Should I dropout?
March 8, 2011 6:03 PM Subscribe
I need someone to tell me why I need these first year university course credits when I won't be returning to university level.
I'm going to university in an attempt to see what I missed after high school when I went to a trade school instead. I'm really glad I did, am comforted to know I could do it if I wanted, but know for sure that I really don't want to. So now I'm in a pickle: my motivation to finish this loooong looking month of school and do well in finals is... minimal. I started writing an essay and ended up with a glass of shiraz watching Glee.
On a practical level, I know I should finish this year well; I spent (and am still working on) an obscene amount of money to do this, and so far have done really well in my classes. As a matter of pride I'd like to not be a quitter. However, any time I'm not in class I could be working to pay off my debts and I'm having a hard time rationalizing why exactly I need these credits. I do plan to return to school in some capacity, for business management. But that'll likely be at a community college level. Will philosophy and english credits be helpful?
If I finish this year without any intention of continuing, am I throwing away my work as thoroughly as if I quit?
Thanks so much!
I'm going to university in an attempt to see what I missed after high school when I went to a trade school instead. I'm really glad I did, am comforted to know I could do it if I wanted, but know for sure that I really don't want to. So now I'm in a pickle: my motivation to finish this loooong looking month of school and do well in finals is... minimal. I started writing an essay and ended up with a glass of shiraz watching Glee.
On a practical level, I know I should finish this year well; I spent (and am still working on) an obscene amount of money to do this, and so far have done really well in my classes. As a matter of pride I'd like to not be a quitter. However, any time I'm not in class I could be working to pay off my debts and I'm having a hard time rationalizing why exactly I need these credits. I do plan to return to school in some capacity, for business management. But that'll likely be at a community college level. Will philosophy and english credits be helpful?
If I finish this year without any intention of continuing, am I throwing away my work as thoroughly as if I quit?
Thanks so much!
What is your trade, exactly? Is there any way that you could work with your professors to make the work more applicable to what you would like to be doing as a job? If you could pick up some new information and be able to present it as part of a portfolio it may be worth it.
I think community college business management degree programs would require English credits.
posted by amicamentis at 6:12 PM on March 8, 2011
I think community college business management degree programs would require English credits.
posted by amicamentis at 6:12 PM on March 8, 2011
I think it is possible that quitting will follow you around. There might be opportunities that you are excited about in your next attempt that will be blocked when they look at your transcript. Write about Shiraz, write about Glee, write about your future plans for returning to school for business management. Get it done and try to have fun with it.
posted by Jagz-Mario at 6:15 PM on March 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Jagz-Mario at 6:15 PM on March 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
I managed to avoid taking almost any gen ed classes in community college, due to having three years' worth of bombed-out-of-uni credits.
You probably never, ever want to sit through intro English or math in community college, trust me. Stick with it.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 6:15 PM on March 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
You probably never, ever want to sit through intro English or math in community college, trust me. Stick with it.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 6:15 PM on March 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: If you quit, it will always be so. There will be a little asterisk in your mind next to "2010-11: Attended University to see what it's like"
Suck it up! Write the damn essay - write it like somebody who has nothing to lose! Throw yourself into the rest of this year with reckless abandon! What's five or six weeks out of the rest of your life?
posted by davey_darling at 6:16 PM on March 8, 2011 [3 favorites]
Suck it up! Write the damn essay - write it like somebody who has nothing to lose! Throw yourself into the rest of this year with reckless abandon! What's five or six weeks out of the rest of your life?
posted by davey_darling at 6:16 PM on March 8, 2011 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Reckless abandon... I like it.
posted by Carlotta Bananas at 6:24 PM on March 8, 2011
posted by Carlotta Bananas at 6:24 PM on March 8, 2011
If you ever decide to go back to school you'll be happy you didn't just stop showing up or trying- even if you don't 'need' these classes. And any degree-granting curriculum I've considered does have a section for English Composition and at least a handful of requirements in the Social Sciences/Humanities, among other stuff.
posted by tremspeed at 6:29 PM on March 8, 2011
posted by tremspeed at 6:29 PM on March 8, 2011
Also, a data point: I feel that same lack of motivation right now, and I'm somebody who's really interested in his field of study, and am planning on finishing this degree. It's a hard time of year - winter is lingering, it's cold and icky outside, and I just want to take a nap.
So, I echo what everyone else says - why not just go for it? You'll feel so great when it's over. And this gross, sleepy, blah period won't last forever.
posted by Zephyrial at 6:31 PM on March 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
So, I echo what everyone else says - why not just go for it? You'll feel so great when it's over. And this gross, sleepy, blah period won't last forever.
posted by Zephyrial at 6:31 PM on March 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
"I do plan to return to school in some capacity, for business management. But that'll likely be at a community college level. Will philosophy and english credits be helpful?"
They'll probably be REQUIRED at the CC. I teach intro philosophy at a CC and I teach to students in every damn program at the college and it's always a required course, not elective. They're not there because of their deep fascination with philosophy. (I mean, seriously, I've taught philosophy as part of a certificate course in diesel engine maintenance. It was required.)
Finish 'em and knock 'em out. Otherwise you'll just have to do them again.
My mental hack was always, "It's only sixteen weeks. I can do anything for sixteen weeks." Get a big calendar and mark off days if you must. But it's really not that long to force yourself to sustain the effort.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:43 PM on March 8, 2011
They'll probably be REQUIRED at the CC. I teach intro philosophy at a CC and I teach to students in every damn program at the college and it's always a required course, not elective. They're not there because of their deep fascination with philosophy. (I mean, seriously, I've taught philosophy as part of a certificate course in diesel engine maintenance. It was required.)
Finish 'em and knock 'em out. Otherwise you'll just have to do them again.
My mental hack was always, "It's only sixteen weeks. I can do anything for sixteen weeks." Get a big calendar and mark off days if you must. But it's really not that long to force yourself to sustain the effort.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:43 PM on March 8, 2011
Yes, please finish. You never know where life will take you, and you may end up going back some time in the future. You could end up totally regretting not having completed the courses — just for the credits, if nothing else.
posted by clone boulevard at 6:57 PM on March 8, 2011
posted by clone boulevard at 6:57 PM on March 8, 2011
Money spent on tuition, time spent in classes and on essays - these are sunk costs, and it's fallacious to factor them into your decision. Whether you finish or not, you're not getting that time or money back. It's not 'quitting' if you decide that your time is better spent doing something else. It's making rational decisions about your opportunity costs and choosing the path that delivers the most value for you, however you define that.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 12:04 AM on March 9, 2011
posted by obiwanwasabi at 12:04 AM on March 9, 2011
Sunk cost fallacy.
If you're reasonably sure you'll never go back, quit now and save yourself the rest of the term.
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 8:12 AM on March 9, 2011
If you're reasonably sure you'll never go back, quit now and save yourself the rest of the term.
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 8:12 AM on March 9, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
Also.
I don't know anything about the program that you're looking at for business management, but when I attended community college for a "practical" degree (I changed my mind later), some general education requirements were still required. It could be that this semester will, in fact, apply towards a degree in business management. Don't discount that until you've actually talked with the particular community college you're looking at.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 6:11 PM on March 8, 2011