TheSonomaDude
09.13.17 | yeah, i just entered my junior year too. I was at a major university but dropped out after 3 semesters because i fucking hated it. Wasn't mature, suffered major suicidal depression, had no money but no time to get a job because of classes and sports, got bullied constantly, had no connections to home, and my major (film) was fucking useless. My parents forced me to got to a college of their choice literally 2 weeks before enrollment, and I had no time to prepare after hs. that freshman year was probably the worst year of my entire life. American college is also a p big scam, no reason it should cost as much money as it does and half of the things, such as film, are useless majors you can succeed in without a college diploma (ask Tarantino, Speilberg, Cameron, Guy Richtie, Edgar Wright, and dozens more).
I took a semester off to focus on myself, much to the dismay of my parents, but the time off helped me out greatly and I went back after transferring to a local community college, where I still currently am. I'm much happier now and have matured a lot more (I'm sure that's debatable) and despite having no idea what I want to major in, my life is a lot more focused now. My community college also happens to be about 1000x better than the major 4-year university I was enrolled at. If I had stayed there, I never would've had the beautiful gf I have now, or any of my friends for that matter, I never would've found my passion or my drive, I never would've gotten the job that I'm currently in-training for being a manager at, and I fear the depression would've driven me to do something unspeakable to myself.
Just do what makes you happy. Going to college is important but make sure life comes first, because when I started doing that, things got a whole lot better for me. Though you prob shouldn't listen to me, i prob have no clue what i'm talking about |
Veldin
09.13.17 | I'm also going to community college (my last semester) and though I feel lame about it from time to time, I'm not in any debt, while most of my friends are. Planning to transfer to a uni for my bachelors, but it's definitely difficult to pick a major. I want to do music journalism, but...journalism is kind of bullshit and it'd be hard to support something I don't wholly respect.
@SonomaDude - also met my partner at community college after she dropped out of a 60k/year uni in NY, because well, fuck spending 60k a year.
@Tyler Lamberg - is it the college itself you don't enjoy? the major? if you're not content with where you're going, I'd try looking into other viable college options, because theoretically college can be a great, empowering time in life if you find one that compliments your needs. Good luck! |
TheSonomaDude
09.13.17 | @Veldin damn, 60k/year is insane, but that's like every NY college. I was accepted to Hofstra but ended up x-ing them off my list because of the insane tuition.
I don't think there are any colleges in Texas that pricey, but UT is 49k/year and TCU isn't far behind |
GreyShadow
09.13.17 | I just entered my senior year and yeah, I don't think college was for me but degree's are nice I guess. I didn't make many super good friends (a small handful though but none really compare to how close I am with my friends from home). It's expensive and I really just wanna spend time going to Smash Bros club and doing music related things but I'm constantly going to class, doing hw, my job and ugh, it's too much and although it is manageable it is difficult/draining. Also being straight edge in college is no fun but that's a personal problem |
Veldin
09.13.17 | Man, that's just SO much money imo. I just found out Mizzoui is normally like 30-40k, but since I live instate, it'll only be about 10k, and they have one of the best journalism departments in the country, so I'm aiming towards that.
@GreyShadow - just went to a college town and I drink and smoke sometimes with my friends, but the whole party scene is so pathetic and depressing. Kids straight outta hs who are vomiting in the middle of the street and playing Kendrick Lamar at 3am. Just not for me |
GreyShadow
09.13.17 | oh yeah, the party scene is the annoying part. chilling with people who drink and smoke or whatever is fine but the party scene is definitely pathetic. |
Hawks
09.13.17 | Dropped out of college after 2 weeks, fuck that shit lol. |
grindcorecore
09.13.17 | sometimes i feel like i'm the only one who likes going to university, everyone else seems to be miserable |
TylerLamberg
09.13.17 | To clarify, I'm not at a uni, I'm at a technical college. And it's not that I have a problem with the school or degree, the staff is helpful and I really enjoy management. I just hate how much time it sucks out of life. I have major problems with depression and shit and it's really hard to do any of the stuff that helps me out when work, school, and homework take up all of my time except for when i can manage to get to the gym. Dont have time to hang out with friends, recently broke up with my gf of 3 years partially because of just how ridiculously stressed I am, etc. I know it's a first world problem, but I just wanted to see if anyone else could relate. |
TylerLamberg
09.13.17 | The only reason I'm at a tech for 3 years is because the first year I was in an entirely different program and my dumb ass took program specific courses, not generals, because I was SO positive I'd love it. Lol |
bloc
09.13.17 | Work hard now, play harder later as I always say |
AnimalsAsSummit
09.13.17 | college fucking sucks but im always trying my best to stay focused and see that end goal ya feel |
Dissonant
09.13.17 | Are you me? This is exactly my situation, and has been since day 1 of college. Schoolwork consumes 99% of my time, leaving me little to no time to listen to new music, party, etc w/e.
Overall, my college experience has been quite dry. I'm pretty sure the people who said their college experience was amazing or w/e likely majored in something piss ass easy. |
Snake.
09.13.17 | uni is very polarizing bc it really depends on how you view it, some people find it a waste of time, some people find it very beneficial. as a meteorology major who attends a mid-size school in bumblefuck CNY, i find myself to belong in both bc i know the major that i'm in can be very beneficial for my future but at least the same time i catch myself not valuing my mental health bc of how exhausting my curriculum can be. also there's really nothing to do up here and i sometimes find myself to be way out of place in terms of fitting in.
in retrospect i wish i could've gone to a school like kansas or rutgers bc they both have awesome music scenes and solid atmospheric sciences programs, but nobody in my family could possibly pay for the out-of-state tuition for either school :/ |
Dissonant
09.13.17 | I'm a cyber security major btw |
Chortles
09.13.17 | I loved university, it was so much fun and I met a lot of amazing people. I have much more time now that I don't need to do schoolwork in the evenings and on weekends but I miss the flexibility and sponteneity a lot. I hated it my first semester but it became so much better when I forced myself to meet new people and learned to better manage my time |
TylerLamberg
09.13.17 | @Chortles Out of three years here, I've met one person that I actually enjoy talking to, so I can't relate at all to meeting a lot of amazing people haha. And as far as time management, man, I don't know what else I could do to improve it. Work 25-30 hrs a week to survive, taking 15 credits, which amounts to 15 hours of in class lecture and about 40-50+ hrs of homework a week, and about 4 hours a week in the gym just because I need something to feel good about lol. I also try to eat healthily so I do spend a decent amount of time cooking/preparing meals on a daily basis, but I don't think one should have to give up health.
And I agree with you @Dissonant. I can't fathom how people even find time to have fun lmao unless they just get no homework. |
Chortles
09.13.17 | I'm sorry to hear that man. I guess the experience is just different, I had a lot of extremely busy and stressful times but it always felt worth it. Either way, it's about getting a degree in the end so you at least have that to work toward, and your hard work will definitely pay off in the end |
TylerLamberg
09.13.17 | @Chortles yeah that's what pushes me through haha
Side note, I wasn't expecting this much engagement. It's been a long ass time since I've been on here but back when I did use it a lot, I rarely got much of anything for replies. Nice to see the community seems to have either grown or become more active |
foxblood
09.13.17 | i hated college. i didn't finish yet, i had one more year left at sf state but personal stuff forced me to stop going. i never got any good experiences out of it, never met anyone, and only in science/math classes would i actually learn something. it was a depressing and lonely waste of time and life for me. at least i made lots of time for playing/listening to music but it ruined my chances of being more social |
KjSwantko
09.13.17 | College is a useless financial scam for most people and is losing value by the day as the college degree becomes as common as a high school education. I regret going and spending all of the money (graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Political Science). That's not even getting into the hateful, freedom-hating indoctrination professors here in the US tend to identify with and brainwash naïve kids with. I took a job as a bank teller right out of college to have some kind of income; fast forward 5 years and I'm a registered investment advisor. The degree was useless and had 0% impact on me becoming "successful." I could write a novel on why modern college/university is almost purely a scam and a tool for keeping people in chains - both mentally and financially. Cheers mate and good luck. |
wham49
09.13.17 | your are obviosly doing something wrong at school, I sit at work and dream of going back to college where I had so much fun, drop the gym, schedule early afternoon classes and live alittle |
starboystargirl
09.13.17 | Good thing you did it right out of high school. I did college at 22 and felt so out of place because of the age / maturity differences between myself and the students in my classes. |
foxblood
09.13.17 | the 'indoctrination' angle of it is so real it's not funny. i had many liberal arts professors who did their best to force their insane opinions on malleable young student minds. i tried to stay in science and ended up doing marine biology because i wanted to learn something interesting and more concrete. there's a certain hivemind mentality of political correctness that becomes a sickness at some college campuses.
also just having to care for a sick family member during my college years made it a bit different for me, so 'having fun' was not as convenient. |
TylerLamberg
09.13.17 | @wham49 even if I dropped the gym, that would give me an extra 4 hours a week. That would give me enough time to party once a week. I'd rather keep up the health progress I've been making over the last 2 and a half years tbh. If I was spending substantial amounts of time there, I'd cut back, but I really don't.
@starboystargirl yeah I definitely wanted to get it out if the way as quickly as possible
@foxblood man, I do not envy you. Major props for managing that for as long as you did. I've honestly cut family problems out of my life because I simply don't have the time, I can't imagine trying to take care of em while trying to do all of this. |
KjSwantko
09.13.17 | @foxblood, yep. I can sum up college in 1 short story: I was taking a mandated Race and Ethnicity class and the professor gave us all the questions for the test the following day, word for word. Out of a class of 35-40 people, I was literally 1 of 2 people who got an A on this easy fucking test, and I think the class average was a 73. On a test we were given ahead of time. I called out the rest of the class and was basically like what the fuck is wrong with you people. I literally had the entire class taking turns trying to ogle me, coming up with personal excuses ranging from "test anxiety" to my "white privilege" and many other laughable shit. Not one person came to my defence to say yeah maybe this is embarrassing how lazy we are. I would also question a lot of the silly race/ethnicity claims the young professor would make. And she could never rationally refute anything and would always say, "there's no data on that so no reason to think what you're saying is true." She was a small-minded dweeb as were all the whiney, lazy students bitching about their ethnicity and how disadvantaged they are, when in reality it was that they're lazy and entitled.
That was the class that made me realize college is a bad joke. I went to a totally normal, average state university by the way. |
hal1ax
09.13.17 | "the 'indoctrination' angle of it is so real it's not funny. i had many liberal arts professors who did their best to force their insane opinions on malleable young student minds. i tried to stay in science and ended up doing marine biology because i wanted to learn something interesting and more concrete. there's a certain hivemind mentality of political correctness that becomes a sickness at some college campuses"
[2] so hard bruh |
Kalopsia
09.13.17 | my gf got her master's degree and i have an associate's degree.
we make the same income now.
college can be stupid sometimes. |
TylerLamberg
09.13.17 | @Kalopsia same type of degree though? What you get a degree in counts way more then associates vs bachelor's |
Kalopsia
09.13.17 | Associate's in business management
Master's in clinical psychology and early childhood development (or something similar)
And we both make more than decent money now, but almost the same amount. |
robertsona
09.13.17 | I took two semesters/a year off after my junior year to work and it was excellent. not everyone can do it, but college had become an absolute drain to me and i woke up every day ready to cry (yikes). now I've just started my fourth year and it's awesome: four classes, one a small seminar with a highly famous literary theorist (i'm an English major), applying to write for the school paper, class three damn days of the week...
applying to english phd programs so I guess I'd better like school somewhat... |
hal1ax
09.13.17 | ehh, someone with an MA in clinical has the capacity to be making a lot more money than you. some counselors make upwards of $50-60 an hour... just depends on what exactly you're doing. |
neekafat
09.13.17 | go to film school |
CalculatingInfinity
09.13.17 | All these stories make me feel sorry for the state of the American education system. I love Uni and it makes me sad to hear so many horror stories here. |
Dissonant
09.13.17 | @foxblood
Pretty much same for me. I've been here for 3 years, and have pretty much met no one. Everyone stays in their own circle of friends, either that or knew each other from high school. I do have to say, 99% of my friends are the ones from high school that go to this school.
And a girlfriend? Not even close. I'm only in college to get this degree, I was close to dropping out a while back and learning a trade, but just said screw it because I had already invested so much time in this place (2 years of community college, now 3 years of this school coming up) |
Dissonant
09.13.17 | "All these stories make me feel sorry for the state of the American education system. I love Uni and it makes me sad to hear so many horror stories here"
Tell me about it. It sucks. I know that college is what you make of it, but it's certainly nothing like you see on television. |
CalculatingInfinity
09.13.17 | I didn't have any expectations or any propaganda of Uni as I went in and my Uni experience was very...'abnormal' compared to the vast majority of students so I guess that helped. |
Dissonant
09.13.17 | @Tyler
Yeah, honestly I guess it depends. One of my old roommates (who was awful by the way, he never showered, smelled like an onion 24/7, had a horrible snoring problem, etc) majored in theater, and I pretty much never saw him doing any homework, just hanging out with friends or sleeping. My other friend, who is an engineering major, is pretty much strapped to his books, and I hardly see him. It just depends really |
TheSonomaDude
09.13.17 | "go to film school"
no. Film school is the biggest scam in the country, and this coming from an ex-film major. Such a waste of time and money. If you're interested in film, just take basic film 101 classes to gain more knowledge in the subject and then learn on your own money and accord. |
budgie
09.13.17 | you'd probably enjoy college more if you didn't listen to shit music |
RogueNine
09.13.17 | College was incredibly demanding and stressful, especially towards the end, but it was one of my favorite experiences ever and I wouldn't trade it for a thing. I made some very dear friends and had some amazing times.
Is college an unnecessary waste? I guess it all depends on what job you want. For me, my degree was absolutely vital to get the career I wanted. |
Sinternet
09.13.17 | i took a year out of education and it was the worst year of my life, going back to college in two weeks for 4 months and hopefully uni next year, i really missed having the structure of education in my life
i guess everyone's different |
TylerLamberg
09.13.17 | @budgie I was waiting for that obligatory comment. I thought maybe that type of cancer had finally died out here. Pop punk is what pulls me through though lol |
AsleepInTheBack
09.13.17 | I feel you man, but you just got to make some time for yourself, even if grades suffer a little. Working all day every day with no time for hobbies and friends is a sure fire way to get real sad real quick. |
TheSonomaDude
09.13.17 | ^[2] |
zakalwe
09.13.17 | Just run off and cry about it, blame dependence on technology for any anxiety issues and poor academic performance you may have then identify as an automaton and demand transhuman rights.
I'll knit you a flag.
|
TylerLamberg
09.13.17 | @zakalwe being ironic or? If not... lmao
I appreciate all the responses and shit though, we've got a cool community here |
Ryus
09.13.17 | i'm starting college next year
we'll see how that goes |
Allergist
09.13.17 | Got my associates degree from a JUCO and then dropped out. Never had any desire to get a bachelor's from a 4 year university, as my parents both graduated with bachelor's and worked in retail, which is something you can do in high school. They also spent their entire lives paying massive student debt. That was a decade ago. I have a decent high paying job and life's been good since I payed off student loans about 8 years ago. |
zakalwe
09.13.17 | I'm taking the piss dude. I'm prone to do it every once in awhile. |
Calc
09.13.17 | it's better when your job pays you to go to college (like mine did), otherwise it seems pretty lame agreed. |
SteakByrnes
09.13.17 | I've been in college for too long to care anymore, but I'm getting it done soon so that I can get out of school and into a good job hopefully right out of school |
TylerLamberg
09.13.17 | @Ryus good luck dude
@Allergist yeah I'm planning on dipping on out of education after my associates and then see if need to go back.
@zakalwe all good bro lol I'm just never sure with this site
@Calc yeah then cutting my working hours in half (and income obviously) wouldn't be such an issue
@SteakByrnes going for doctorate or something? |
SteakByrnes
09.13.17 | Nah, I started out in a field that I wasn't enjoying anymore so I changed it up and that added a couple of years to my college experience. Now I'm only a year and a half away from my Bachelor's in Computer Science so at least it's not too much longer |
Allergist
09.13.17 | Junior college Associate's is the best route IMO. Classes are cheap, at least where I went, and I was out with a degree less than 3 years after graduating high school. I also make $80,000 a year which is more than both my mom and dad combined, and they graduated with bachelors from Ole Miss and Texas Tech respectively. |
TylerLamberg
09.13.17 | @SteakByrnes well good luck to you dude
@Allergist I've never heard of junior college honestly... I assume it's similar to what I'm doing though from how you described it. My yearly tuition is less than $5,500 |
TylerLamberg
09.13.17 | But damn dude that comparative salary is pretty dope on your part |
Allergist
09.13.17 | Junior college, community college, same thing. It's basically just a local college designed for local residents, but they only offer 2-year programs with the highest degree offered being an associate's. I remember some semesters only paying $900 for four classes. I think the most I ever paid was $1700. Definitely smarter than spending hundreds of thousands of dollars at an expensive university. |
ChoccyPhilly
09.13.17 | Honestly been the most confusing 3 years of my life so far. At this point, i have no desire to study anymore |
Dissonant
09.13.17 | ^^ @Choc |
TheSonomaDude
09.13.17 | yah JUCU is cheap af. i'm actually able to pay for my own classes at 20 years old making $8.50 an hour as a cashier. def the best decision i've made in my school life, but my parents were unhappy about me dropping out of a major uni in favor for local JUCO but it's better than university in every single way. |
TylerLamberg
09.13.17 | @Choc I vibe with you so much dude |
Dissonant
09.13.17 | I went to a community college for 2 years, got my associates in general studies (which I don't recommend tbh), and am now at a university.
Honestly, if I had gone through this more, I would have just gotten an associates in IT at my local community college, then entered the workforce from there. Since I'm well on my way to getting a BS, I should probably just finish it up. |
Ryus
09.13.17 | the price of college is ridiculous and i feel awful for anyone who has to take out loans // work through college |
wtferrothorn
09.13.17 | i'm starting college next year
we'll see how that goes [2] |
Dissonant
09.13.17 | Yeah. One thing I do have to say is that I am incredibly lucky that my mom is dirt poor (as horrible as that sounds), and I apply for financial aid using her income. I am pretty much just given financial aid like it's nobody's business. |
SteakByrnes
09.13.17 | College is ridiculously overpriced |
ChoccyPhilly
09.13.17 | European unis are decently priced, unless you live in the UK, which I unfortunately do |
TylerLamberg
09.13.17 | @Dissonant same here dude but I still need money to pay rent, groceries, insurance, etc lol |
TheSonomaDude
09.13.17 | One of my best friends lives in Denmark and he says you actually GET PAID to go to school. He was able to buy a new car with the money he made by getting good grades. |
Ryus
09.13.17 | thats incredible
college in the US is fucked |
ChoccyPhilly
09.13.17 | Hey, I'm currently in Denmark doing Erasmus. It's crazy, I get an extra student loan AND I get the erasmus grant, which works out at 4.5k in euros. The catch? It's all free to me as long I pass |
Spacesh1p
09.13.17 | College is great. I was busy as hell 24/7 (class, sports, work, etc) and it's still better than working. Not that working is bad, but you don't experience real responsibility until you're out on your own.
Just as the transition from grade school to university brings more responsibility that you can never truly cast off again, the same thing happens tenfold once you graduate college. |
ChoccyPhilly
09.13.17 | just gonna put it out there though, I never imagined uni would mostly consist of long, lonely hours in my room studying with the occasional wank |
TylerLamberg
09.13.17 | @Spacesh1p what responsibilties do you gain when you graduate? I already rent my own place, work, pay all of my own bills, etc. The only thing that will change is I won't have the extra stress of school and I can just go back to working full time. I enjoy working much more. |
TheSonomaDude
09.13.17 | out of curiosity, anyone else play a sport in college? shit was time consuming af |
StallionMang
09.13.17 | 3 weeks into uni today and aside from maybe a class or two it looks like things r gonna be easy as fuck
and socially its a billion times better than hs because ppl actually wanna interact w each other and aren't 90% total dicks |
TylerLamberg
09.13.17 | @TheSonomaDude nah lifting is enough exercise for me lol not into sports
@StallionMang no one at mine talks at all, there may as well be no other students 90% of the time lol as for ease, are you just taking generals right now? |
Allergist
09.14.17 | @Sonoma I did about a week of basketball my 2nd year but quit because I hadn't played it since high school, which was like 5 years before. JUCO basketball was a breeze and half the team never even played in high school and some couldn't even make a basket from the 1 point line. Can't believe I remember that lol |
StallionMang
09.14.17 | p much, went in as undecided so they just hit me with all the basic gen ed shit (lots of "intro to ____"s lol). taking a writing colloquium that's actually p challenging but thats the only thing really worth stressing over, and i don't really expect classes to ramp up much more this semester |
TylerLamberg
09.14.17 | @Stallion yeah I found generals pretty easy stats, written comm, speech, etc shit was a breeze honestly |
matbla00
09.19.17 | Well, i can relate only partially but personally i am becoming frustrated with my educational path as well. I am at the last year of high school, working hard to get into some prestigious unis to study law, which i do not really want to do. So the next three years do not seem better in any way than highschool with brand new on the headphones |