Not cut out for college...

[lmitchell0012]

Is there anyone here who has failed/knows that they won't do well in college?? For whatever reason, you know you're just not a college kid.

[vonFiedler]

I went to a technical school long enough to find out from the alumni that it never got any of them a job. If you're a game designer, your best option bar none is to just make games. Any kind, any way you can. Eventually you WILL get job offers for your portfolio, though even those will end in disappointment before you find a big break.

[Myzozoa]

I think it depends on what you define success in college as. I assume that graduation is part of it, but what you actually want to get out of it will determine how well you do. If you don't think you can stay in school for 4 years and complete enough work to get a degree, then you might have issues outside of being not smart/lazy.

My personal goal when I applied to college was to party for 4 years, and so far I satisfied at Santa Cruz, Im not afraid that I might fail out or w.e, and Im enjoying the experience. A college degree isn't as valuable as people act like it is, you need it to get a job, but it is pretty much just a piece of paper telling your employers that you can keep a commitment over an extended period.

Also, college isn't nearly as hard to get into as your h.s teachers are going to say it is, I never thought I would get accepted at really good schools until I applied (couldn't afford Haverford or Columbia anyway) and there are so many good schools out there that if you do your research you can find one that matches you.

It would help if you explained why you don't think you would do well.

[Chou Toshio]

I do think the purpose of college is a bit over-inflated in US culture. In European culture and in Japan as well, college/university is largely the goal of many, but attained by a relatively smaller, more elite group. Let's face it, not everyone is going to be pursuing an academic career route, and even in the working world, the skills attained in college are not always the most relevant. More often than is acknowledged going to a school expressly to learned specific skills for a specific profession (along the lines of a "apprenticing" school/track) is the more effective for preparing students for the "real world."

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but in the UK, students pick their major going into high school no?

[cantab]

Originally Posted by Fat ChouToshio

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but in the UK, students pick their major going into high school no?

No. You pick your degree subject when you apply, which is in the autumn term of the second year of A-Levels. But the degrees you can apply for are strongly affected by what A-Levels (or "equivalent") you take, since most people take 3 or 4 subjects at A-Level. You pick your A-Level subjects when you apply for 6th form, which would normally be during the final year of GCSEs.

[assassinfred]

I feel the same way dude, but I do feel that college/university is overrated. I'm not saying it doesn't serve a purpose, it most certainly does. I'm just saying that unless you are trying to get a specific career that requires specific courses, you aren't screwed if you decide not to take post secondary, which a lot of people seem to think. Being in my graduating year in high school, this topic is brought up a lot, and frankly, I'm not sure what I want to do with my life after it (although I am seriously considering a military career at this point, but this is subject to change indefinitely.) Now, my parents want me to go to university or college, and I'm not saying I'm not going to, but I do feel it is slightly overrated, and from what I've heard from a few people, you aren't, by any stretch of the word, screwed if you don't go to post secondary.

[Itchni]

It all depends on your Major. If you take a liberal art then you are almost doomed for failure, but you need to go to uni if you want to do something in science or engineering or anything like that.

[Chou Toshio]

As someone with a liberal arts degree (in economics granted), I'm going to say that's bull.

[Myzozoa]

What do you mean by University, itchni, you can go to a real shit school and still do fine in the sciences.

[Sæglópur]

I've definitely screwed up college in more than one way. I don't think I was really ever ready for it, but I felt so much pressure to attend right after high school. I did well for the first year, then the second year I became very complacent and then just burnt out on college altogether. I decided to leave my university and go to a community college, and that didn't go so well either. As of now I'm just taking online classes, trying to figure out where or what I want to do next. Sometimes I just think I would be happier working at a zoo or something...ha.

[sneeze]

I dropped out of high school into a (successful) family business - my first job is my career - I'm set 4 life.

And socially, I've been fine without college. Just take advantage of every opportunity that meets you to meet people. ;)

[Eraddd]

Originally Posted by Fat Itchni

It all depends on your Major. If you take a liberal art then you are almost doomed for failure, but you need to go to uni if you want to do something in science or engineering or anything like that.

That`s a really horrible statement right there. Liberal Arts (while having a focus in something which is important), allows one to have a greater grasp of knowledge in other subjects, allowing them to be "complete." Having a grasp of other subject areas can be useful for example. I know that in Harvard, econ students are required to take theoretical physics courses (according to someone who attends there), because theoretical physics helps on with their critical thinking and ability to understand abstract concepts, something that's invaluable in economics.

I think people are forgetting the reason the reason why one goes to university: it's to learn. Quite frankly, if I wanted to make money, I'd have enrolled in my local trades school and I could be making really good money, while some sucker is engrossed in books and student debt. However, I"m here because I want to learn, as sappy as it sounds. I think too many people fail to understand that part of university, and think they're guaranteed a job when they come out of university.

[Morm]

Why is it considered a screw up to not go to college?

It's entirely possible that people have a passion for customer service or some mundane job; if you do what you love, who cares if you make $14/hr? I would rather come home every day not feeling like garbage from doing a job I loathe and instead come home feeling like a million dollars, even though I've made considerably less than I could have had I been a fuckstain, selling out what I want to do with my life to make money.

You spend 1/3 of your total hours, half of your waking hours, 5 days of the week, at work. I would rather not waste them wishing I was somewhere else; if college isn't for you, I wholeheartedly suggest you don't fuss about it and find your way elsewhere...or, try not going and maybe you'll discover college is for you.
:D

[vonFiedler]

Originally Posted by Fat Eraddd

I think people are forgetting the reason the reason why one goes to university: it's to learn. Quite frankly, if I wanted to make money, I'd have enrolled in my local trades school and I could be making really good money, while some sucker is engrossed in books and student debt. However, I"m here because I want to learn, as sappy as it sounds. I think too many people fail to understand that part of university, and think they're guaranteed a job when they come out of university.

Well its too bad it costs so much damn money to learn. Except it doesn't. I do it for free all time. Always have.

[Eraddd]

Originally Posted by Fat vonFiedler

Well its too bad it costs so much damn money to learn. Except it doesn't. I do it for free all time. Always have.

Edit: sorry I misread the quoted part of your post. And you're right. It definitely does cost a lot of money to learn at some universities.

[Firestorm]

Technical learning isn't quite the same and I agree you can do that for free. It really depends. I would say the only good things I've received from my university are the people / connections I've met / made, and access to our Co-op program which has helped me discover some of my flaws as a worker and help me figure out what it might be I want to do after school ends.

[chaos**]

I didn't think I was cut out for college. I had a 3.3 GPA in high school, and had a 2.9 GPA my first semester of college. Then I stopped being such an insecure dumbass about it all, actually tried, and now I am a PhD student at Princeton.

The moral of the story is, you are in part what you think you are. If you think you are a college failure now, then you probably will be a failure in the future. This is a destructive attitude and you have the power to fix it.

[Quataaaa]

Originally Posted by Fat chaos

I didn't think I was cut out for college. I had a 3.3 GPA in high school, and had a 2.9 GPA my first semester of college. Then I stopped being such an insecure dumbass about it all, actually tried, and now I am a PhD student at Princeton.

The moral of the story is, you are in part what you think you are. If you think you are a college failure now, then you probably will be a failure in the future. This is a destructive attitude and you have the power to fix it.

amen.


to the op:

Also, I think that believing in yourself, with regards to academic work, is important just to give yourself a chance. If you go in there, feeling like you can do it, feeling good about the whole situation, then you'll be able to let your talent shine, if you go in there feeling bad about the work in one way or another you'll probably perform below your potential...
... and then if you approach academia with confidence and enthusiasm, and it still doesn't work out, then alright maybe you weren't cut out for college. But the catch is that you do have to give it that enthusiastic college try (no pun intended) to see what you are really made of - going into it with a negative attitude will lower your chances of success.

[sneeze]

Originally Posted by Fat chaos

I didn't think I was cut out for college. I had a 3.3 GPA in high school, and had a 2.9 GPA my first semester of college. Then I stopped being such an insecure dumbass about it all, actually tried, and now I am a PhD student at Princeton.

The moral of the story is, you are in part what you think you are. If you think you are a college failure now, then you probably will be a failure in the future. This is a destructive attitude and you have the power to fix it.

I agree with chaos here - what he's saying is sort of a precursor to what does matter and can be highly important in determining your success in school (and life) - work ethic.

I don't think intelligence or years of formal education is any sort of factor in someone's success, it's really how hard you work at it that can make a difference. I guess I'm lucky to be able to drop out of school and be in the position that I am, but even so, if I was lazy now my parents would be correct in calling me a failure. I dropped out for a number of reasons, but one of them is that I saw just saw the futility in trying for me. School just gives you information, but our education system really does not focus enough on wisdom, or on instructing people to be able to apply knowledge efficiently. It does focus a lot on memory. I didn't need school, and I have no regrets now that I dropped out of high school. At first, I felt like I was sort of missing out socially, but I strived to find ways around that - and I did, by simply, like I said above, just taking advantage of every opportunity to meet people.

It's not a failure to not have the supposed "proper" education. History shows that time and time again, those who worked the hardest are the ones who were more successful. Is it not possible to work hard without being in school?

[theamericandream38]

Originally Posted by Fat chaos

I didn't think I was cut out for college. I had a 3.3 GPA in high school, and had a 2.9 GPA my first semester of college. Then I stopped being such an insecure dumbass about it all, actually tried, and now I am a PhD student at Princeton.

The moral of the story is, you are in part what you think you are. If you think you are a college failure now, then you probably will be a failure in the future. This is a destructive attitude and you have the power to fix it.

Thanks for the inspiration, chaos. I've actually been feeling a lot like the OP lately, especially after I had to drop Multivariable calc in my first semester (this one) and am not doing too well in my other classes. This combined with the fact that I have been having troubles with depression for the past few years has left me feeling pretty miserable lately. I've been told the same thing a million times, but it's nice to actually hear a story to back it up.

[Yamaha]

Originally Posted by Fat chaos

I didn't think I was cut out for college. I had a 3.3 GPA in high school, and had a 2.9 GPA my first semester of college. Then I stopped being such an insecure dumbass about it all, actually tried, and now I am a PhD student at Princeton.

The moral of the story is, you are in part what you think you are. If you think you are a college failure now, then you probably will be a failure in the future. This is a destructive attitude and you have the power to fix it.

You need to write a book. Inspiring!

[Arch]

College isn't necessarily a "must" for everyone. It's importance is overemphasized. One of my best friends was absolutely in love with Graphic Design, took no classes in Middle School or High School for it, and didn't bother with college. He got a job in California within about 5 months after he graduated from High School. However, what Chaos said is absolutely correct! If you think you're going to fail, you will! I'm in no way saying to "quit" college if you think you're not cut out for it, but at least give it 110% until you are 110% sure you aren't cut out for it. (Seriously, think about it.) Buttt, I'm not saying college is the only place to get the knowledge you want!

[assassinfred]

chaos, I can see where you're coming from, but I feel college isn't the right way for me. I have no idea what I want to do with my life, although I am considering a military career, but nothing is set in stone. I might go to college or university, but, I need to face the facts here: I don't have the marks a lot of schools need for me to get in. I've tried throughout my entire high school life to achieve the best marks I can, and I still don't get high marks. Not to mention the depression I feel way to often, as well as the pressure from my parents to be what they want me to. Besides, it is possible for a lot of people to learn way more from experiences than in schools.

[Lanturn314]

You know, assassinfred, even if you don't do so well in HS, there are still ways for you to get into college if you set your mind to it. A lot of people bring their GPA up by going to a 2-year community college and then transfer. You could even end up at in Ivy that way if you really work your butt off, so don't let poor HS performance discourage you!

That being said, college is not for everyone, and if you are truly happy doing a career that does not require a college education, then you should go that route. Because in the end, life is too short not to do whatever makes you truly happy, no matter what your parents or society might say :)

[Morm]

Listen to my girl Lanturn. HS means fuck all in the scheme of things, just so long as you step up your work ethic. Also agreeing with her, some people are just born to basket weave, plumb, electricianify (is there a verb for that?) or win the lottery. :)