College troubles

LegacyUser

Not sure if this is in the right place, mods please feel free to move as necessary

I've recently decided to take a year out of college as the course I was doing wasn't for me. My problem is that I don't know what to do next. I failed the summer exams quite badly, studied for the repeats but still didn't pass them. I don't really know what happened. I went from being a very good student in school (>550 points in the leaving) to having no interest in doing anything in college. I was living away from home, never really made friends in the course and felt out of place. I found the subject material difficult and at times uninteresting and I stopped going to classes. I suppose it's no wonder I failed.

I am quite sure at this stage that I don't want to go back to the same course. If I couldn't pass first year first time around which is supposed to be easy I don't see how I could do well in subsequent years. At the same time though I feel like there's no point in me trying anything else. I had thought for so long about what I wanted to do in college and researched so many options. I had been so sure that this was the course for me. I'm now stuck with fees that I can't afford at the minute and the embarrassment of being a college drop out.

I don't want to end up with no degree, but I really don't know what to do. At the moment I'm planning on working and saving for a year and reapplying to the CAO. But I'm afraid I'll pick something else and the exact same thing will happen. Any advice would be appreciated.

SarahSassy

Find a job, figure out what you want to do and then do the degree by night.

Firetrap

I think if I was in your shoes I'd go in search of a career guidance counsellor somewhere and try to pinpoint another course to do or another area I'd be suited to. Something like what this lot are offering (I'm not connected to them - I just found the link on Google).

Just because something went horribly wrong with the course you ended up on doesn't mean that you're consigned to the scrap heap. You're not the first person to have realised that they'd made a horrible mistake and are then faced with the dilemma of keeping going at something they hate or bailing out. I know lots of people who now have jobs that aren't really related to what they studied in college. Trying to figure out what you want to do at 17 or 18 years of age is a toughie. You have time on your side (I'm assuming you're in your late teens) so it's never too late to dust yourself off and start again.

I was in this exact same situation last year. I took the year out to work and decide what course I would do the following year. I earned loads of money and even got to go to America for the summer....so my year out was definitely worth it! I didn't really decide what career I'd like to go with so I'm doing an Arts degree instead so I can figure out. Hope I'll major in Economics and Politics....also hope I'll like them! Best of luck in whatever you do!