What is your primary motivation to excel in College? (degrees, high school, careers)

[email_lover]

I read some where the primary motivation for students in most colleges is FEAR. They do not want to fail. Few students would take the class out of intellectual interest alone. Most work relatively hard because they want to pass the class, that's all.

So what motivates you most in college? (the majority of the time)

1) FEAR

2) Intellectual Interest

3) A burning desire to do well to prove to your self that you are a hard worker.

4) You feel the material in the class is going to help you later in life in your career. (Practical knowledge but you have no real intellectual interest in it)

[uptown_urbanist]

I'm not a current college student, so perhaps there are some generational differences. That said, I would strongly disagree that this was the case with most of my classmates; certainly wanting to well was a motivation (more for fear of personal embarrassment than anything else), but intellectual interest alone was certainly a major motivating factor.

Then again, I was a liberal arts students, and we so often get bashed for not being "practical". I suppose that crowd perhaps draws a higher percentage of students who are doing it due to intellectual interest and curiosity.

I do know some people who seem to have just gone through the motions of school because they needed a degree to get a job; those people majored in things like marketing or communications or other degrees they'd heard would be useful. (no offense to those who majored in either of those; I know there are also students in those classes who find it fascinating and have an intellectual interest in the subject!)

[Ivorytickler]

There isn't just one. For me, it was a combination of intellectual interest and a desire to prove I was smart. Mostly, intellectual interest but having a father who thought a daugther wasn't worth educating was also in there.

[Affirmed09]

I wanted to prove i was good at whatever i did...

[goyanks57]

There are 3 things that motivate me to do well in college:

1) Getting a job that will pay me a lot of money once I finish.
2) Getting the hell out of where I live right now.
3) Being able to put my own kids through college so that they too, can make a lot of money someday.

I'm sorry, but if you're going to college just because you have the "intellectual interest" to do so, you are doing nothing more than wasting your (parents') money. For those who use that money to go study something like philosophy, music or another liberal art that won't help you land a well-paying job in the future, that is their problem, not mine.

[RobinsonCrusoe]

girls.

i wanted to get grades good enough not to get kicked out so i can continue being surrounded by pretty girls.

[Eresh]

Originally Posted by email_lover

I read some where the primary motivation for students in most colleges is FEAR. They do not want to fail. Few students would take the class out of intellectual interest alone. Most work relatively hard because they want to pass the class, that's all.

So what motivates you most in college? (the majority of the time)

1) FEAR

2) Intellectual Interest

3) A burning desire to do well to prove to your self that you are a hard worker.

4) You feel the material in the class is going to help you later in life in your career. (Practical knowledge but you have no real intellectual interest in it)

When I started my undergrad degree it was mostly #3 with a bit of #2. This is probably because I was in my mid 20s and always felt bad that I had never gone beyond completing community college at the age of 19.
As I became more interested in my courses, it was all #2 (By then I didn't have to prove anything to myself any more). I never did have any fear. What's there to be afraid of? As for #4, I've never thought of learning as a means to an end.

[Lou347]

There was definitely an element of fear in college. I liked Chemistry because it challenged me whereas my electives were pretty much show up to class sober, read the book, do the work and get an A. I had to work hard for even a B in most science classes.

I used to say my Physical Chemistry textbook was written by Stephen King because it scared the crap out of me (very difficult stuff)

I also thought If I worked very hard in college and got a degree I'd have all sorts of opportunities available with the "shortage of scientists." Of course, I was dead wrong about that and If I knew then what I know now I would not have bothered. It was all an astonishing waste of time. However, I was working so hard to get my degree I didn't did deep enough to uncover the truth and instead took the ACS/BLS information on science as truth.

[user_id]

#2. I did not even think about careers when in college and I'm pretty lazy so it was definitely not to show I was a "hard worker". I don't get the first option though..

[JDMBA]

MONEY...if you don't do well in school you will have a harder time amounting to anything.
DESIRE to do well and be PROUD of your accomplishments and grades...
LEARNING expands your world and makes you look at everything around you differently once you have a new understanding and outlook from your education

Also, having to pay for it yourself is a tremendous motivation. That made my husband take college more seriously than high school.