College sucks what can I do?

Question

My classes over all are okay, but I am really hating college. I have no friends and no social life. What can I do to change this? Everything cost SO much Money!!

I wanted to take a road trip and visit old highschool friends but that cost so much money!!

I want to move out of my parents house but I can never save enough money to do it b/c I am always spending money on stupid things @ walmart and what not.

I just got paid and I wanted to go out and do all this stuff then I realized I would barely have any money left.

I am just not having any fun. I never get to enjoy myself.
Should this even be a concern of mine? Maybe I need to focus more on school and doing well? Isnt thats whats most important?

I am worried that I wont have any fun/interesting college stories to tell when I get older....

I want to make this very clear. I know my major and I know its something that I really want to pursue which is why I am in college.

Right now, I am in my last semester of boring GE classes.

I guess I just need a better soc.ial network. idk

Answer 1

I don't know where you are at college, but there are tons of fun free things to do. I went to school in the mountains and we used to all pile into the car and go for a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway or go hiking on some of the trails. Most of college activities were the free parties and the deep conversations b/t people. Discussions that lasted til morning about religion, government structure, or finding out about people's childhood.

If you live in a city, there is bound to be an independent newspaper that lists free festivals and concerts in the park type things--suggest those to people when they want to go out to expensive things. There are tons of things listed in there. Many local activities are free with a college id on certain days. Find out when those are--in the mountains we had Ladies Ski Free at the local ski mountain on Mondays, and in April you could hike Grandfather Mountain for $1--when it was normally $8. You just gotta ask if places offer stuff like that. Also I worked at a semi-amusement park. When you worked there you had free admission to a hundred local tourist places (most of which I never went to b/c it wouldn't have been free to my friends--who didn't work there--but I could have asked more co-workers if they wanted to go) Plus you can always go out to eat with people just to be social without eatting. I had friends do that all the time.

As far as meeting people, college is the place to do that! If you haven't found yourself able to in college--it's going to be much harder out in the world. There are TONS of clubs to join at the first of the year. One of the best ways to find friends is by joining these clubs--it's like a fraternity but you don't have to pay. I think I joined one for every day. Just think about what interests you. Student gov't, music, religious organizations, drama, a club based on your major, newspaper, sororiety. The people at these places are there to meet friends as well--unlike if you go out to clubs and bars. Most leadership student groups have retreats that you get to go on paid for by the university. We had a student club that brought bands to campus. That was my favorite thing of all the clubs I joined. We had one that worked all semester bringing a big name Concert but we had a smaller one that booked local artists all semester long. Joining that I got to help pick bands to come and hear the band for free. I also frequently heard of guys that took a date to the animal shelter to walk a dog. They always need help with exercise and you go and they assign you a dog to walk around with. Volunteering is one of those things you can always do and it's an instant friend group b/c you are with people who are really interested in whatever that cause is and want to meet people too.

Support your athletic department. We had a group that supported our basketball (even though we sucked) and we all had t-shirts and had our own section. Made posters before the games together and decorated faces. I was a lot less insecure cheering loudly b/c all the group was so loud.

I met a lot of people at the gym as well. We had a great workout facility but instead of just going to workout, I went to several of the scheduled classes in kickboxing, yoga, whatever. It helped me keep in shape and you get used to seeing the same people in your class. Often we'd all go out for food (on campus meal card) afterwards.

College is that time where you grow up a lot. It's about learning to budget. It's very hard to decide b/t stuff you want at Walmart, social activities, and regular expenses (like car payments and rent). This is the time you learn about that. It's not easy. A lot of people never master this.

But as far as having fun/interesting college stories--you need to go out and make those. Yes school is very important. You should definitely focus more on that. But thats part of that budgeting--time budgeting. How can you maintain good grades and still have a life? You need to have balance b/t the two. If you spend all your college time with no friends and no social life, you'll get out of college and regret wasting those years. You have a built in social network now. These people are in the same boat you are--they don't know anyone and left all their high school friends. Most college students are broke too. They bring in all these activities to allow you to meet people. Our RA in the dorm used to set up activities all the time. I worked on the Intermurals (if you are sporty) and helped make the homecoming banner/float (if you are artsy). There were only about 8 of that made our homecoming float and it took days--and a couple all-nighters. When we won that year we were so tight-knit after that, since we'd put blood sweat and tears into that float. The college life is designed to help you meet people. Don't just blow it off and end up regreting it.

Answer 2

It sounds like you haven't made much progress on meeting new people since high school. That's a difficult thing to do if you are commuting from your parent's house, especially if you are attending a more traditional school where a good number of students live on campus.

If you have the money, I would say you should move out to near campus, perhaps with a one or two apartmentmates so that you can save some money. Maybe you can look into financial aid or perhaps consider taking out a loan.

You can also consider joining an interest group on campus. Whatever your interests are such as bible study, humanitarian work, or sports, you can find it. You should do this during beginning of the semester so that you don't feel awkward about being the new person. Going to college is really about finding your niche. Of course some people just go to classes and graduate but that's boring!

If joining an org is not your thing, try going to class a little early and talk to some people. Remember that just being in the same class means you have something in common. Just start talking about the class or the professor. Making friends in your classes are double the rewards since they should help with your studies too. Believe me, it's a lot easier than walking into a bar and trying to start a conversation with a stranger who may have nothing in common with you at all. Don't wait too long to make a move and don't be shy.

Answer 3

Why don't you stop shopping at Wal Mart all the time and get things when you need them, not just all the time wanting them. Start saving money in your bank account. When you get to a good savings amount. Then let yourself by something really nice that you will really enjoy instead of buying things that are crap. If you are so bored at school, why not join a group or club of your interest, that way you can find friends that way. Call up an old high school friend and see if they can meet you half way or make a trip up for the weekend.

Answer 4

Your main focus should be on your studies. If you have any kind of an income put it away and save for the things you find you want the most. Stop popping into Walmart and buying stuff that you don't really need or for that matter, really want.
Try to spend time with some of the people you go to college with, you may strike up a friendship with someone with the same interests as yours.
Don't give up. Your education is important and your success later in life will show with what you are learing now.

Answer 5

If you finish college then the stories will be there. You are facing the after college situation of not enough money early. You need to do as you did this week and not spend it. Save as much as you can and get a good summer job. A job with low wages but long hours is better than high wages since you have no time to spend money. I put myself through University by working in security, Minimum wage and 60 hour week plus the option for overtime. Good luck

Answer 6

Not everyone is ready for college at 18, 19, or even 20 years old. The first question is to ask yourself if you are ready, or if you should take a break. If you take a break, go work for a few years, but then go back to school. If you want to stay in school now, try expanding your activities - get involved in groups, clubs, organizations, etc., that will increase your social scene. Additionally, take classes that interest you (ie, pottery, billiards, SciFi Literature, etc. - classes that aren't the "ordinary" ones). For a lot of students, they aren't liking college because they are taking the "cookie cutter" courses - the ones you can find anywhere. Take the unique courses, take the ones that interest you, take the ones that you will enjoy more.

Answer 7

Definitely worry about getting through school with good grades. Once you are out you will be able to get a better paying job then if you don't go to college. Join study groups to try to meet people. Go to the library to meet people. Both of these are free. Try taking an extra fun class next semester like ball room dancing or golf. I made some very good friends by taking these types of classes and I got credits for them. Don't worry about stories in the future worry about your future.

Answer 8

Drop out. It sounds like your aren't really interested in college and this won't lead to you putting enough effort into your degree to make it profitable. There are 2 types of people who go to college, those who do it for the fun or materialism and those who do it for the education. If your not doing it for the education and can't afford it, don't buy it like you would any other purchase.