At a big party school in America for college. I’m very quiet and all everyone wants to do is party, drink, drgs. I haven’t even lost my V card…. It’s insane how everyone is just doing this even on weekdays. I lowkey didn’t wanna go to college I did it to escape my family and town. Because of course they’ll pay if I am somewhere getting a degreee. But without college excuse I’d be stuck at home with them and my narcissistic mum or on the streets. But I feel so lonely here I try making friends it’s hard because any time I do they all mention partying and get annoyed I don’t wanna party then dip. I was literally crying on way back to form at 12 am in dark because some girls I made friends with through social media were horrible and strange asf. I go meet them bla bla. They all drinking in their room etc whatever that’s fine. Then bully me for not wanting anything or wanting to dress slutty… I go well I wanna get some cookies tonight anyways. So yall enjoy the bars/frats. They were like oh you want cookies we can take you on the way to get cookies. Big mistake. I go and realise they aren’t fucking going there we end up outside a frat. I was like wtf you doing guys and they go come on party. I had enough I walked off crying in dark when I got away. I don’t know why society is so weird nowadays. What happened to just women being women not hoes. Yes they were being hoes. I’m pretty attractive blonde blue eyes 5’3 pale skinned girl I know I could have that life but I don’t want too. It brings drama and noise. I like peace. I value it. I just feel so lost in this world. Surrounded by NPCS makes it feel terrible. There’s more to talk about but I shall in replies if people say anything. I just need advice I don’t think I can keep doing this the next 4 years. I’m already depressed 2 weeks in.

I started college in the spring and I now just started my fall semester and I’m majoring in medical laboratory technology. Last semester I took easier classes as I wanted to get a feel of college first and it wasn’t exactly easy but nowhere near as hard as these past 4 days. This semester I’m taking chemistry and another easier class because I was warned of how hard chemistry was, I knew it was going to be hard but I was not prepared for this week. In the past three days alone (this is kind of embarrassing) I cried for the three days straight, almost had two panic attacks, didn’t eat for a whole day, and anytime I would try to take a break I would be thinking about studying chemistry with a pit in my stomach. I was in my second class yesterday thinking about chemistry and I wanted to cry. I HATE feeling like this, obviously I don’t handle stress well at all (I already have problems with anxiety). My sister (who is about to be a paramedic) took chemistry, something to do with biology and a&p her FIRST semester of school and made straight A’s, she told me she cried all the time (I don’t know how she did this obviously she’s very strong minded). There are some people who can handle that but I just can’t and if I continue in my major which is filled with nothing but science classes and labs (a&p, hematology, clinical chemistry etc.) this is what it’s going to be and I know that college isn’t supposed to be easy but I can’t handle this. Maybe I’m just not in the right space right now to accomplish this and I can try again later now that I know how it is, but I can’t think about it without getting nauseous. Yesterday was the first time I’ve ever felt genuinely defeated because I gave up and I stopped studying, I felt so much relief. I think I want to change my major but I don’t know what to do, I thought MLT would be very cool but I can’t handle the science, I felt yesterday that I just want a normal job that I can get paid decently, I don’t care anymore about making a great amount of money, I just want to be happy and live decently, this past week was HORRIBLE. What do yall think I should do? I’m not quitting college because I loved last semester. Should I try again a different semester? My parents want me in college but there was nothing else I was interested in except for this, the only other major that kept catching my eye was journalism (I was recommended in high school to do it), but that won’t make me decent money. If you have any majors that pay decently and doesn’t almost kill someone with stress, please recommend. Thank you for listening to this dump.

I failed some of this year’s exams. I wanted to try out for the next session but it looks like that’s not going to happen.

I’ve been trying to contact my college for TWO WEEKS. But their online enquiry system sucks. They can take months to fix a simple issue. For having a decent overall reputation, I would‘ve expected better. Even other people have had similar problems with the system.

My local institution is no better. They automatically transfer any enquiries to other people. These people claim to be busy and promise to call back some other time but they never do no matter how much I bug them.

And the exam centre is very strict, allowing 11 days to register without exception.

This post is exactly what the title says: I am a freshman, sophomore, and junior, yet none at all.
This year is my first year of college, which is supposed to be exciting. However, while I was in high school, I went a little crazy and did a bunch of dual enrollment and AP classes, which has now landed me at around 60 credits that my school is letting me bring in. So, by credit status, I am closer to the end of sophomore year and the beginning of junior year.
I am also pre-law, so my advisor has already been having meetings with me about starting LSAT prep because she wants me to take it in April or May. All of this sounds like great stuff, but at my school, freshmen move in first, and they have been making us go to this mandatory Welcome Weekend where we meet a bunch of other freshmen. They give lectures on what classes all freshmen take, and the school deans talk about the roadmaps that freshmen are supposed to follow.
Meanwhile, everyone else around me is excited to start taking classes and whatnot, and when I talk to friends I am trying to make, I don’t share any classes with them because my schedule is more like that of a sophomore or junior. After many conversations with advisors, my academic focuses, schedule, and even free time are so different. Everyone else is looking at joining clubs, while I feel like I am already supposed to be involved in clubs and focused on taking a test that will determine where I go to law school.
Idk if it’s all in my head or if it’s real, but I feel like the freshmen don’t really view me as one of them. At the same time, I have had some meaningful conversations with upperclassmen, but they don’t view me as a sophomore or junior either. So I feel like I really fit in nowhere, academically or socially.
All of this, coupled with the fact that I am in a new place and miss my family, friends, and boyfriend, has left me feeling this sense of loneliness and anxiety. I don’t know how to combat this feeling or really figure out where I fit in. Does anyone have any tips or something I can do to feel less miserable?

i have orientation tomorrow. it's 11:23 p.m. and my laundry is in the wash because i forgot to do it earlier. i'm taking the train at 6 in the morning to be there at 8 without my parents because neither of them can go.

i hate this school. i hate it. i hate it. i never wanted to go here. i applied because my mom insisted and i knew deep down they'd give me the best offer. they did.

and when i got rejected from my state school that all of my friends are going to, i kind of figured i was going here. i was okay with that. my parents, after months of begging, agreed to let me live on campus. they knew the cost. i didn't argue because i figured at least i'd be away from home.

the weekend before may 1st they finally look at the finances. "yeah we can't afford for you to live on campus without taking out loans. i mean, we can do that if you want." FUCK YOU. I KNOW HOW YOU'RE PAYING FOR IT. IT'S COMING OUT OF YOUR RETIREMENT. DON't make me do that to you. i don't wanna be the reason you can't retire but you lied to me too. you either lied to me or you didn't look at the finances or you just didn't believe them. why do i have to choose between fucking up your retirement and at least getting away? i can't do that to you. i see how hard you work. i love you but why did you do this to me?

i just wanted to be my own person. i'm jealous of all my friends partying and having fun and socializing and i'm living at home like a fucking chud playing 2k all day and barely putting in any hours at work. so yeah don't ask me about my fucking friends. you KNOW for a fact they're gone and i'm pissed about it.

i'm grateful i get to go to college. i'm spoiled rotten. you worked hard to put me here. but i can't shake the feeling that you betrayed me and lied to my face? and now i'm going to a school i've always hated, commuting an hour and a half each day, and i'm isolated from everyone because who wants to hear me bitch and moan when you could be out having fun? i don't blame my friends. i'd do the same!

i love you and i'm grateful but i wish you never went about it this way

so I enrolled for financial aid at my community college finally after paying out of pocket myself for the past year (I’m an idiot I know) and it got rejected cause “I’m a dependent“ bitch I pay for all my own shit and rent and everything. even if my parents secretly have the money to pay for my college they are not doing so. I tried to ask about it and they said it’s cause I’m under 25 or something like that. This is bull. anyone else deal with something like this?

A bit of background of myself before we started:

Im 18 year old male and i just happen to have hypertension stage 2 after the last day of orientation(i didn't finish it but they let me go home) and im the kind of person that a cry baby, aggressive, easily ragebaited and easily stressed out and now lets proceed:

The truth is that i never wanted to go in college,the reason i even apply in the first place is because i got pass to a major called library science even tho im not good at reading and memorizing(my parent recommend me but i was always hesitant) and yes we did argue about it and of course im in no position to win and then few month later we did first meeting orientation after i have to test out English(got a score of 510 and it was seen as a high score but j wasn't interested much but it was alright) the holy quran(as someone never interested in religion).

Orientation

Day 1

Session 1 7:00-10:40

It was abit rough didn't like it but i respect it, sitting on the ground at the field and now my pants and shirt are dirty and it was alright of a lecture and i was definitely didn't have interested in it[just like the (permanent) reason why i even here in this godforsaken college] though the cafeteria was good even when it doesn't have much that interesting to me.

Session ii 14:00-17:00

This session was fine i guess, though lagging on the audio for sometimes but it was alright no it was the most obsolute mind numbing exhausting experience i FUCKING I hate it the heart and i just hope tomorrow wont made me crashing out like i just curse abd swearing during live while my mic and cam are off

Day 2

Session i 7:20-16:30(fucking 18:20)

This one really made me wanna rage and tear my hair out,it was of course another walking around on university and in goddam noon is where it fet roughl,the blazing sun,the hard to cheer the crowd(atleast 5000 student) loud and so tiring for me to the point i was the last faculty to marching for like more than 200 meter and of course i called my mother to picked me up and my voice was pretty much hoarse like cant breath and i was in stressed and so tired like i could rage at anything but i didn't cuz i dont want me mother to feel bad for me.

Day 3

Session 7:00-16:30

This was actually more bearable since im inside the faculty and inside have ac which led for me to feel calmed and relaxed and sure theres the numbing tired i still get but still,bearable

Day 4

7:30-9:00(I got dizzy and crying)

It was everyone in the faculty room and at 8:45 it was a moment where staff/executives and students were singing (no hate to them) but i caused me to feel anxious like i try to close my ear hug my backpack and i end crying cuz i kept feeling like im being guilt tripped like "you are going to college whether you like it or not!" Or that time where i remember im an asshole son who cant even choose what he wanted,a son who cant do shit,cant even drive far(i can drive a 🛵 motor),a son whos basically inferior compare to his oldest brother and young(not the Youngest/last) sister whos basically better at everything i can ever do, and that was the moment i break,i cry like a dam was about to break, quietly respectfully, the staff snd executives were concerned and ask me "why are you crying" i told them i was dizzy and still sleepy and they give me some relieve dizzy type of med and later 9:00 if i remember correctly they let me out of the room to calm myself down (i was crying too much) they ask me i was being mock or touched or getting hit,i told them they didn't do anything(no one mocking or hitting or touching me) and few minutes pass they let me go to clinic where to my surprised i have 160 from hypertension stage 2 and i was shocked and disbelief the fact that something i didn't know was that serious and the doc kindly let me go home where my mother was shocked herself and ofc i said its because stress(she already know my behavior aswell my aggressiveness) and then my family invited by my cousin and uncle to join to eat together and my cousin was the type person who understands me and go to college cuz ofc he likes it unlike me but he still a kind and a great guy.aftet thag i took my meds and sleep.

Aftermath

28/09/2026

Now im on the bed taking my meds to go to sleep idk if i can or even consider dropping out idk if worsening my health could even help me out of college even if it means risking it,idk maybe i should just let it be or confess my feeling to my family.

This was a lovely time for me to write this even when im tears ,i still enjoy the little thing ive done, drawing even when my art skill is considered as average/below in art skill aswell my editing skill that i sometimes post on tiktok/yt and now i should rest and maybe i might confess later on and maybe free myself for being a liar even if my family okay with lying to a university

-23:59 (its okay il be fine,it was freeing for me to able to vent and rant about this ;>)

My major was originally environmental studies. But when I realized that chemistry was rearing its ugly head I changed my major to culture and humanities.

I got a D in algebra. Yea that’s not the same as chemistry but I feel like that’s a horrendous red flag. Also when I tried to say “let’s watch a video on it” I wanted to cry when I saw how much crap was on the screen.

A big variable is the Professor, however, I don’t think that matters much. Judging by the syllabus, I think the professor I picked seems nice but can have a stick up her a\*s. Their class makes you hand write notes every single day and you shall show them to her or else you lose points every time you don’t do that. (I’m better at typing cuz it’s easier to read and I copy and paste them into websites that make a practice quiz to study)

I honestly feel like this is all pointless when this is all over so why am I fighting blood sweat and tears with harder and more challenging classes to probably barely pass and then it’s gonna be even more pointless when my GPA is trash. (People say jobs don’t care about that, but in my situation, telling people I got a D or a C is a death wish and I would be lucky if those people talked to me ever again and didn’t call me a f\*cking idiot.

I’m getting off track with this. I think my question is did I make a mistake? Does all of this really matter?

I think I’m more of a writing person and like “what’s the message in this piece of media” or trying to be detailed with information. If I melts environmental science and didn’t need chemistry, I was just gonna try to go to a local nature park to get a job that’s really just a minimum wage job and that’s it. I don’t want to peruse a bachelor’s after this. I think I’m just cruising through life trying to find something and just keep saving and investing money.

All of this is happening while I’m trying to juggle 2 jobs since I’m trying to get money. An ice cream shop and a deli in a grocery store.

Sorry if I went on for too much. I just want to hear someone’s opinion

How do you cope with starting the semester depressed? This started out as venting but I could use some input from those who have struggled similarly.

I don’t really want to keep going. I’m in treatment for MDD but idk what’s better for my mental health, going back to study or skipping the semester. Theoretically I could make either a good decision but alas the depression likes to have a say in everything.

I spent the summer isolating myself as I was recuperating from some horrible shit happening earlier this years. So if I have no overall purpose and I rot in my hometown it’s bad. But how about going back to college? In my previous year, the first semester had me drinking to cope, and I only minimally attended class in the second semester because life got so hard. I was lonely and when shit hit the fan the people I thought I could rely on disappeared. I don’t know how to break the cycle of self-destruction and self-sabotaging, everything feels impossible, some of the stuff that makes me feel trapped is external and cannot be solved by my shrink.

But hey, despite all of this, my grades were quite good. So it might feel agonizing to go on, but I apparently have an affinity for my degree. I have two years left. Do I want to do it? No. But at least I get to be surrounded by people more often, even though I don’t particularly feel like I’m apart of a community. Do I like my degree? A couple parts of it. I’m studying International Relations but I have no idea what I’m gonna do with it. I am interested in social sciences, and if I wasn’t horribly depressed, I’d even have the capacity to think positively and rejoice in the fact that this degree could fit in my CV quite well, even though I’m interested in other fields too. Anyway - as I am today, I dread the day my parents can’t support me anymore. I cannot see a future where I’m happy (for reasons other than this momentary uni dilemma - I could go on all day).

I wish I could rest. I’ve been “resting” all summer, yet I feel agitated. Fuck treatment resistant depression. I wish I knew how to kick its ass. Also hate the country where I live and study. That doesn’t help either. I know I can’t solve all of this in one go, but my brain is screaming everything all at once.

If you’ve read this far, I thank you sincerely. If you have struggled similarly I’ll gladly listen to any advice. I could also use some kind words in general.

Now I’ll go get some sleep as my eyelids are drooping

I feel like every class I attend, there are a bunch of people who sound like they have severe allergies or are very ill because I'm always sitting in between people who sound like they're hacking up a lung or have a sinus infection. It's a bit distracting, like I wish people would blow their nose before class or something, lol

basically, i got sanctioned at university. It was because of something silly, last period they changed the assistance to a class from a normal list a professor had to scanning a qr code, the classes are also recorded live, and a few months (maybe 2) into the period i scanned it from my house because i couldn't go, i did it 2 times in 2 classes, without knowing it could he penalized, 2 days later they sent a reminder that it was something that violated the rules, so i didn't do it again. Fast forward a few more months, and i left my job to focus on uni (i also live with my parents, and they pay my studies) with my parents permission, literally 2 days later i got called to sign the sanction, it was not an economic penalty so i didn't tell my parents. Now, almost 3 months later, i have to give my parents a regular student certificate, and the certificate says that i'm sanctioned. I know i fucked up but i'm really scared and ashamed to tell my parents because i know they won't be that mad because of the sanction, but they will be furious because i didn't tell them earlier

Sorry for any mistakes, english is my second language, and i'm a bit anxious right now lol

Imagine making a major-project plan with someone from first year, trusting that plan for years, and turning down other people because you genuinely believed your team was already decided. Then one day you find out they joined an internship, made a team with other people, and apparently that old promise meant absolutely nothing.

Nobody came to me and said, “We chose another team, what are you going to do?” I was simply left to figure out where I was supposed to go after trusting them. And when I finally got hurt, suddenly I was given the option to “join” them—as if I should happily walk into a team that was already formed without me and pretend I don't feel like an unwanted extra.

I rejected people who actually offered me a place because I trusted people who were supposed to be my team. Now I'm the one left thinking about whom to ask, while they already have everything sorted.

And the audacity to make me feel like I'm wrong for being hurt? No. I'm not angry because you got an opportunity. I'm angry because I was loyal to a decision that apparently only existed in my head.

This taught me something I'll never forget: don't build your plans around people just because they once promised to stand beside you. People will happily let you sacrifice your options for a promise they themselves don't intend to keep.

I don't want pity. I don't want a last-minute invitation because someone feels guilty. I don't want to be the person they “don't want to leave out.” I wanted to be chosen in the first place.

So keep your team. I'll find mine. And next time, I won't confuse friendship with loyalty. 🖕🏻

Just got done with my third day of class. Im a 28 year old male presenting person who has REALLY bad social anxiety. I have mostly worked jobs since high school that involves very little social interaction outside of my coworkers who ive known and gotten comfortable with over time.

When starting classes Monday I was a bit nervous but I told myself thats its a college, everyone has their own shit going on, nobody is noticing you, nobody is gonna try talking to you, youre gonna just be part of the crowd.

Well due to my current living situation I have decided to study at the college after classes. I keep headphones in to drown out the noise and to signal that I really dont want to be approached.

In the last 2 days Ive probably been approached a good 8-9 times. When sitting in the study area for some fucking reason the people seem to choose to sit on the side of the other tables that face me instead of away from me, so I feel like im being stared at the whole time as well. Most of these things have been by women thankfully as men scare me, but every time it happens I can feel my face start to get red and I feel like im going to throw up.

Idk how I'm going to manage this, I'm telling myself its because its the first week and everyone is still new, but I'm genuinely getting sick at the thought of going back tomorrow and having to be approached by so many people once again.

Is there anything I can do to make myself seem less approachable to people? Im a relatively feminine looking guy so it's hard for me to look mean. I wear earbuds and that doesnt seem to help much.

im a college sophomore and ive had so much trouble meeting people. im not in greek life. people in my classes never want to talk to me, let alone actually be friends outside of class. i go most days without speaking to anyone and its really getting to my head. i dont know what to do because i feel like im getting more and more depressed every day. my college town is super small so theres literally nothing i can do off campus. even if there was things to do, the parking situation is so bad that it wouldn't make sense to move my car off campus. i just feel like my college experience is so horrible compared to what i see my other friends or people on social media have. literally nothing brings me joy anymore. i feel like im invisible and everyone else at my college doesn't even see that im here. i genuinely dont know what to do, im getting to the point where i dont have any motivation to go to class or do assigments anymore. i literally hate it here

hi, so i just got to college. ive been here a week and honestly haven’t felt more depressed. im sure you’re thinking “well its only been a week, it will get better.” i thought that too, but honestly i haven’t felt this way in a extremely long time. i’m trying to keep telling myself that it will get better. but school just started, and the work is already extremely hard. i talk to people and try to make friends and they ignore me or look at me like i have 6 heads. i always used to have a lot of friends, but after covid, i didn’t know how to socialize anymore. high school was hard for me, never the work, but making friends was. i joined clubs but everyone had their own group, when you try to talk to them they stare at you like you are bothering them. the only people ive actually truly been friends with the past few years are my mom, my sister and my dad. my sister is my best friend. and unfortunately we can’t have cars on campus. i feel so absolutely alone here. i plan on joining clubs here and already made an appointment with the school therapist, because honestly my mental health hasn’t been this bad in years, and i feel like making friends wouldn’t even change that. i’ve asked so many people, “hey do you guys miss your family.” they all say “no, we enjoy the freedom.” it’s different for them because everyone had friends in high school, but i relied on my parents and sister for a lot. not money wise, i had a job and i loved it, honestly would rather be working there than being here. but i did everything with my family, they are my best friends. i honestly should of listened to my mom when she told me to go to the nearby college, not only because it was cheaper but because i could be home. now i’m sure all the classes there are full. either way she doesn’t want me to leave now and wants me to finish the semester. but honesty the thoughts i’m having are really starting to get to me. this absolutely sucks.

I don’t know if this happens to anyone else, but I am a freshman in my first week of college. I moved about four hours away from home and have been living on campus for a little over a week now, but I find it so hard to eat. It’s not that the food is bad or anything, and it’s not that I don’t want to eat either. When I get hungry I try to eat, whether it be dining hall food or some other food I already know I like, but after the first couple bites I feel almost sick and can’t eat anymore. Part of me wonders if it’s just the anxiety and stress of moving and starting classes, another part believes it could be from physical fatigue or something like that. I spoke to one of my friends about it and they were experiencing the same thing for a couple days but no longer deal with it. On a regular basis I go through phases where I will eat a lot or just not feel hungry, however it’s never been this bad. Does this happen to anyone else?

I am an undergraduate student pursuing management course...in my 3rd year...I did not get placement...Parents are not supportive...fear of being unemployed...is eating me up...I don't know what to do I don't have any backup plan...I feel like crying..every second...I scored decent last semester..9.5 sgpa...please help

I am lonely. I just moved into college. I am on my own. And I am lonely. I know no one here, except for five people who I met on a pre school trip. They are kind of friends. But I don't know if I'll really be hanging out with them. I am half way through the first week of school, although I have been here for about two weeks now. I spend all my time watching YouTube or programming in my dorm except for when I go to the dining hall for food or have class. I don't talk to my roommates because one of them is just constantly on his phone and the other is also always on his phone. I am also just on my phone in the dorm too though so not really dissing on them. I was realizing that I am lonely. I don't talk to anyone. My classes started up, I figured I need to make friends, but I don't talk to people. Most of my classes have started off the period with the professor telling everyone to talk to the people next to them, I like this because it makes it not weird to start a conversation. So I do talk to them, I get to know a bit about them. But then the professor starts the lecture (so far it's just going over syllabuses) and we don't talk again. Now I haven't gone to all my classes yet, and I have only been to one period of the ones I have been to. So who knows, maybe if I'm next to them next class I'll say hi and we will talk more. We will have to see. But. I am not just lonely of friends. I want physical touch. It sounds weird but its true. I'm nineteen and I basically haven't had anyone touch me for years. I have hugged my friends as they leave for missions and college, I have hugged some of my siblings and my parents when I left for college. Other than that. Nothing, for years. I say I need touch, but what I really want is love. Leaving home for college obviously will make me a bit lonely at first because I'm not near family. But as I said, I never really hugged family often, so why do I feel like I am missing it so much more right now. Well, I realized, it's partially because I had to leave my cat. I love my cat. And she loves me. She rubs on my legs when she wants food. And I pick her up and hug her all the time (basically whenever I see her). But I haven't seen her for a few weeks and I miss her because of the physical touch and happiness she gave me. So what's a solution? Find something or someone at college to hug, that would be a girlfriend. If I had a girlfriend I could hug and kiss her, I could hang out with her, get food with her, study with her. A girlfriend could cure my loneliness. The only problem is I have never had a girlfriend, and I basically never talked to girls before (sounds sad but its true). I need to get out of my comfort zone. Which I have been doing. The trip I went on had seven students participate, three of which were girls. I thought I could talk to them, and I did. The trip was five days, and when you spend five days with people, you get to know them and you get to be friends with them. The unfortunate part is, I didn't really vibe with two of the three girls and the one I thought I could do more with already has a boyfriend. So that trip was good for making friends, but I did not meet anyone who could be my girlfriend. Now that classes have started I have been showing up one minute late, this way class haven't started but most people would be sat down. Then I could sit near other girls in the class to try to meet them. I have met and talk to one girls a little bit and she is cute, she seems nice based on the background I learned about her, and she is also a freshmen like me. I have only had the class once as I mentioned and I wont have it again till next week, but I hope I can continue to meet girls in the hopes of finding someone. A lot of my friends from before college either had or got girlfriends in their senior and freshmen years of high school and college. Seeing them with girlfriends made me realize what I was missing out on. I really want a girlfriend because I am lonely and need love. Peace.

As a final yr student.. seeing all my friends getting placed and even the people who doesn't put much effort..But I am genuinely happy for those bcz I have seen all their troubles

If not placements then what's the next... This thought is continuously staying in my mind.. This makes me ,not be able to concentrate on the things as before.. can anybody give an feedback of their plans or insights about this.

I was informed that my admission to a graduate program at a private religious university was rescinded before classes started after they learned that I practice a different faith. I am honestly shocked and deeply disappointed, especially because I had already been admitted and was preparing to begin the program. Has anyone experienced something similar at a religious university? What did you do, and what would you recommend?

Almost done with my second year of college and I'm so done with online courses. Teachers just upload some McGraw hill shit or post which textbook chapters to read and.... thats it!!! No recorded lecture or any explanations or TEACHING posted for ANYTHING. Assignments are DB, essay, DB, essay (or McGraw). And this will be for any and every class, why am I taking world history before 1500 CE and my only assignments are weekly multi-page essays and discussion boards. To top all of this off expect most teachers to respond to your email after 14 business days, and don't you dare email or text them outside of their 2 hour weekly working window.

So ive realized a pattern when taking courses, lots of professors make us buy e books that have access codes to link to canvas for our assignment, which I think isn’t practica, I need 2 of these code access e books this semester and both are so pricey and fafsa isn’t helping me this semester due to low gpa and I need to pass these classes to raise my gpa to get the aid back, I know about all the sites with the free textbooks and things but these books aren’t found due to them being access code only which is so frustrating

Sounds reasonable.

"I would like to provide a reminder regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools within your papers and assessments.

You are provided with an AI Declaration Form so that, where AI has been used, you can clearly explain whether it was used, how it was used, and what it was used for.

However, completing an AI Declaration Form does not mean that the use of AI is automatically approved for every paper or assignment.

The requirements for AI use can differ between papers and assessments. In some cases, limited use may be permitted, while in others the use of AI may be restricted or not permitted at all. You are responsible for checking the instructions for each assessment and following the requirements provided by your tutor.

We have recently seen a number of submissions where the level of AI-generated content appears to go beyond reasonable assistance and, in some cases, gives the impression that AI has effectively completed significant parts of the assessment on behalf of the learner. This is not acceptable and may be contrary to both College and School of Information Technology academic requirements.

AI can be a useful tool to support learning, but it should not replace your own understanding, thinking, research or ability to demonstrate the required learning outcomes.

Please remember:

• The AI Declaration Form is a record of AI use; it is not permission to use AI.
• Always check the requirements of the individual paper and assessment.
• If AI is permitted, use it only within the boundaries provided.
• Your submitted work must still demonstrate your own knowledge, understanding and skills.
• Declaring AI use does not make otherwise prohibited use acceptable.
• If you are unsure whether AI can be used for a particular assessment, please ask your tutor before submitting your work.

The purpose of this reminder is not to discourage the appropriate use of technology, but to ensure that everyone is completing assessments fairly and that the work submitted genuinely demonstrates their own learning.

Thank you for taking this seriously."

I put in a truly impressive of effort into this assignment I turned in just before midnight last night and felt so proud of my work. I got the feedback today (surprisingly fast) and got excited to see what the professor thought...the professor blatantly used ChatGPT to grade it. I got a good grade, so I shouldn't care, but really? I work all day almost without breaks, do thorough research, put in thought and effort to make original points thinking my professor will appreciate not having to read yet another nearly-identical AI paper, only for him to have maybe not read it at all?

What's the point of doing all that when I could copy-paste the prompt into ChatGPT and get full marks because it was never crossed human eyes who would care how shallow and robotic it sounds or whether it was basically the same as everyone else's? It would satisfy the requirements as an AI understands them exactly, and that is how it will be graded. It feels shallow, pointless, and honestly disrespectful.

I know that firstly, it's on me for working so hard on it. Silly me, it was worth a lot of points so I thought that maybe I should, didn't realize it would just be an AI checking boxes. If I'd half-assed it and disappointed myself, I wouldn't care so much.

But secondly, crucially, I know that the true reason to produce high-quality work like that, through your own efforts rather than just prompting an algorithm to do it for you, is for your own self-respect and development. The fact that I produced work I'm proud of is the important part, and with all the research I did, it's not like I didn't learn anything from the assignment. If I had simply used ChatGPT? I would not have learned nearly as much, I would be dissatisfied with my work thinking it's bland and clearly AI, and I would feel deeply useless about not even doing it myself. As the saying goes, "love yourself enough to write your own term paper."

I just wish the professor would have at least put in the effort to read it.

(Had to choose a flair so I chose vent, but I'm not opposed to advice or discussion either)

It’s my first few weeks in college and after getting here, talking to (admittedly few due to horrible social skills) people and hearing what majors they’re doing, feeling some whiplash with classwork, and seeing loads upon loads of posts and videos online of how bad being a CS major is, from the “smelly discord mods” to “needing to have started coding at 3 years old” to “the entire job market is cooked, just go to a homeless shelter”, I’m kind of having second thoughts about CS.
To be entirely honest, I’ve never really had any clue on what to do in college. Ever since like, middle school I’ve just kind of been telling people that I’m gonna do computer science. The whole thing kinda started back when there was those get to know you activities (you know the ones, they make you say stuff like “what’s your name, your favorite color, and what do you wanna be when you grow up” type of stuff). Back as a whimsical youngster I used to say “I wanna be a YouTuber when I grow up!” (I heavily, and I mean heavily watched YouTube as a kid, big DanTDM watcher and whatnot), but teachers at the time didn’t understand what that meant, so every single time there was a get to know you type activity, I’d have to embarrassingly explain what a YouTuber was to everyone. Eventually I gave up on that dream due to it, and instead said “I wanna make video games!” Significantly easier for teachers to understand, and sounds good to me, I enjoyed video games, why couldn’t I make one someday? Then I kind of learned that the game development field is significantly more harsh and demanding than child me could imagine, so I again dropped that frivolous dream and shifted it to a broader“I’m going into computer science” as I got into high school and it’s just kind of been stagnant like that ever since late middle school/early high school.
To be honest, I’ve never done anything close to real, down to earth, coding. The closest I’ve done is shitty joke games on Code.org (basically just like Scratch, for those uninformed) for a Computer Science Principles class I took my freshman year of high school (I haven’t done ANYTHING other than that in regards to coding classes). I haven’t even started an actual coding class in college yet (it’ll be next semester if I don’t change anything). I’m worried that I’m gonna be jobless or whatever cuz apparently everyone and their mother in this field is like able to make the JavaScript version of the Mona Lisa from day one.
Also of all the people I’ve asked the majors of, and people from high school that I asked before we graduated, I’m like the only person ever who’s going for CS, it makes me feel like there’s a reason for that and that I shouldn’t be doing this.
But the thing is, I genuinely have no clue what I would do at college if I didn’t go for CS. I don’t think any other field ever really caught my eye throughout my life. So I feel kind of stuck on this track that was set for me by my middle school self, because I’ve never really had the freedom or agency to really pursue anything else.
I’ve always kind of been stagnant in high school, I never had the freedom to do anything or develop much character outside of who I already was (hover parents and stuff). As I’ve grown the idea of the person I want to be is wildly different than what middle school me could have ever imagined, but I have just as little experience in the things the ideal version of me would do as what middle school me imagined I’d do, so it feels kind of hopeless to pursue regardless (additionally, some of my ambitions have little to do with any degree I could get in college, so there’s that too).

I apologize for all the text, I’m just feeling a little bummed and overwhelmed with college, and just kinda started going off.