According to statistics, more than 50% of all students begin to think about quitting during their first year of college. Let’s find out why this happens and how to cope with this temptation.
Many students have questions and dissatisfaction with the situation immediately after entering freshman year. There are many reasons for this, but let’s look at the main ones.
Wrong department or school
Often young people simply do not understand what they would like to do or, even worse, confuse professions. As a result, they enter the wrong university or the wrong department, and then they regret it. There is a small stratum of students who do not care where or who to study or those who liked the accidentally chosen direction. But most still feel disappointed. Logically, they want to abandon their studies, not waste time and go wherever their soul calls for.
They do not give real knowledge
This is a common problem with modern universities. Depending on the specialization, a lot of knowledge may already be irrelevant and unnecessary. You have to “upgrade your qualifications” on your own, learning what is needed, and this is annoying. There is a lack of understanding: why go to university at all, if you can learn everything on your own?
No development
Some students who once participated in competitions, all kinds of competitions and other similar activities, find studying at university very boring. They are not interested, not enough pace and volume of knowledge, and what teachers give is not enough to maintain the usual dynamics of development.
The workload without meaning
A very common (from a student’s perspective) problem with modern higher education is that universities have a huge number of supposedly unnecessary subjects. They, as students think, take up time and add to the workload, so that’s why students need to use help from different services such as McEssay.com instead of writing homework by themselves. Young people, for the most part, believe that higher education should provide only practical, real skills related to their future profession, and not just general knowledge, as at school. This is a mistaken notion, but it is a common one.
The life of a student is not so sweet
Many people dream of the class time that will begin when they graduate from high school and go to college. These are quite logical and understandable dreams if you focus on American movies about student life or stories of older friends. The only problem is that in reality, as a rule, everything is not as it was imagined. Life as a student, of course, can sometimes be very “binge”, fun and free, but most of the time is still spent studying. Preparing for exams, lectures, and so on. And this is constant work and self-organization, which is not like a carefree pastime.
Do you want to finish university or give up right away?
It all depends on the situation. For example, if you made a mistake in choosing a department or university, then it would be logical to take back the documents and go where you originally wanted. But this is practically the only good reason why it is worth dropping out. Consider the other reasons:
- If it seems that no real knowledge is being given or there are too many unnecessary subjects, you need to remember that higher education is, in fact, a continuation of school, only at a higher level. Higher education broadens your horizons, gives accompanying knowledge, which helps to expand your competencies, and this is very important when looking for a job. And most importantly, it develops thinking, teaches you to think, develop algorithms, and solve any problems, no matter what field they relate to. Any university develops the intellect, and that is its main task. It makes no sense to drop out just because the economics department teaches you Spanish or History. Or – oh, the horror! – They make you do gymnastics. All of this is also important and will come in handy in life.
- If it seems that the load is insignificant, it makes sense to increase it on their own. Ask the teacher what additional information is available on the subject, what you can read as part of self-education. Believe me, you immediately get to the teacher in the favorites. And if you also prepare a couple of essays on the materials studied – credit or even an exam is automatic you provided. In any case, you can always find ways to “improve your skills” – if only you had the desire. And after all, you do it for yourself, not for the crust. All in your hands – and now it will be so all your life.
- If it seems that being a student isn’t as much fun as you thought it would be, then… yes. It is. It’s not as much fun. It’s work, hard, challenging, sometimes tedious. You should only start studying when you’re ready to gain knowledge, not just “hang out.” But now that you’re here, it’s better to pull yourself together and study. It’s not a fact that you are going to or will be able to enter a second time, and the diploma opens many doors that you can’t enter without it.
Put in a good word for higher education, or why do we need it at all?
As has already been said, a college education is not just a set of practical skills that will help you do your job well. It is, in fact, the foundation of your professional development, an opportunity to learn how to ask questions and seek answers. That’s what many employers require of employees, which is why job postings list higher education as a mandatory item. Higher education, like nothing else, allows you to pump your brain, and this is a universal skill that anyone who wants to achieve something in life needs.
Bottom line
The rule of 10,000 hours works in all spheres: that’s how many hours it takes to become a professional. But many specialties will disappear in a few years, so you need to master the professions of the future today.
