genuinely wrong with them

It sounds like you have some psychological problems, which isn't an attack on you and shouldn't make you think any less of yourself. It doesn't mean it's your fault. If you do actually have ADD and/or ADHD, medication can help. You could also have hyperthyroidism, but without knowing anything about you it's impossible to make that diagnosis. OR, you could just be a lazy POC, but it doesn't sound like it. Go see a doctor and tell them what's been going on. They'll probably be able to help.

Go to a community college. It's cheaper and easier and you'll learn mostly the same things.

I'm in the same boat as you. this past semester I had a hard time focusing on studying no matter how hard I tried to sit down and just do the work. Being 2000 miles away from home didn't help much either and winter break has given me the time to reflect on what changes need to be made in order to do better in school. I already deactivated my facebook account and I do not plan on using it again until summer at the earliest. Also, I am going to leave my PS3 here at home so it won't be a distraction anymore.

I won't name the university I attend, but the pressure to do well in my classes got to me at times and I doubted my ability to do as well as my classmates. I've come to realize though that I was admitted into the school for a reason and that I can stack up against my peers; I just have to reorganize my life and set my priorities. As an earlier poster said, I should look at school as I look at running and focus just as much attention on it. Good luck in the coming semester.

Get tested for ADD if you feel that is the way to go, but here are things that helped me.

I found that working with others in a group, maybe 4 or less, helped me out a lot. After you declare a major you start to take the same classes with the same people over and over. Just put it out there that you want a study partner and see what happens.

Go and get help from the TA's, and if they are willing, the professors. I had an A-hole TA for my senior class, took the insults and sarcasm, and got a B with hard work and long hours asking questions if I couldn't solve problems. I struggled, but it worked out in the end.

Limit the access to the computer. You will prolly spend way too much wasted time distracting yourself on them. Use the campus computers for email every so often, but if they are not readily available computers should be avoided. Use them for writing papers and such, but make an effort of out of sight, out of mind.