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I wouldn't just drop out without some planning. I would seek counseling and then medical care from a psychiatrist, if necessary. My guess is you probably have cheap insurance and medical facilities through the school and/or your parents policies.
If you are diagnosed with depression, get the care you need, and then if you want to drop out or take a break see what accommodation the school will give you. They may let you quit mid-semester, so this semester's grades won't effect your GPA.
If you just drop out, the chances of you being able to transfer to a college as good as Rutgers after a break is very low, so I would try to get some sort of medical leave instead of just dropping out.
You are already halfway there, I would finish up. 2.7 GPA is not terrible and GPA in college really doesn't matter very much in the long run. If you do not have another career in mind and you aren't sure you want to do engineering as a career, minor in business.
Again, its just 2 more years. Do what you gotta do and finish it up.
Why don't you register for easier classes next semester for a confidence builder. Sounds like you are burned out from hard classes in things you don't like. And look into other majors if your current major isn't something you want to do for your life. Lots of people change majors. It's easier to do it early rather than waiting until Junior or Senior year.
You need to think long and hard about what you want to do with your future. And then come up with the plan (major, degree) that will get you there. Or go to tech school if that is something that is a better fit for your career desire.
So I go to Rutgers University in NJ (where I live) and I am majoring in Engineering.
OP, I strongly suggest you suck it up and finish. Here's why. Engineers are desperately needed all over the country. Engineering is a slam dunk job for you after college among a sea of unemployed and underemployed college grads. My husband and his father are corrosion engineers. My father-in-law makes over $100K. My father is a petroleum engineer, and makes quite a bit more than that. They have never had a problem with unemployment. That is SO important now. Just stick it out. It's only two more years.
You're in a tough spot and I can understand your sense of discouragement with it all. It's a tough call and only one that you can make. It's not necessarily true that you won't be able to get back in the school of your choice, but, statistically, most people that drop out do not return to school until many years, if not decades, later.
Before you drop out, though, I would like for you to consider the following.
* You probably have an assigned counselor. If you haven't already, speak to that person about your concerns and frustrations and see if s/he has any advice to give you. You certainly aren't the first student to feel discouraged through it all and there is nothing wrong with asking for advice.
* Your school probably has a counseling department with free or low cost counseling services. Please look into talking to them as you may just need a morale boost to help you find that motivation again.
* Your school probably offers some kind of career planning and placement. I have always held the position that asking high school graduates to determine what they want to do the rest of their lives is a ridiculous system. Your career development department will have resources to help you determine where your aptitude and interests lie and maybe that will help you find a suitable career direction.
* While it's hard to work and attend school, you might be able to switch to night classes so you can continue while you try your hand in the workplace. That way, you are still working toward your degree and earning some real-life, practical experience in the workforce. It might even give you an idea of what you really want to do and help you determine a course direction.
* You could also try volunteering in your community. Volunteermatch.org has a wealth of information about volunteering and a searchable database of opportunities in many areas, including telecommuting opportunities. Sometimes, getting out and doing something else will help you gain perspective about the world, at large, and expose you to many people who may offer advice and mentoring.
Above all, remember this is YOUR life and any choices you make are your responsibility. It is better to find your "true voice" and set your goals than to let others live your life for you. It's not always easy to make tough decisions, but there is much to be gained by thinking creatively to use the resources available to you to make the best decisions for yourself.
A 2.7 GPA as an engineer is way better than a 3.7 GPA as a Social Science grad. 9 times out of 10 anyway. (Standby for the "my personal exception proves the rule invalid" folks to post their personal story that obviously represents the entire free world).
Sucking it up and driving on while in college, is a test. If you pass the test in college, by graduating, you will be deemed a good enough person to be considered being a mindless corporate drone, er...I mean an employee for some draconian overlord, er...I mean company.
Pass this test and the rest of them come a little easier. Give up on this one, and then that is all you will ever do.
OP, I strongly suggest you suck it up and finish. Here's why. Engineers are desperately needed all over the country. Engineering is a slam dunk job for you after college among a sea of unemployed and underemployed college grads. My husband and his father are corrosion engineers. My father-in-law makes over $100K. My father is a petroleum engineer, and makes quite a bit more than that. They have never had a problem with unemployment. That is SO important now. Just stick it out. It's only two more years.
i agree with you but if you hate your job, how can you do it for the rest of your life? there is no award you receive for working from some magical work god. you work to make money so you can live your life. and then you die one day. that's it. life's too short to do work you hate when you know you are talented enough to study and do something you can at least tolerate, if not love. it is very very hard to get up daily to be surrounded in a field or a work type that you loathe. i am not kidding. you will quit at one point because your mind or body will reject it. you will see.
aplcr0331: this student is talented enough to study math and science which means he doesn't have to undertake women's studies as his major like miriam weeks from duke university. if he can match his talents with work he enjoys, he can *still* make very good money and find happiness. there's gotta be something out there for him. maybe designing video games? or complex engineering for vehicles or aeronautics? work for six flags designing roller coasters. there's too much out there that can use valuable skills and the work need not be boring. there has to be something.
also, please, stop recommending corporate world work to this kid. it's the very worst work environment you will encounter. either work for yourself or the govt. (federal state or local). do NOT go into corporate because the entire world there is fake and you can be fired in one day for anything.
OP, go to Rutgers Admission's Office and ask them about their policy. I left school because I was broke and had to work. My school's policy was that if I left the school for a full school year, I had to reapply (no application fees though, just fill out a form as a returning student) and as long as I left the school in good standing, I could automatically return. That was two years ago and I am graduating in May.
OP, go to Rutgers Admission's Office and ask them about their policy. I left school because I was broke and had to work. My school's policy was that if I left the school for a full school year, I had to reapply (no application fees though, just fill out a form as a returning student) and as long as I left the school in good standing, I could automatically return. That was two years ago and I am graduating in May.
I would highly recommend that you get something in writing AND get a copy of your grade reports and GPA if you leave school. I was taking classes for a post-baccalaureate Paralegal program in Illinois. I had to leave school due to our family moving out-of-state for a job. I applied to the Paralegal program here and was told that my transcript came back that I was "on probation" at the last school. I have NEVER been on academic probation in my life. I contacted the previous school and they were claiming that I failed four classes FIFTEEN years ago. I didn't have my latest grade report but I did have one filed away from about two years prior which did not show ANY kind of academic probation or problem with my GPA. I ended up having to write a letter of appeal to the Board of Directors and it took over 18 months for them to straighten it out. I could have saved myself a bunch of long distance calls and letter writing if I had my final grade report, in hand, when I left in good standing. The dumbest part is I earned "A"s in all my Paralegal classes so my 4.0 GPA would have brought those alleged "failed classes" up to an acceptable percentage anyway. I honestly believe they mixed my grades up with somebody else's because I have a common last name and had received somebody else's grade report during one of my terms there. Of course, they could never admit such a mistake and had to make me prove this wasn't my doing.
In short, don't trust anything any counselor or academic advisor tells you unless they will put it in writing.
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