# Getting through college burn out... advice anyone?



## bsrk1 (Jul 18, 2012)

ISTP - Alright so im in my 3rd year of college and have a 3.4 gpa but it seems i have finally just hit the wall and am finding it so dificult to even go to class. i just hate it. Its so repetative and my life is boring. Im thinking about fighting it out this semester and then packing a tent, sleeping bag, and a thosand dollars and flying to alaska for a while and winging it. Trying to find a job in kodiak to be exact. Idk, its something ive really thought about for about a month now. Im an adventurous guy, maybe it will pull me out of my slump. Anyone have any advice?


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## Dolorous Haze (Jun 2, 2012)

Maybe you could go on an Erasmus or an exchange to another college for a semester? Or you could take a gap year and go to Alaska. Maybe you could ask your college if you could come back and finish your course next year? Just throwing out ideas here. :tongue:


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## bsrk1 (Jul 18, 2012)

I think i need a change, im just bored from the repetition of school life, wake up go to class, do homework, go to the bar, go to bed, do it all over again... not really my style. I want to take a year off and wing it and maybe try to work on the oil rigs or crab boat or something. This is actually my first semester at a new school and i have a great social life, i just need an adventure. 

Has anyone else ever taken a year off to recharge and get your bearings straight?


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## lins (Sep 22, 2012)

I totally can relate to your experience. I got really frustrated in school by the age of 19. I felt like I was doing it because everyone told me to play it safe. You want to make money on some point, you want to make a career and you have to have some fancy degree for it, right? But I was working on the side already and made enough money to sustain a pretty good life so on some point I simply felt exhausted about going in there seeing the same semi motivated people and teachers, who lectured me about stuff that wouldn't be relevant for my life. It simply brought me nowhere. So I dropped out. I figuered I could go back just in case I felt like it, but I never did. I travelled, I worked my ass off and I got everything. Minus the repetative nonsense I would have gotten out of school. 

If you feel like seeing the world and breaking the daily pattern for a short amount of time... DO IT! You never regret two things. Working out and travelling!

When it comes to totally dropping school though... Its not for everyone. You gotta work twice as hard (but obviously without a school situation) and you can't do corporate jobs and/or jobs you NEED a degree in, like becoming a lawyer, doctor whatsoever. 

But if its just a year? DO IT FOR CHRISTS SAKE!


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## William I am (May 20, 2011)

bsrk1 said:


> I think i need a change, im just bored from the repetition of school life, wake up go to class, do homework, go to the bar, go to bed, do it all over again... not really my style. I want to take a year off and wing it and maybe try to work on the oil rigs or crab boat or something. This is actually my first semester at a new school and i have a great social life, i just need an adventure.
> 
> Has anyone else ever taken a year off to recharge and get your bearings straight?


Knee-jerk advice: Stop going to the bar err day and go do something fun. Get a hobby. Climb rocks, go hiking, ride bikes, play video games, build robots, volunteer with kids... Just do something. People who hang out at bars routinely regularly have little to no life.

If you hate school, don't do it, but be realistic about going back to school. To go back to school, you'll have to take a serious cut in quality of life and have a small chunk of money to pay for things. If you make enough money to pay a lifestyle you enjoy, you will probably get 0 financial aid until after your income drops (though you can appeal the school to make an exception).

I took 6 months off, and it did nothing but set me back. Staying where I was for a couple months and then moving to where I was starting a new school would have been the best idea.

Study abroad sounds really cool, and my brother did it in Italy and in Botswana. I want to do it, but I did almost all my frivolous coursework already at JC's (no study abroad offerings) and can't take my last few classes in other countries very easily.

Also, @lins, you don't need a law degree to practice as a lawyer, but you do need to pass the Bar exam - which anyone can take a whole bunch of times. Getting hired by a practice with no degree might be hard, but you can do things as a lawyer that there is an unmet need for and that people will pay for just because you have the approval of the bar board.


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## Cetanu (Jan 20, 2012)

Take rests bro.

If you are burning out it means that you don't have enough QUALITY downtime / relax time (where you do NOTHING)


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## nakkinaama (Jun 20, 2012)

Holy manboobs that is exactly how I feel at the time too!! What to do, what to [email protected]@


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## tanstaafl28 (Sep 10, 2012)

bsrk1 said:


> ISTP - Alright so im in my 3rd year of college and have a 3.4 gpa but it seems i have finally just hit the wall and am finding it so dificult to even go to class. i just hate it. Its so repetative and my life is boring. Im thinking about fighting it out this semester and then packing a tent, sleeping bag, and a thosand dollars and flying to alaska for a while and winging it. Trying to find a job in kodiak to be exact. Idk, its something ive really thought about for about a month now. Im an adventurous guy, maybe it will pull me out of my slump. Anyone have any advice?


Wow. It took me 5 years to get my BS because I was having so much fun. Graduated with at least 30 credits more than I needed. I'd enjoy it while it lasts. The next part isn't anywhere near as much fun.


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## bsrk1 (Jul 18, 2012)

i know, i thinking about taking a gap year and traveling... not droping out.


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## bsrk1 (Jul 18, 2012)

William I am said:


> Knee-jerk advice: Stop going to the bar err day and go do something fun. Get a hobby. Climb rocks, go hiking, ride bikes, play video games, build robots, volunteer with kids... Just do something. People who hang out at bars routinely regularly have little to no life.
> 
> If you hate school, don't do it, but be realistic about going back to school. To go back to school, you'll have to take a serious cut in quality of life and have a small chunk of money to pay for things. If you make enough money to pay a lifestyle you enjoy, you will probably get 0 financial aid until after your income drops (though you can appeal the school to make an exception).
> 
> ...


I dont go to the bars everyday, just used it in my example. I have many hobbies that i honestly do every day, Like fishing probably my biggest one for example... i walk to the river and fly fish for trout, days im too busy to fish, i tie flies. I live in the mountains and snowboard every weekend in the winter and play intermural sports year round and am very active. When i was in highschool the same thing happened and my parents put the decision on me whether to move across the country or not. It was going to be my senior year and i did it. Best decision i have ever made so far, it got me recharged and graduated with a high honors diploma and currently have a 3.4 gpa in college with one degree in biology. I truely think i need a year just to switch gears and expiriance something new for a while. Not drop out for obvious reasons. just take a gap year and do something crazy like work on a crab boat, the money would just be an added bonus to the temporary change in lifestyle.


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## bsrk1 (Jul 18, 2012)

idk whatever i do i just wanna wing it with as little plan as possible. Driving by myself to alaska would be amazing. I think im going to go for it in april


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## tangosthenes (Oct 29, 2011)

I wouldn't do it, take a good vacation this Christmas or something.


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## tanstaafl28 (Sep 10, 2012)

bsrk1 said:


> i know, i thinking about taking a gap year and traveling... not droping out.


I advise you do to a pro/con on this. Taking a year off might seem like a great idea to you now, but getting back "...Into the groove" may be problematic when you come back. The biggest concern is that tuition costs are rising at an average of 8% per year.

Here are some links that might help you come to a decision:

Taking a break from school may not be the best choice : NinerOnline
Taking time off from college -- Avoiding the burn-out - Should I Take Time Off? - Epinions.com
Students: Taking a College Break? What To Say and To Whom


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## William I am (May 20, 2011)

bsrk1 said:


> I dont go to the bars everyday, just used it in my example. I have many hobbies that i honestly do every day, Like fishing probably my biggest one for example... i walk to the river and fly fish for trout, days im too busy to fish, i tie flies. I live in the mountains and snowboard every weekend in the winter and play intermural sports year round and am very active. When i was in highschool the same thing happened and my parents put the decision on me whether to move across the country or not. It was going to be my senior year and i did it. Best decision i have ever made so far, it got me recharged and graduated with a high honors diploma and currently have a 3.4 gpa in college with one degree in biology. I truely think i need a year just to switch gears and expiriance something new for a while. Not drop out for obvious reasons. just take a gap year and do something crazy like work on a crab boat, the money would just be an added bonus to the temporary change in lifestyle.


Well, that puts a different spin on it! It sounds more like you're just bored with your situation and that a "change would do ya good". I think you should look into a semester or two at another school. That way you get change, but you also don't take longer to graduate.

I can't really see why people want to wait to graduate. Every year you haven't graduated means a ton of money you're not making. Instead of making your starting salary of somewhere between 30 and 80 thousand a year, you'll probably be making 10-20 thousand. That doesn't describe you, necessarily, but it's generally true.


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