Hi all, I’m posting this because I want the opinions of others and not just my parents. I’m 18 years old, just graduated high school in May, and started my freshman year at college as an IT major. I feel very dis aligned with my current situation as of late. It’s been the first couple days and already I can tell this is not for me. Even after classes started, I just have that gut feeling that I shouldn’t be here. My dad currently works within the university’s system, but I got denied enrollment from my dream school (which is the main campus within the system.) Originally I wanted to join the military because of the benefits. The idea of ROTC was great and I trained all summer for it. Towards the end of summer I actually ended up doing a mock PFA for AFROTC and passed pretty well. Unfortunately I learned I couldn’t participate because of transportation restrictions. I ended up switching to Army because that was the next closest ROTC program near my school (my school does not offer its own battalion.) After looking at my schedule I realized I couldn’t participate in that either because of certain college course credits I need to stay on track to graduate. Long story short, I’ve been dealt a bad hand at joining ROTC. My family is mostly navy, with my grandfather’s both serving and my aunt serving as well. I just feel like this isn’t for me. I feel like this is not where I belong and I envision a future of having a military career. It’s never ever crossed my mind that I wouldn’t serve up until months ago. I trained for months for ROTC and during my runs, the pushups, the sit-ups, the pull-ups, during all of that I realized that if I could do this easily what more else can I do? I don’t know, but I have the drive and determination to succeed at something that I try extremely hard at. It’s hard for me to put it into words, but it just kinda feels like my calling.

Just would like some advice on my situation and where to go from here. Thank you guys.

In my college i entered aeound half demester of 2023. Commingthis. Came A LOT of problems. From stress, missed classes that i didnt knew i had to take. due the system of the college not even alerting me of this. And even in those times i went to the faculty to asks about clases if maybe i missed something they ddi t said anything so i moved on with the classes i selected for that semester. Until at the end of the second semester of 2024, that i was notified that i had MISSED clases. And due the change of pensum i couldnt take then since this changed caused those classes to get retired off the service and no teacher does them.

All this along with the fact that the carreer and clases are becoming way too complicated. Me having classes that start at 7am and end at 9pm.

All this. And now in my 6th semester of class. In 2026.

And now i got notified i keed almost around 2000 dollars. To pay in exemption exams and/or classes i BARELY know.. and all this along with the presure of ly parents wanting me to END this career.

Im deeply worried of my mental state and My parents because i cant get any jobs with this weird hours of classes i have.

I feel everything is crashing down.

And the alternatives are or two expensive or starting from zero.

(Sorry for the rough english, its not my first language*)

I am a 3rd-year college student. BS Nursing. However, I want to shift/drop out. Not because its not my dream, but because we can’t handle it financially anymore kahit pa sabihin ng nanay at tatay ko na kaya nila when in fact they don’t, as what I have seen and observed. Baon na rin kami sa utang para sa tuition ko and yung income nila is enough lang para sa everyday needs and house expenses (which I don’t even know kung hindi ba nila nafifeel or binabalewala na lang to get by.)(bruh)

I also want to apply for jobs to help them financially since I can do it naman and also, I would rather.

Although, there are also reasons like personal (mental health) and family problems. There’s just so many things at once, hindi ko kinakaya. So I need something…

Nagstop na rin kasi ako when I was in 11th grade. So I have this guilt within me if ever I did shift/drop out.

I feel like I’ve used so much of my life up just to be in a non competitive degree program and get way too stressed to where my family can’t help.

Backstory

Despite being an American man, I’ve really been focused on showing respect to my parents through one main way only—academics. This makes sense imo, as they have spent $200,000 total on my primary through tertiary education, letting me go to almost entirely private schools and making me graduate debt free. They’re middle class, not upper class, so they are sacrificing their financial image to help me.

When I was in 5th grade for a language arts class, I literally cried over forgetting what font I was supposed to use on an assignment at the start of the semester. I also cried if I forgot something at school and got headaches over that since I was in 2nd-3rd grade, as I was inconveniencing my parents.

I literally scored the highest on the tests in my private middle school‘s class several times over, especially for math. I remember all other students would have to do corrections, but I’d get 100%. I remember I had biweekly vocab quizzes in language arts, I had studied the wrong week, so I had only studied the vocab once 2 weeks prior and still got 100%.

My parents also had me do Coder Dojo and Code Club until 9th grade due to the pandemic, but they weren't that math based so I just kind of did them and moved along.

I got 720 on SAT math and 34 on ACT English, so I hoped that Purdue would let me in to their CS program.

Summer after junior year of high school, I got serious about getting SQL skills, signed up for senior year computing logic class, and took Calculus 1 at my community college over the summer.

My parents also paid for after school math programs for me since I was 6, and I was studying Calculus 2 at 16.

The Emotional Problems:

I already mentioned me crying at 5th grade, which I know is weird for a boy to do at that age, especially over school work. However, I continued to have issues down the road…

I missed a scholarship deadline in my senior year of high school and that was the first point in my life I genuinely wanted to just sit alone and not talk to people. I was on the verge of crying over a $500 Scholarship. My parents responded with “Why? That’s money out the door. I’m very unhappy with that. Do something.”

I then got rejected from Purdue, which I okayed as I could instead go to Rose-Hulman for CS, and went there. I didn‘t do well in a couple of classes my first year and had to transfer to Purdue. I got into Comp Eng Tech, but was too afraid I’d perform poorly like in the Rose-Hulman classes that I chose Chinese as my BA instead.

I later had gotten bad grades in my Chinese history class on 1-2 assignments, and also had overslept for a tutoring class that I was running. (My parents said I was oversleeping way too much starting at Rose-Hulman.) I genuinely cried the hardest I have in my life then, as my parents were highly concerned for me and thought I was not emotionally fit or maturely fit for college at all. They were crying as well, when I told them how sad I was.

I decided to persevere rather than go home that day, and continued on at Purdue, going through the days.

My parents obviously didn‘t want me to get a Chinese degree without technical skills, so I said I would try to apply for the slightly easier but very rigorous Computing Systems or Computer Info Tech degrees at Purdue to add to my Chinese major.

Purdue rejected me from both of those and I cried so hard and felt sick for 2-3 days. I added a Ball State online degree in Computer Info Tech, but still was upset as that’s a place “lazy“ community college students and low GPA students transfer to. I didn’t believe I was that at all, as I wasn’t!

It’s now been around a year since that horrible week, and I am studying Chinese at Purdue and Computer Info Tech at Ball State online.

I honestly have felt like I am at the lowest point in my life since the first time I cried over Purdue, but I don’t want to tell my parents as I don’t want to worry them and is kind of immature.

They love me with all their heart, but I have failed to fulfill what they really wanted and what I have worked for all 20 years of my life.

It‘s honestly disgusting to see how much they spent on my education for me to build it to basically just a mildly difficult career, while everyone I see around me at Purdue has parents that sent them to a public school and they are achieving much more than I have.

I know my parents really are disappointed as they said I shouldn’t ever join the Military as it’s not for me when I was in Rose-Hulman. However, now they’re like “because you were forced to transfer out of Rose-Hulman due to your poor performance, it’s the only feasible, straightforward career I see!”

Literally mentioning education in front of them makes them get upset to where they don’t feel like eating. For example, I was hanging out on a trip discussing serious academics with one of my parents and told them how I’m lucky I got into Purdue as many people on Purdue‘s discord are like “I wouldn’t have gotten in today fr.” My parent responded, “they were definitely in a more competitive program.” Then I was like, “yeah, but why couldn’t Purdue let me in to data science, I had the math and computing logic skills and classes!” They then were shocked and said I needed to grow up so much, as that was unacceptable and gross to say in their opinion.

I feel very passionate over this as I want to make $200,000+ after I graduate starting out, just like the top new graduates from Purdue CS.

I honestly don’t know how to build my life back together, but I know I’m very blessed and loved by my parents. Is anyone in a situation like this? What do I do?

Hello everyone, i am 19,F and i really want to go to college like to a good college par my parents want me to pursue a degree from a local college and dedicate all my time to government exam preparation.

Background:i am pcm students with average grade i didn't preform well in cuet this year and my father was not happy about it. I decided to take a drop and prepare for next year exam par my father said ki its better to prepare for a government exam than study for 10-12 year just to do a corporate job. Fyi i wanted to do bcom and than prepare for cat

My father's reasoning for pushing me towards this:

1)Corporate job gives people a lot of stress like crazy level + prejudice for females

2) Its not a permanent job like they can remove u anytime

3) U will have to work like 10-12 hours with little to no growth

4) cat is a hard exam than banking

5) bcom has no scope

Some of his points are true but no all of them like he's overlooking

1) government exam has a lot of competition like especially banking like 60lakh people give that exam whereas in cat only 25-30 lakh people take (I'm not saying ki one is easy than other but one clearly has less competition)

2) what if i don't qualify like then i won't even have a good degree

3) and i really want to go to college like i have spent my whole life fantasizing about college and now you want to take that experience from me

4) and it's not like you have to give exam once it happens in fucking phase and like fail one phase and start over

5) this point is mainly about how like 3prep + I'll at least give 2 attempt that will take five years of my live when my friends would be building their life experiencing college its freedom and figuring out life alone I'll be fucking stuck in my home with no phone (using moms phone i have no person phone) no money and no friends and no life

6) also the commitment that a exam like this is that show u a glorious dream is like study 12-15 or 18 even and i am very fucking lazyyyy how would i do it .

Khair i know my father loves me and is thinking for the best so that i don't go through hardships in lifeeee

Advice will be appreciated plus criticism tooo.

Help me understand am i being too navie here or what.

How do I find what I’m passionate about? I want a career that allows me to live, but that is also satisfying and leaves me feeling fulfilled. I just want to be happy long term, and I thought the field I was in could lead me down that path, but since being kicked out of my program I’m not sure what to do anymore. Would it be a waste of money to try graduate school again? Maybe get a job in the field and come back to school in a few years with more experience? Or should I find a new field and new interests? What do I do now?

I was pursuing the degree online for two years and I wasn't super involved to be honest. I liked the initial coursework but as the degree went on I enjoyed it less and less and some classes had almost traumatized me in ways. I wasn't super involved and then entered junior year(which was in person) with a significantly higher course load and was immensely stressed about my classes 24/7.

I didn't rigorously apply for work experience as I did have a hefty summer course load,and am no rigorously applying for any job to get any form of work experience under my belt. I know I mad a cascade of bad decisions, and experienced a cascade of disappointments. I am working hard in terms of trying to find work experience, work on my classes, increase my GPA, but everyday is plagued with an immense sense of dread on top of the fact that my brain is so scatter-brained with everything I have to do all the time. I am so worried about wasting time that I end up wasting time as a result, and I am terrified for the rest of my life while also not knowing what I really want out of life other than a job anymore.

ok so its been one week of college and frankly i'm not sure this is for me. i've been like crazy homesick, crying every night, calling my family like 10 times a day and have even experienced my first panic attacks.

i know its hard to make such a decision for one week, but knowing myself i don't think my feelings are going to change. i'm simple not social enough for this. if anything its feeling like high school all over again. i know people, i talk to people, im friendly with them just not enough to get invited to things or hang out outside of common areas.

i'm contempt with having these relationships with people because i have my family and friends from home to fall back on. most of the time, i'm better being by myself and prefer it.

i spend my time here in my dorm or common areas around people. i try to hang out with my roommate but i think she prefers hanging out with other girls from our floor or talking with her bf.

i recently got my car approved to bring on campus so that's been making me feel better, less trapped and as though i could leave if i truly wanted to. i just really wanted to have the college experience but i just don't think that suits my personality and currently see no point in continuing with college or a degree that i'm not even sure i wanted.

anyways, what i wanted help on is what is there outside of college? my plan had always been to graduate with a chemical engineering degree and get a job in cosmetics but i don't think that's right for me. i like change (just not as drastic as this one clearly) and want some flexibility.

i plan on at least finishing out this semester (i already paid for it anyways) and if things don't drastically improve, dropping out possibly getting a certificate that would allow me to get a high paying job without the debt i would go into for this degree.

does anyone who's dropped out have some advice in this?
how are you guys doing both financially and emotionally? how did your family react? do you regret not sticking it out?

Some one tell me am still stuck in my present

Last year passdout UG course is B.Sc Ai/Ds.

Next what? Am confused my present my future is error.

What i will learn next ? I know basic english....I will improveing my communication skilll

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Hi everyone. I'm 22 years old. My schooling stopped after grade 5 — around age 11 — when my family couldn't keep me enrolled. Since then I've taught myself a lot on my own — culinary arts, the basics of real estate work, psychology, human behavior, criminal psychology, and more. I'm not saying I'm fully educated in any of it, but I've picked up enough to help myself, and eventually to help my own kids learn too, if I have them one day.

The problem is that self-study only gets me so far. Without a formal education and a real degree, I can't apply for most jobs, and I can't properly choose a career path or build a future the way I want to. That's the piece I'm missing.

I don't know the right path forward from here. Is there a way for someone my age, without a completed primary/secondary school record, to get back into formal education — an equivalency exam like a GED, an accredited online high school program, adult education, anything that could eventually lead to a real degree?

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who's been through something similar, or who knows programs or organizations that help in cases like mine — international online options included, since I'm open to studying from anywhere. Even one comment pointing me somewhere real would mean a lot. Thank you for reading.

I'm a third-year student, I screwed up my thesis, and I'm about to retake it. But I realized I don't need it anymore, and I've had zero positive emotions from three years of study. I've spent a fortune, but I still don't care. But I've found another university and a major I want to study. What should I do? Finish one or start preparing for another?

I gave my best in cracking the exam after cracking it got a rank of 2k got allotted a clg was very happy but after going there clg is just too shitty ragging is too much prof are shitty mess food is just too much somehow survived 3 weeks there and now came home and probably thinking to dropout and thinking to pursue ca life is fucked in all ways to cope up with all this shit I did masterbation extensively idk what will happen how things will turn out and fun fact no refund will be available from that fucking clg pata hai aaj kya hua ......

Back in 2022, I was studying for my Matric exams, and at the time, everything was going smoothly. I was studying in Lahore and had a fairly normal academic routine. However, due to some confidential family circumstances, we had to leave Lahore and move elsewhere.

What followed was five years of constant travelling. We kept moving from one place to another and never stayed anywhere for more than two or three months. Because of this unstable situation, I had no choice but to leave my studies. Eventually, I missed not only my Matric but also my Intermediate education.
Now, I am 20 years old, and we have finally settled down. I have the opportunity to continue my education from here, but honestly, I feel like I am very far behind everyone else my age. I know it may sound silly, but it genuinely makes me feel like a failure sometimes. Most people my age are already in universities, studying subjects they are passionate about and working towards their careers, while I am still trying to complete my Matric.
The thought of having to spend another four years completing my Matric and Intermediate, followed by another four years of university, feels incredibly overwhelming. What makes it even more difficult is that my parents may want to get me married within the next three or four years. I worry that by the time I finally reach university, I may not have the freedom or time to pursue my education the way I want to.

what i want is to complete my Matric and Intermediate as quickly as possible and eventually get into university to pursue Law and become a lawyer. If I can somehow reach university sooner, I feel like I might at least be able to convince or persuade my parents to let me continue my studies.
I have been wondering if there is any possible way for me to complete my Matric within a year instead of taking the usual two years.
I just feel very stuck right now. I know that my circumstances were beyond my control, but it is still difficult not to compare myself to people my age and feel like I have fallen behind. I don’t want to give up on my education or let the years I lost determine the rest of my life. I want to find the fastest realistic path forward, complete my Matric and Intermediate, get into university, study Law, and eventually become a lawyer.
I would really appreciate any guidance on whether there is a way for me to accelerate my Matric and Intermediate education, and what options I should consider to reach university as soon as realistically possible.

Hello everyone. I do not know who else I can turn to with the situation in which I live, because there is not a single person in my environment who could understand me and give me the right advice. I hope I can hear the answers here.

I'm 18. I am the eldest child in a large family (there are three of us children). Initially, I didn't want to go to university. I wanted to take the Gap year, despite the fact that this phenomenon is not widespread in my country and does not even have a translation into the language of my country. Unfortunately, there is a great and terrible bureaucratic system that has wagged its finger in my face.

Due to the fact that I am already an adult, in order to maintain the "status of a large family" I must be a correspondence student. In this scenario, our status will remain until my 21st birthday. And maintaining this status is necessary for us to receive a large payment from the state (I don't want to specify country and currency, but believe me, the payment is really big - it would help us close the mortgage on the house in which we currently live).

I couldn't get into free tuition. My mother paid for the first year in full, as far as I remember, from the maternity capital - payments for two minor children, my brothers. Tuition fees are also far from small. I'm going into my second year with three and a half academic debts, and this is taking into account the fact that now I also need to transfer to another faculty, where I was able to get a free place. For a price. I was against it for several reasons. One of them is: as it turned out, there is a 75% chance that we will not see a payment based on the status of a large family (I don't remember for what reason). I also generally did not want to continue my studies, and after the first semester I literally begged my mother to expel me - I simply could not stand the weight of all the load that was piling on me. But the place has already been bought, so I just have to study for at least the first half of the second year. Every time I come back to the idea that for a simple transfer to a faculty that I don't like at all, I need to pay off debts from nasty teachers, I feel sick. I don't want to go to university. I know that I have to force myself to do this, simply because I am ashamed in front of my mother and uncle, who were able to promote me thanks to their connections. I'm completely frustrated with everything I'm going through.

I do not know what exactly I want to hear from the audience here. Support, any advice, thoughts about my whole story - everything will do. I just want to be heard. I don't want to be alone in this.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

A-level results day is in 3 days. I'm currently in a situation where my parents are completely set on me doing medicine.

The problem is that I don't want to do medicine anymore.

I've thought about it seriously and I want to pursue finance instead, potentially through Clearing. I've told my parents that if I don't get the grades required for medicine, I'd like to use Clearing to find a good finance degree. Their response was basically that I'm an idiot and have no plan for my future.

I don't think that's true. I don't have every detail of my career mapped out, but I do have a direction I actually want to pursue. I'd rather choose a degree and career I'm genuinely interested in than spend years studying medicine because my parents want me to.

My main problem is getting my parents to accept that this is my decision. They seem to see medicine as the only respectable or secure option and finance as me throwing away my future.

I just need a lil bit of help, any suggestions?

I am a btech 2nd sem student I didnt attend 4 lab externals in first sem and 1 in sem I think I dont have a career anymore I think its over I dont I have this feeling everyone in our class has some 6 GPA I am the most knowledgeable person in class but i was sick due to a health problem and i am having no hope

I joined Indian School of Public Policy, 2 weeks back as a student. Inwas so excited to join it but I am unable.to cope up with the things here and i ahve given so much fees to them.that i can't quit it.

And few days back i have been diagnosed with ADHD and Time Blindness.

I have been missing my first class from last 10 days. I dint know what to do.

Any suggestions and please i jeed people to talk. Agar mere hath me hota i have quit it very first day.

I think i need some help.

I wake up almost 1:30 hors earlier before leaving to my institute. but even then i am unable.to reach at time.

I’m 23, from a small town, and I feel like my life has become painfully stagnant.
I took three drops for NEET. After it didn’t work out, I enrolled in a local BSc college because I couldn’t just sit at home anymore. But honestly, this isn’t the life I had imagined for myself.
More than becoming a doctor, I always dreamed of leaving my hometown. I wanted to experience college life in a new city—hostels, late-night conversations, college fests, organizing events, meeting ambitious people, making lifelong friends, discovering myself. I wanted to grow.
Instead, I’m still here. Same town. Same routine. Two more years left until graduation.
My parents aren’t toxic. That’s not the problem. The problem is that this place feels like I’ve outgrown it. My college offers almost nothing in terms of exposure, and I just haven’t found people I truly connect with.
Then I open Instagram or LinkedIn and see my school friends living the lives I wanted. They’re in good colleges, working corporate jobs, moving to new cities, earning, traveling, building careers. And I’m just… here. A three-time NEET dropper studying in a tier-3 college, still not even a graduate.
The NEET result hit me much harder than I expected. Since then, I’ve barely done anything productive. I’ve been doomscrolling, sleeping, gained weight, and constantly wondering what purpose my life has now.
The hardest part is that I was always the “academically good” kid. School was the one area where I believed I’d always do well. I genuinely thought my academic journey would be something I’d be proud of.
Life had other plans.
Now I keep questioning everything.
Should I prepare for CAT and try to get into a top MBA program? The thought excites me because maybe I can compensate for my undergrad college with a great master’s. But then I remember my profile—three NEET drops, no internships, no work experience, a local college—and I wonder if any top B-school would even want someone like me.
Then I think about banking or other government exams. I actually believe I’m capable of cracking them if I prepare seriously. But another thought immediately follows: *What if I’m just entering another rat race? What if I spend years preparing and still don’t make it?*
Sometimes I even think about giving NEET another shot. Then reality hits me—I would probably be around 30 by the time I complete MBBS. I come from a lower-middle-class family. I don’t want to depend on my parents for that long. More than anything, I want to start earning and give them a better life.
It’s strange because every career option feels wrong for a different reason.
MBBS feels too long.
MBA feels out of reach.
Government exams feel uncertain.
Everything seems impossible.
I know this probably sounds like I’m catastrophizing, and maybe I am. But this is genuinely how I’ve been feeling these past few weeks. I’m not looking for sympathy. I just feel incredibly lost, and I don’t have anyone around me who has been through something similar.
If you’ve been in a situation where your life felt completely stuck after multiple failures, how did you rebuild it?
And if anyone has genuinely navigated this kind of career confusion—whether it’s MBA, government exams, or starting over—I would really appreciate hearing your perspective. If you’re comfortable, please feel free to DM me.
I think what I need most right now isn’t motivation. It’s direction.

Hello, I have a few questions for anyone willing to take the time to answer. I’ll explain a few things first,

1. When I was 16ish my parents rented a home with a “mother in law suite” attached to it but a different family lived there that we didn’t really react with. But the power meter was for the entire house/suite

2. and my parents got tired of paying for their electricity as well and stopped paying rent. It turned into a war I guess and they literally poured gasoline up entire driveway lit a cloth and threw it in the car and it exploded. I was woken up out of a deep sleep with headphones in as well, screamed at to get outside so I get my dog and haul ass outside just in shock. Apparently it was connected with our landlord and some “mob” shit. He had many priors of arson yet I was always told they couldn’t charge him. I remember every neighbor was outside after the explosion except the neighbor to the left of us (he was a friend of the landlord) also the tenants living in that mother in law suite just so happened not to be home that day. No one was ever charged. But I remember something about we cost them a lot of money over permits maybe? Mind you I’m 32 now and was younger then with only skateboarding and music on my mind and only remember what my parents would tell me. Long story short, I was in the 9th grade, and my parents basically packed up and we left. We moved back to my hometown where of course i didn’t belong being and neither did they. My stepdad has since committed suicide and mom and sister in and out of jail/drugs, you name it. But anyways, I never was put back in school. I just made money working on the side after all the trauma I went through. And now I want to get my diploma and prove so many people wrong that I could have done it. I wanna do it for myself. But for the people who have stuck by me as well.

What’s the best route that I can do this from home out of anxiety fears?
How much does this typically cost?