I don't know what I'm doing!

stoopidkid

Hey guys, I'll try to keep this as short as possible..

I'm stuck in a rut. I'm 20 years old n I started college in Dublin in October. I took a year off after the Leavin Cert and worked. I feel way out of my depth in college sometimes. I love the lecture material (most of the time), I think it's great to have this opportunity to study really interesting stuff... But I feel under pressure ALL the time though.. I'm finding it difficult to get to sleep and relax.. I really don't know what to do.. Should I quit, should I stick with it til summer? Or maybe try to get onto a similar kind of course in a different university? As I said, the content is fine, it's difficult at times, but it'd be boring otherwise.. it's just the workload.. Has anybody else been in this situation? Can anybody offer ANY advice? It'd really help me out..

Thanks guys :cool:

bandraoi

If you like the course and are enjoying it then stick with it.

D!ve^Bomb!

well personally.. i think if you feel under TOO much pressure and you're not happy then it won't hurt to take a break.. i think college is overated!! and i also think that EVERYONE should take a few years off to work etc after finishing school... how do you feel about the course? do you see it leading to a career?

BUB:)

Farls

Hmmm, lot of people at college go through this sort of stress.

Can i ask what your studying? All courses are different as in some are lax enough about what work has to be done and others are real killers with submission dates every few days in some cases!

If you like it though i'd stick at it, personally i'm doing CS and whilst i love the programming side of things i hate the other theorie subjects, but i make allowances.

I think you really just need to stop worrying so much, liking the course is most of the battle!

Farlz

Zombrex

learning how to deal with the work load of college is a skill in of itself. And to be honest not everyone does deal with it (I was in a course where less than half the class finished the 4 years). But i wouldn't think of quiting just yet.

The thing to do is don't panic. The worst thing to do is to get all upset and worried about it, because that just makes studying harder. I am sure you know a few bright people who freaked at the leaving cert and didn't do well.

You want to take your time at your studies, but also devote time to it. Don't expect to learn everything in a week but do spend time during the whole week working on stuff. Break things down into smaller parts (not sure what course you are doing, but that is pretty general advice), that are easier to manage. Work on one thing at a time and forget about the rest while you are. Constant relaxed study and work is better than intensive bursts every once and a while. Pick topics you are interested in to start with, work a bit on them and then move on to boring topics when you are in the flow of study.

When you feel you have got some work done you will feel less stressed about the course in general. Trust me, the worst thing you can do is panic, then leave things and go at it at the last minute when you panic even more. I did that in college too many times, and you kick yourself for not starting slowly but surely back in week 2 or when ever.

There should be advice on hand from your councilers about study methods and plans.

Anyway good luck ... stick with it

memphis

stick it out til the summer anyway, and see what you wanna do after that.

I have been in a simular situation, I was studying Computer Software, failed my 2nd year, repeated it, failed it again, and then dropped out. I regreted it, but at the end of the day the course judt wasn't for me.

I went out working on a production line for about 14-15 months, and suddenly realised that I didn't want to be a production line operator for the rest of my life, so I returned to college, this time to study Business Studies, and so far I'm loving it.

Its a big gamble, but my advice would be give the first year a try, if after that you really feel like your stuck in a rut drop out, your never too old to return to college later on in life.

memphis

stoopidkid

thanks guys..i think i just panic a bit too much at times.. i did this all through my leavin cert year too n ended up gettin 2 a's and 5 b's.. it's nice too see that im not the only one.. that helps A LOT.. i'm doin science in tcd.. i only really chose it coz i couldn't find ANY other courses that i was even remotely interested in.. so i went for it as i could do my two fav subjects from school- biology and geography.. i think that most of the stress stems from not havin done chemistry at school and suddenly been throw in at the deep end and havin to understand it at university level.. i only have to do it this year tho....... gettin thru the year might be the problem!
again, thanks for the advice!

MojoMaker

Unforutnately Biology ranks as a poor science subject among univeristy folk and Geography is classed almost as humanity subject in irish universities. You'd really want to have studied Physics and Chemistry at (hons) leaving cert level to keep above water at college level. Having said that the Trinity general science course is univerally known to be a lower standard that the equivalent NUI science courses so I'd say you'll sail through with a few weeks/months slog and it all gets a lot easier in 2nd year once the dossers have been weeded out.

Imposter

MojoMaker wrote:

Having said that the Trinity general science course is univerally known to be a lower standard that the equivalent NUI science courses

Is this universal information to be found elsewhere in the public domain cause I sure ain't heard of it before?

The_Conductor

Yes, quite apart from the fact that you are not exactly comparing like with like, they are two different universities with two different syllabi- and the qualifications at the end are also different. The NUI tends to have a core science grounding common to most disciplines- which would be similar in most respects to the general science degree (which can be progressed to in yrs 2 and onwards). How does that compare with Trinity? By general science degree- do you mean that 3 year "arts" degree nonsense that hardly anyone does anyway? There is a large amount of snobbery directed against those on the 3 year programme (along with all the arts students of course ) Is the Trinity BA Mod- comparable to the NUI 3 year general programme? To be perfectly honest I think you are trying to compare an apple to an orange- and saying one is red and the other is orange- so the red one has to be better. Its not possible to put any credence in wide sweeping statements like that.

Ps- MojoMaker- just because you did not do a particular subject at secondary school level does not mean its a particular problem. I was similar to stoopidkid myself- only I went down the applied science route (forestry to be precise). Chemistry can be a beeatch when you've not done it before. What I found helped- was getting copies of all the exam papers from the last few years (check to make sure that there have not been revisions to the syllabi) and doggedly worked through them. I did not miss any of the tutorials and to be perfectly honest was like a fish in water in the labs. When I had particularly bad black holes- and its very difficult to stand up in the lecture theatre in front of your class when you presume that most of them know the answers, but deep down know that a fair few must not, I found popping into the postgrad room and bribing some of the postgrads for grinds (which were amazingly good value- I organised a little study group which a pair of postgrads used attend and help us once a week). Even from a blank slate- once you get a few core concepts explained to you in language that you can understand and are not terrified to ask reasonable questions- things can suddenly become a lot clearer.

Stoopidkid- I failed Chemistry in first year in the summer, I scrapped it in the autumn and by 3rd year I was regularly getting firsts in biochem and organic-chem, chemistry was no longer a dread of mine.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. If you need help- it is there- you just have to know how to find it. Its not school- you are not going to be spoonfed- don't expect it. Think about the subject logically- its broken into core ideas many of which are inter-related or common to several areas. Having the key to answer one particular question may help you see different ways to view several other questions.

stoopidkid- hang in there. The going is tough at first. Once you find your feet, I think you will find that things become more logical in your own mind.

S.

stoopidkid

thanks smccarrick! sound advice!

Zakalwe

Stick with it till your LONG summer break. Study hard and blow off steam at the weekends.

A night out with your friends or a night in with a DVD and a six pack will keep you sane. If you've no mates then join a club or 2.

I work 50 hours week currently and study at college for 3 nights ( 7 till 10 Mon, Tue, Thur) and I'm managing to hold it together somehow.


Some tips. Don't look too far ahead and worry about all the work. Take it one small step at a time. That's how mountains are climbed.

Don't put too many things off under the guise of relaxing. You don't want assignments piling up on you.