College workload advice?

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mathj

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Hey guys, im currently in college and feel as though im forcing material down my throat and not enjoying any of it. im seeing it as a kind of pointless endeavor. the problem is my attitude is hampering me being able to deal with my workload. any suggestions from anyone as to how to cope with putting in so much work to something that to me seems futile? for reference, i am 27, have been in and out of school for a while because i feel as though the traditional structure doesnt work for me. im a psych major, in my second year, and i know it will be good for me, but am struggling to see why or how when everyone i know does something different for a living than the thing they got their degree in, for the most part. and im at the end of the semester and have a ton of studying to do, thought id take a break and vent for a moment or two :)

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Sargon

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I don't know whether this really applies to your specific situation, but I found college to be much more enjoyable/manageable after I made the decision to back off the "finish in 4 years" mindset and allow myself to take fewer classes each semester. Going from 16-17 credit hour semesters to 12-13 made a huge difference, both in my social life and in my class performance.

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UpperDecker

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finish your education. trust me. it's worth it.

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Strangestories

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@sargon: I did the same. From 15-17 hours to 12-13. I went from making C's and B's and wanting to drop out of college to mostly A's and was really able to start connecting with my professors.

Aside from that, I changed my major from psychology to history/anthropology and actually started to enjoy going to classes.

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physicalscience

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yea take your time versus trying to do the traditional 15-16 credit hours. I always like to remember that the turtle was the one who won the race :)

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mathj

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#6  Edited By mathj

interesting idea. i might just do that next semester.

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Irish_Giant_Bomber

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@mathj: Hi. I am in a similar situation. Second year, second semester. The work was too much due to medical/personal issues. I have took a leave and I am going back next year. A weight has been lifted and now I can focus on getting healthy. Good luck, do what you feel is right.

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MezZa

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#8  Edited By MezZa

Credit hours do make a huge difference in my experience. I started off trying to take a lot and then backed off and saw better results. This semester because the finish line is within sight I tried to take a little extra and I found myself feeling pretty bad about the whole thing. I'd recommend you just take your time. Especially in psychology. I don't know if you plan on any graduate studies, but you'll be thankful if you take it slower and ensure you have a good gpa if you're planning on further education past this. As for the whole people ending up in jobs that have nothing to do with their degree idea, its true it happens a lot. But its not as if their degree was worthless in reaching where they are now. For most people at least. A degree is proof you can show to an employer that you can motivate yourself to learn and to accomplish a goal. A very challenging goal that many people give up on. A degree can open many doors for you. Some in your field and some in other fields completely unrelated. That's not inherently a bad thing unless you settle for stocking groceries at walmart for 40 years after graduating or something odd like that.

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troymcclure

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I'm far removed from college and find that I would have gone about it a wholly different way had I known what I know now. That doesn't really help, but just some perspective. The advice given makes complete sense and if you can manage less hours, I believe it will do wonders. A statement that I have come across in the working world, "slow down to go fast" is something I think of here. The idea of spending quality time now in order to more productive as a result echoes with me and my sensibilities. Not sure if that is helpful or sounds like meaningless junk.

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mathj

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@irish_giant_bomber:Thanks duder! hope you feel better and good luck to you too!

@mezza: good for you, yes its true it is a good thing to have. i guess i make myself anxious and nervous about the big ol picture and it becomes overwhelming. id imagine thats why alot of people just give up on it, i know i have in the past and that was a part of the reason. but im really dedicated to getting it right this time.

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csl316

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Honestly, you need to work on your attitude. Don't spend time thinking "ugh, why am I doing this?" and just get it done, since you'll just waste energy being negative about your task. This is generally a good idea in the workplace, too, just do your work instead of complaining about it. College is a pain in the ass, but I got my degrees and I'll always have them. Once you're done, you'll look back and thank your 27 year old self. Everyone goes through lulls and you just gotta develop the discipline to keep at it. I always felt that the subject you're learning is secondary to the work habits you're building, although people can absolutely use what they learned in degrees unlike everyone you know.

You said yourself, it'll be good for you so stick it through. Although if you're not enjoying what your studying, you can always consider switching it since you're only in year two. I would assume a lot of that is general core credits that wouldn't go to waste, but if you're in or out I don't know your situation.

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billmcneal

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Finish your degree, it'll be worth it. And if you are not satisfied with your workload now, take less classes, and you will enjoy the experience more

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afabs515

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I just graduated from college last year. I double-degreed in Computer Science and Psychology and have a job that utilizes my CS degree. The second half of earning my CS degree was ROUGH. I was taking classes for that major I honestly wasn't interested in and knew I would never use. Also, there were several huge, time-consuming semester-long projects. I was constantly questioning why I was still pursuing the degree if I wasn't enjoying the classes, and at one point in my second Junior semester, I considered dropping the CS degree entirely.

Now that I'm a year out from college and have a full-time paying job, I'll tell you that all that suffering was well worth-it. If you feel like you have too much work, you might want to consider the previous suggestion of taking less credits per semester. Or, if you have the free time in your schedule, try finding electives you might enjoy, like a music or sports class. I took an introductory piano course and a cooking class, and those really helped me push through the last two semesters of college. The only reason I added the Psych major was because I found it interesting, so those classes (for the most part) didn't seem like pointless work either. If you find that it isn't the workload, but the subject material itself, consider switching majors. Definitely finish a degree though. Having a stable job and being financially independent in your early 20's is great.

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Gibberellin

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I don't know what the undergraduate research situation is like for psychology majors, but I'd recommend finding a professor to do research with. Without some kind of direct application of what you're learning, all you have for motivation is, "maybe this will be useful in a future job? But that's a few years from now ..." Whereas if you find a research position that's at least somewhat related to what you're studying in your classes, it all starts to click. My case is maybe an unusual one, but at a plant sciences major who did research in plant pathology and mycology, no matter what subject I was taking I could connect it back to what I was researching (plant biology, biochemistry, genetic engineering, writing, ethics, etc.)

This might mean having to take fewer credits per semester, depending on how much work you take on. But it'll be an invaluable experience, and the things you learn will actually stick because you were able to fit them into a broader, more meaningful framework in your head.

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Buddy900

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I had the same problem. I just decided to just do a class or 2 a semester because when i was doing 5 i got burnt out too fast.

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Whitestripes09

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#16  Edited By Whitestripes09

I'm an Anthropology major that's 4 years into college and I'm still a Junior. To be honest I have to agree with many of the people here on doing less credits over a period of time if you feel like its overwhelming. Having only to do 4 classes a semester for me personally feels like my comfort zone where I'm getting a good majority of credits done and my grades aren't affected by the workload. I had a really bad habit of shutting down mid semester though and not doing assignments because I felt like the content was too much, wasn't interesting or just not applicable to what I wanted to study. Thankfully, I'm done with my Gen Eds so now I can just focus on my major and minor and I've changed my worth ethic to just get my shit done well before the due dates and avoid that shut down.

Someone also mentioned doing research with a professor. As an Anthro major, internships like that are pretty important for us to experience because the average work for anthropologist is working as a researcher or for one. Not really sure how psych is, but I imagine it's similar since you know... we both have -ology in the name (just kidding), but I feel that from what I have heard, those experiences are definitely well worth it since you're doing more applied work rather than just attending lectures and regurgitating. So I would definitely ask your adviser about opportunities like that.

Push on through and get it done!

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Maluvin

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Take only as much as you can handle and your situation permits (some people can't stretch out their time in college) especially if you're wracking up education debt.

Aside from raw hours it's also worth considering how you're engaging with college and your classes. If it just feels like a "doing it to do it" kind of thing it's going to be a slog even at 12 hours. On the other hand if it's something you feel invested in emotionally the hours can feel completely different. If you're engaging with your professors, talking with friends and peers about your classes, can see some achievable goal that matters to you, etc. the hours can feel completely different.


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Zelyre

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At the very least, having a degree will at least push you past whatever filters an HR department uses for its hiring process.

Are you doing an accelerated adult program? If not, you may want to look into it. The classes will be more adult oriented. The adults in there will have different goals than younger students - you'll get a different energy from an adult class.

If you feel like you need a break from your studies, but still need the structure of a class, look at some community college offerings. Talk to a their counseling staff to see if their credits will transfer if you need electives. Don't spend private/university tuition rates to take a side-cooking class for fun/self enrichment.

If you have a decent job now, then that really gives you room to slow down your studies to a pace you enjoy. Your employer may also be willing to help you with your education as well.

Also, as an adult, save your school receipts. For school, you can write off just about everything come tax time.

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GERALTITUDE

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Yeah it ain't you duder, it's the system. Unfortunately, there's only so much you can do about it. Even by reducing the number of classes to an amount you can meaningfully absorb, the truth is simply that many of your assignments and classes are not meaningful, and basically exist for a laundry list of reasons that aren't worth going through here but all in all rhyme with just cuz/easy(need) to measure/standards/curriculum. On top of this at modern schools professors are only sort of there to teach. Mostly they are there for their own research reasons. You, on the other hand, are entirely there to learn. So, there's an obvious problem there already. But, alas, ruminations for another time.

If I could go back in time and give myself advice I would definitely still go to post-secondary, but I would have told myself something like this:

"You will get out what you put in, not what is given to you. It is important to do your assignments for the sake of grades etc (the almighty piece of paper does matter). But more importantly, pay attention to those things that actually, true-blue interest you. Dive into those things on your own time. Then use the insane wealth of resources a college/university has (libraries, professors, students) to really cultivate your interests and knowledge."

I would have taken less classes over more time, and spent a lot more of that time doing independent study.

If you just walk through the program, do good homework, and walk out, you will likely feel like most of us. Which is, well, less than pumped. Education systems really are just a means to an end, but that doesn't mean the journey can't be worthwhile. I can't speak to every college and every program and I dunno how long this has been true, but, today, you need to put most, if not all that work in yourself in my opinion, to really get the value of the journey.

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css_switchfoot

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I'm 30 and have a very similar mindset to the OP. My advice is this:

College is meaningless, 90% of the content you learn will be forgotten and not applicable to whatever job you find yourself slogging to everyday. Successfully accomplishing a goal that you don't want to is what that piece of paper at the end signifies. This is why the degree is needed, you have to prove to yourself and the world that you can get through those years successfully. It is proof that you have the ability to succeed, and that is important to employers.

Not to mention all that bullshit, while still forgotten, helps us to shape us into more generally educated people. Sure the existing system isn't very good at it, but its not something will be changed before you get that piece of paper.

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JimmySmiths

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I wish I had some useful advice. I am on my fourth year, and I hate most of the work I do outside of my major. So much busy work and pointless nonsense that I have to do. Also having depression really hampers my ability to get anything done in a reasonable time frame.

I instead have continued to play the game, just doing the minimum work I need to as described on the syllabus. It might help if you calculate what grade you want, so you know when it is ok to not do something and spend some time to take a break. Though, I can't really recommend that you just drop your work, but it works for me.

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shivermetimbers

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#22  Edited By shivermetimbers

College and life in general is 100% executive functioning (you're a psych major, you should know what I'm talking about). Plan. Plan. Plan your work days. In fact, come up with a plan b if plan a doesn't work. Your campus should have resources to help you plan. Do it. If you set up a schedule and where you are able to reward yourself after doing hard work, you'll find life more fulfilling.

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Rokkaku

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I don't have time for a major post but I've been in a similar situation (at uni in the UK) and having graduated with some good results I have a few tips that helped me.

Prioritise your work schedule: figure out which is your most pressing task, do that, and then move on from there. Thinking about the whole project causes stress; break it down, established a work flow process of high to low priority tasks.

Take small but frequent breaks: if you've worked for two hours solid, get a coffee and a snack and watch some tv for half an hour - I watched a lot of anime this way!

Go out and see people; it's really easy to get psychologically trapped in your own world during uni - socialise with friends or family and you'll feel better and more productive as a result.

These are the first things that come to mind, hope they help!