Not wanting to go to college

[SnowedIn]

As the title suggests, I really don't want to go to college. Not because I'm lazy or anything, I'm a well performing student in the top percentile of my school, but I'm not interested in a further education or the "college experience". First off, I have no idea what I want to study, I've gone to several college open days and spent 2 days shadowing a student in their classes, along with this I've received several detailed talks about every course in the colleges I've visited, and absolutely none appeal to me. I'd be happy with a labour intensive job, but they pay so poorly.

I have three friends who are currently in college, two are in their first year and the one is in his second year. All three have basically summed up their time in college to: Sex, lots of drinking and the occasional days of studying. I'm not interested in any of that, at all, they tell me about all the parties they have in their dorms and really it just turns me off completely.

What can I do with my life, because I don't want to end up barely able to make ends meet.

[SpecterH]

"Sex, lots of drinking, and the occasional days of studying". This description is wrong for the vast majority of college students. Sure, this sums up college life for some, but, by no means, does it sum up the experience of the majority. In fact, this doesn't sum up the experience of the vast majority of people that I know; MAYBE one or two - out of almost a thousand people that I've met in college.

College isn't what you see on television and in movies. You need to go to class and work hard. Sure, there will be parties around, but you definitely don't have to go to any of them. I often can't attend many of them because I have other commitments and school is extremely busy for me. There are a lot of other things that you can do in college to create a social life, i.e., getting involved with extra-curricular activities around the college.

With regards to not knowing what you want to do, that's understandable. Although, I'd bet that the vast majority of students enter college having no idea about what they want to study. I'm in my third year, and I have a lot of friends who still don't know what they want to do. Personally, I'm torn between two fields, so even I don't know what I definitely want to do once graduation comes.

The thing about college is that - not knowing exactly what you want to do is okay. You spend your first year of college exploring your interests. I came into college thinking I wanted to study neuroscience and philosophy, and now I'm enroute to graduating with a business degree and attending law school post-graduation. Your interests will change, but in order for this to happen, you need to give them the opportunity to change. Go into college, take courses that interest you, and go from there. Don't stress so much about not knowing what you want to do; this comes with time, and you can't plan this type of thing out. Just go with the flow.

I can guarantee that you will find other students who share your sentiments about partying 24/7. I promise you that no school is 24/7 sex and partying. There will always be students who engage in this behaviour, and that's their choice. But like I said, the vast majority don't. The vast majority are in college to study, work hard, get good grades, and eventually, have a good future. I am confident that you will find people who are similar to you in this regard.

College is a phenomenal experience; it allows you to grow and develop as an individual. During college, you'll find out who you are and what you want out of life. Even if you don't find out exactly who you are and what you want, you'll certainly have a better idea.

Good luck.

[Usernames Suck]

I'm not going to try to talk you in or out of it at all but let me begin by clearing up some things.

The description you've been given is not accurate. Your college experience is largely what you make of it. Some people are interested in partying so they will party more, other people may not be interested in it so they won't do it. It depends more on what your personal interests are. You've probably already experienced something like this so far, the chances are you've noticed that at your current school some students have gravitated to different activities and groups depending on their interests and priorities. It's also not necessarily like what you see in movies, of course movies will always go for what gives them a better plot, it's like saying that if you're a teenager your experience is absolutely like all teen movies ever made.

When (or if) you go to college you'll probably have the chance of deciding what you want to do in your free time. There are usual many different clubs and social scenes, some are more party-heavy while others may revolve around studying, volunteering, things like that. It all depends on who you're friends with and what you enjoy doing. The odds are that even your more party-minded classmates will go through times when they're not partying because if they want to at least pass their classes they'll have to do some work and attend class.

There are also very different universities with very different atmospheres, some more party-heavy than others. Mine for example, I wasn't expected to party all the time and even if I wanted to, the type of partying depended on the clique also.

As to whether you want to go to college or not and what you'd like to study, there are several things you can do to help you decide. On a more immediate level you can try to take a gap year and do something other than study, maybe that will help you have more time to think and a better notion of what you want to do as well as how you can get there. Another thing is ask yourself what kind of lifestyle you can see yourself having in the future and what your priorities are. Someone who values making money and working in an office over doing research in historical archives is probably going to choose to study a different thing. Depending on where you live, you may be able to study for at least one year before deciding, by studying something general as you start out or by being able to transfer credits into a different course. Ask around, if your school has a career advisor it could be a good idea to check with them as they may be able to help you research your options. Ultimately, it's your own choice, and while university is a good opportunity to learn, network, and grow as a person, I do know people who took a while to go because they weren't sure and it wasn't feasible for them to waste money on a degree they could regret so they waited to have a better idea and they turned out fine.

[Lelola]

Admitting you don't know what you want to study is a good thing that way you do not end up with a costly mistake. If I were you, I would either take a few general classes that pretty much will transfer into any major or I would wait some time. The issue with waiting is that some people do not go back.

My first school was a big party school and about 40% of the people in it were like the initial description.

Would a vocational school be better? Some vocational trades do pay well.

[Maverick.]

Go to a job agency and after you interview with them, they will figure out what you're qualified for or might be interested in.

But if you're planning on starting a family, go to college. If not, then don't worry about.

[Nightblood.]

Do some research because while starting out pay for some of the more labor intensive jobs isn't that great, you can work your way up to some pretty nice salaries in them. I would look into a vocational school.

But to clarify, that description doesn't HAVE to be what your experience is in college. You could always go to a community college to get an AA (if you're in the US, I don't know how other countries work)

[brigette]

Going to college is a serious matter. It depends on how you perceive it so you can see its value to you life. the are lot f teens out there who are struggling to go to college and willing to do anything so they can study in a decent school. Don't be discourage just because of your friends because having a college education can make earn greater in the future.

[taylalatbh.]

Just work for a few years and go to college if and when you feel like it. I've been out of education for a few years, and now I know what I want to do, I plan on going to University at 23, and there's nothing wrong with that. You shouldn't be expected to carry on into further education when you don't want to and when you don't know what you want to do yet.

It's not a big deal if you don't want to college yet, if at all. Just make sure if you do decide to go, it's what you want to do.