# Overwhelmed at the thought of college/uni



## ForestPaix (Aug 30, 2014)

I've never been overly academic, and all the lists of task and projects one has to do in school, overwhelms and depresses me. I feel restricted.
Even though I'm homeschooled, and have more flexibility than most people, it's still hard to me to focus and complete an overwhelming task. 
Uni will be hell. I want to study creative technologies (art stuff) but I'm still so unsure. I feel the pressure from my Mum to do well, to be a success, but at the same time, she looks upon me as the dumb one in the family, and she just wants to 'marry me off' She doesn't think I'm capable of getting a degree, and that just makes me want to get one to prove her wrong. But I feel like I can't do it.
Thanks Mum. 
Can anyone else relate or give advice? 
I find that listening to music helps me focus a little better while I'm working.
Why is there so much pressure on people to get a tertiary education? Most people hate what they get a degree in, from what I can see, and they go into a different field.


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## Joestar (May 12, 2014)

Sharing my story so far...
I dropped out of high school and started my own home-business. I would think very carefully about going into college/uni. I know many people who also get degrees and it doesn't work out. It's expensive... There's so much pressure because that's how it was done traditionally... but times have changed now. My parents are *oldschool* and still believe going into college/uni is the way to be successful and get a good career, bla bla bla. Fuck that, I'm not getting myself into debt and study something I don't even have a passion for. That's just me though.


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## owlhead (Aug 12, 2012)

College will be a great experience for you, especially that you mentioned you were homeschooled. Just make sure you surround yourself with good friends and positive vibes, and no matter how overwhelming the studying/getting tasks done part will be, you'll get it done with a big smile on your face because you are generally enjoying college. Don't think about your Mum or anyone else who's putting you down, you'll do great as long as you're happy there. Best of luck.


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## ForestPaix (Aug 30, 2014)

I'm not sure I have the know how to have a home business, so good on you! But I'd like to be painting and drawing in my spare time, perhaps taking commissions from people. I agree! Mum's trying to push me to study nursing, or a business degree. I have no passion for those things, so I won't do them. I


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## ForestPaix (Aug 30, 2014)

thats the thing, will I enjoy college =/ but I shall try to give it a shot, thanks!


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## xisnotx (Mar 20, 2014)

one day at a time. work in chunks. this week i'll do this and this. next week this. it's a marathon not a speed race. the first couple weeks are critical. know exactly what needs to be done throughout the semester, how much work it will be, how much time it will take you, and plan it out.


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## Hurricane Matthew (Nov 9, 2012)

A lot of people forget these days that college isn't for everyone and blindly say "You should go to college! You'll enjoy it and it'll be good for you!" My mom promised me that it would be fun and I'd be able to make friends there. I started college being very optimistic and ready to work hard and do a good job, but even with my positive approach to it... I hated the entire experience and am currently dropped out because I hated it so much. I never made any friends as I felt like I couldn't connect with anyone and my interests were too different. While I didn't consider the actual studying and projects to be all that difficult, I struggled with the social aspect and felt like the loneliest person in the world 100% of the time and I constantly ended up having weird personality clashes with my instructors, including one that penalized my grades all because he found out I had different political views from he did and was put down the entire semester by him for my opinions. A different teacher seemed confused about my gender... even after being in her class for _three months_. Art class was terrible as all we did were draw bottles every single day and I was yelled at for drawing things in my bottles after I got bored of the same thing over and over again. That class was making me hate art to the point of me deciding to not go to class anymore because if I kept going, then I'd probably quit art forever because of how awful the class made art ((I value doing art too much, more than I valued my grade)). I was very angry with the random hidden fees and how overpriced the classes were, too. There was no way those classes were worth what I had to pay! Unless you live in a country like Argentina or Finland where college is basically free or if you get a full-ride scholarship, then college will be massively overpriced. Another reason why I had to drop out was I ran out of savings. College prices increase every year by more than what's reasonable or what makes logical sense.

The option that people don't realize exist most of the time are trade schools, of which I hear lovely things about. They're cheaper and more affordable and also help launch you into a trade, which have higher employment than academic careers, and often pay just as nicely, too. An online friend of mine went for a trade school for multimedia arts and it was much cheaper than going to art college, and she is learning a lot, making me wish I knew about this option BEFORE I started college. I am currently saving to go to a trade school as well. There is no way to convince me to deal with the BS of college ever again. It was awful and the only thing I learned from college was how to hate my life.

If you do go to college, my advice would be to not show you have an opinion, don't be individualistic, don't be creative with anything and don't be a free thinker. Be a good little sheep, do what you're told, pretend to believe everything you're told and you'll be fine. Think outside of the box for even a moment and you'll get slammed.


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## ForestPaix (Aug 30, 2014)

Matvey said:


> A lot of people forget these days that college isn't for everyone and blindly say "You should go to college! You'll enjoy it and it'll be good for you!" My mom promised me that it would be fun and I'd be able to make friends there. I started college being very optimistic and ready to work hard and do a good job, but even with my positive approach to it... I hated the entire experience and am currently dropped out because I hated it so much. I never made any friends as I felt like I couldn't connect with anyone and my interests were too different. While I didn't consider the actual studying and projects to be all that difficult, I struggled with the social aspect and felt like the loneliest person in the world 100% of the time and I constantly ended up having weird personality clashes with my instructors, including one that penalized my grades all because he found out I had different political views from he did and was put down the entire semester by him for my opinions. A different teacher seemed confused about my gender... even after being in her class for _three months_. Art class was terrible as all we did were draw bottles every single day and I was yelled at for drawing things in my bottles after I got bored of the same thing over and over again. That class was making me hate art to the point of me deciding to not go to class anymore because if I kept going, then I'd probably quit art forever because of how awful the class made art ((I value doing art too much, more than I valued my grade)). I was very angry with the random hidden fees and how overpriced the classes were, too. There was no way those classes were worth what I had to pay! Unless you live in a country like Argentina or Finland where college is basically free or if you get a full-ride scholarship, then college will be massively overpriced. Another reason why I had to drop out was I ran out of savings. College prices increase every year by more than what's reasonable or what makes logical sense.
> 
> The option that people don't realize exist most of the time are trade schools, of which I hear lovely things about. They're cheaper and more affordable and also help launch you into a trade, which have higher employment than academic careers, and often pay just as nicely, too. An online friend of mine went for a trade school for multimedia arts and it was much cheaper than going to art college, and she is learning a lot, making me wish I knew about this option BEFORE I started college. I am currently saving to go to a trade school as well. There is no way to convince me to deal with the BS of college ever again. It was awful and the only thing I learned from college was how to hate my life.
> 
> If you do go to college, my advice would be to not show you have an opinion, don't be individualistic, don't be creative with anything and don't be a free thinker. Be a good little sheep, do what you're told, pretend to believe everything you're told and you'll be fine. Think outside of the box for even a moment and you'll get slammed.


What's hilarious is Mum actually partly wants to keep me home, because she thinks I'll be out there, sleeping around with boys or something... 
Nah uh, she doesn't know me! 
Well I'm looking into a local polytech (same thing as trade school I guess) which offers a 16 week course in Creative Technologies, which is a decent length, and it won't be super expensive, even though I will get a student loan. Just to test the waters so to speak. 
That does sound like hell, I don't blame you for dropping out, that's the best thing to do! The thing with education, is it is so restrictive, but it shouldn't be, everybody is so different and learns differently. Yet we all get put together to learn the same way (thankfully I was homeschooled) but my best friend is having hell at school right now, similiar to what you had, she has no idea what she's doing, she's failed everything, just because she didn't do the work, she's just given up. I'm actually really worried about her.
No I don't wanna go to uni if it's like that. I used to be extremely shy when I was younger, and just follow the crowd, and let people walk all over me, but not anymore.
Only thing is, I need a darn art portfolio, and I haven't got one. The list of art stuff I have to draw through the Art stuff I'm studying through corespondence is overwhelming. 
But I guess there's no rush, I'm nearly 18, I can take another year to work on stuff, it's just pressure from people, family.
Ergggh it makes me angry when I hear things about tutors who just mark people down because they don't like them. Why the hell did you have to draw bottles everyday? D: That sounds like the person who wrote the class curriculum was hella lazy! At least I get to chose my topic to draw for school.
My sister had the same gender problem with some of her tutors. She was the only girl in an engineering class of guys, and she has REALLY long hair. Yet somehow, she kept being called Mr. 
I think they just don't care. They're lazy, these tutors.


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## tangosthenes (Oct 29, 2011)

What helped me tremendously with getting things done was making sure to stay in shape. I ran and worked out during college...the fullest semester I had was 7 classes, and I was very efficient with my work, that I was getting lots and lots of free time to do very lazy things, so just work up an ability to do things when you don't feel like doing them, to be at a good level of mental productive capacity when you're tired, and you'll be fine. It may seem overwhelming, but that's perfectly fine. You have more time than you think. 
As the saying goes, "*Stay here*. *Stay here* as long as *you* can. For the love of God, cherish it."


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## AriesLilith (Jan 6, 2013)

College being worth or not depends a lot on your country's job market as well as the field you are interested in. For example, here in Portugal, I work as a programmer and 95% of the companies asks for a degree for IT professionals since 1) degrees are like 1050€ per year at public universities and 2) many people gets one so they see it as a requisite. But it seems like some other fields or jobs would not require a degree or even think that you are over qualified for the job!
Also, here in Portugal you can pay off the yearly fees for a public university course with 2 to 3 months of summer part-time, yet in US it seems that you get huge debts. So while here it's not too bad to invest in a degree, it might be bad in the US specially if you are not sure if it's a good choice when it comes to passion or job employment.


Perhaps you should try to figure out what are the things you might like to do as well as the things you are good at. Organizing skills, eyes for details, good at maths, design creativity, and so on. Make a list of your top skills. Think of your potential interest jobs and wonder if your set of best skills are good fit for these.

Maybe a crazy idea would be to work a year or two in different things to see what you might like to do, then take college. I know some people who only did the degree years later.

Lastly, don't attempt to get a degree for proving anyone wrong. Life is short, choose what you want for yourself instead.


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## ForestPaix (Aug 30, 2014)

thankyou!


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## sriracha (Sep 19, 2010)

It's up to you to decide whether or not to go to college/uni. Let me just say that not all colleges are the same; There are so many different varieties of colleges and the services that they offer. Some are more traditional, some are career-oriented and some encourage creativity and are heavily based on art majors. Before you enroll in any, if you choose to, I'd advise you to do a thorough research on all potential colleges. What I mean by that is you should actually visit the colleges, sit in the classes as if you're an actual student, talk to the students to see how things are, look up what students say about the college, look up ratings and professors online (collegeprowler and ratemyprofessors.com), make sure the college has the degrees and programs that you are aiming for and that they are certified, etc.

I don't know where you live, but in the US, there are community colleges, which are much cheaper than private colleges or 4-year colleges. If you want a taste of what college is like, then try a few classes for a smaller price at a community college. It may not be completely the same as the college that you will go to, but you will have some idea of what college is going to be like. I know that you have many worries such as completely projects and deadlines. I know of students who went to school part-time, taking only 2-3 classes a semester, working their way up to a degree. This is less work than a full-time student. If that sounds like a good pace for you to do, then you should try it out. 

In the end, if you decide not to attend college, don't beat yourself upon it. Find a way that will make you successful in the work world and be truly satisfied with yourself.


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## ForestPaix (Aug 30, 2014)

rawr_sheila said:


> It's up to you to decide whether or not to go to college/uni. Let me just say that not all colleges are the same; There are so many different varieties of colleges and the services that they offer. Some are more traditional, some are career-oriented and some encourage creativity and are heavily based on art majors. Before you enroll in any, if you choose to, I'd advise you to do a thorough research on all potential colleges. What I mean by that is you should actually visit the colleges, sit in the classes as if you're an actual student, talk to the students to see how things are, look up what students say about the college, look up ratings and professors online (collegeprowler and ratemyprofessors.com), make sure the college has the degrees and programs that you are aiming for and that they are certified, etc.
> 
> I don't know where you live, but in the US, there are community colleges, which are much cheaper than private colleges or 4-year colleges. If you want a taste of what college is like, then try a few classes for a smaller price at a community college. It may not be completely the same as the college that you will go to, but you will have some idea of what college is going to be like. I know that you have many worries such as completely projects and deadlines. I know of students who went to school part-time, taking only 2-3 classes a semester, working their way up to a degree. This is less work than a full-time student. If that sounds like a good pace for you to do, then you should try it out.
> 
> In the end, if you decide not to attend college, don't beat yourself upon it. Find a way that will make you successful in the work world and be truly satisfied with yourself.


Thankyou!! I am afraid of my family and people I know looking down on me if I just go to a trade school, or I don't do a proper degree or whatever. I live in New Zealand, I wouldn't mind leaving the country to study elsewhere though. 
I like the idea of trying out a small amount of classes. *takes information on board* Thankyou


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