r/college

Can some young people translate what I'm seeing from a different perspective?

This semester, more than any semester in my experience, has been challenging when it comes to students. Generally, I enjoy students and their banter. I like when they get a little rowdy as long as they are being kind. But this semester, I am so frustrated!

My introductory courses are rolling on square wheels. None of the classes are fun. Students are either absent, making excuses for why they were absent, or staring off into space. When I ask a question, I get blank stares most of the time. When I give them directions, they act like they have no idea they were given directions just minutes before. This of course is not every single student, but the majority.

What is going on? Is it just the state of the world? Is it a coincidence with who I have enrolled this semester? Are students becoming less resilient? I leave a particular class EVERY time feeling anxious and just OVER it. This is not normal for me. Are there any young people out there who can say they've had a different experience in a college classroom? I'm curious if 18-19 yr olds think this is the norm.

“Hello fellow student, you made a good point about this…you made a good point about that…I agree with this…I like what you said about…” oh brother, enough 😭 It gets to a point, man lol

Today was my last class of engineering, and I thought I’d feel something..... but I don’t. Not sad, not happy just kind of blank, and I don’t really understand why.

I think what bothers me more is that after all these years, I still haven’t found my people. You know, the kind of friends you feel truly connected to. It feels like the people we think are ours aren’t really ours. No matter what you do or how much effort you put in, it never feels like enough and somehow you still end up feeling like a stranger.

I’ve spent so long in this same class, and yet I don’t feel attached to it in any real way. It’s like something shifted in me at some point, and now I just can’t connect with people the way I used to or maybe the way I’m supposed to.

has anyone else been in this situation ?

I look at all my assignments and I feel like I have no idea what they're even asking of me. I can't focus on anything for long enough to grasp it. I don't know how to fix this. Please give me any strategies that might help with this.

help needed!! I’m in a worldview class, and out next assignment is to bring in a “cultural artistic expression” (a book, movie, song, painting, image, poem, etc.) that says something about our current culture. I’m a little unsure of my ideas, so I was hoping that other people might have better/different ideas than I do.

for context i’m a psych major taking a bio class. last semester i got a C. i didn’t care too much but i didn’t learn any of the content so i wanted to retake it. i retook it but the professor was still horrible. somehow am doing worse than the first time around. i’m reaching a point where i think im just gonna withdraw from the class. i’ll be under credits (9) but i just don’t think it’s worth it….? i just worry how it will affect my financial aid. i, however, doubt id even be able to get a C.

is this bad for grad admissions? i wanted to apply for clinical psych.

thank you!

I took calculus 1 like 2 years ago and got a C in the class, do you think I should retake it before attempting calculus 2 or would reviewing calculus 1 be enough?

Rent an apartment or a room while in college?

Upper 20s student, work a warehouse job 20hrs a week making $380 a week but if I bump it to 28hrs, $500 a week. I’m in computer science and it’s my jr year. My job gives some reimbursement for school every year so I can use some of that next year. Internship this summer and potentially next summer. Also have a large settlement(potentially millions) coming next year. Dunno if it’s worth it to just take out more federal if I get the apartment. Only have a year left of college. Tuition a semester is like 7k. After this fall I’ll no longer receive financial aid, but my spring and fall semesters will be light.

Expenses:

Car - $256

Insurance - $151

Food - covered

Have some loans but don’t have to pay those until 2029

As for the apartment, it’s all utilities included and it’s $1125. The room is $625(private bathroom). The apartment is smoke-free, owners work from home and they have kids, a dog and a cat. It’s in a nice neighborhood though just like the apartment. Private landlord, own parking, and plenty of storage for the apartment. Introvert, do value peace.

To give a bit of context: my friend & i are undergrad seniors, have similar GPA’s & are in the same major

Our major is a little rare in our country so finding opportunities such as internships or programs etc is a little difficult. She’s told me to share these opportunities if I come across any and I’ve agreed to do so however every time Ive asked her to join me in on any of these opportunities she’s rejected me, each time giving me a different excuse (such as “it’s not in my interest” or “it’s finals week”) so naturally after getting rejected for months on end I decided to stop sharing these opportunities

Recently she found out that I’m joining these opportunities to increase my chances into getting accepted to grad school and has asked me to share these opportunities with her again. I’m just confused and upset now because that’s exactly what I’ve been doing for months before and she’s completely blown me off on every opportunity or project we could’ve worked on together, and as I said my major is not that common in the whole country only 3 universities including mine offer it so finding these opportunities takes SO much time to research.

What would you do in my situation?

Hi, i’m moving into an about 1.5k sqft house with 3 other friends in about 2 months (4bd,3br), what are some essentials and what do yall reccomend with things like chores, groceries etc.?

Hello, i’m in my second year of college, not that it matters, but i’ve always seen people taking notes on their ipads/laptop ipads (not sure what they’re called) but i always wonder what app they’re using. Taking notes on paper is very unorganizing for me because too much erasing or crossing out. I did try taking notes on my ipad recently and it was pretty good and relaxing. but i used the ipad given app freeform but after doing search, not a lot of people use this. What apps are you guys using that doesn’t require subscriptions? or do you think freeform is fine?

also - side note, how do you guys take notes on laptop, i have no clue how to organize stuff on google docs to make it aesthetic and easy to understand

I’m about to transfer to a university, a Cal State. I also applied to the EOP program which is for first generation low-income students. I was told by a person at the program that I was denied because of capacity and because I was on a waiting list I cannot appeal. My question is: has anyone ever heard of someone getting into EOP after first applying and being denied?

Any current undergrad students on H-4, how are you building your college profile in the fields of comp sci/ AI/ engineering to get a head start? Any suggestions/ tips about college activities or work to do?

For context, I am 18F going into my first year of college in the fall. I am majoring in pre-pharmaceutical sciences at VCU, and plan to travel the world frequently while I'm in school.

Would it be possible to balance extremely hard classes (organic chem, stats, two science labs, etc), an on campus work study job, AND a job as a waitress? I want to use the work study earnings for my college tuition and the waitressing earnings for travel, personal expenses, and to build up my savings when paying off loans in the future. Or, would it be better and more realistic in the long run if i just keep a waitressing job and ignore the work study opportunity?

I am pretty sure that I bombed a quiz last week, the grades are not out yet but what worries me more than the grade is that I don’t think I’m following the material, even though I was trying really hard. I attend office hour often and was doing fine until this new chapter after the midterm.

Would it be considered appropriate to talk privately to my professor about this quiz and study advice in general? It shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes, I think.

I didn’t want to do it during office hours because there are usually quite a few students and I wanted to keep it private…

Thanks!

I don't know if this is the correct place to ask this.. but I am a college student so yeah.. and naturally I get a certain amount of allowance..

so I'll explain.. the title is kinda dramatic.. I don't always pay, we mostly split or pay for what we got.. but it's the little sometimes, like when they buy something little or whatever and they don't pay back 😭😭.. (we pay by upi so I pay first and then they pay me back and honestly I feel like such a beggar when I ask for my own money 😭😭) and if I'm cheap for that then it's ok I guess.. cuz duh it's my money, my parents ain't earning for you.. go buy your own ice cream 😭😭

that little something, becomes a decent chunk by the end of the month.. like it's ok sometimes.. but not every other day man 😭😭 I'm tryna make it till the end of the month too..

so honestly.. the little money that goes out.. is it ok? am I too cheap (which I guess I'm being, cuz in this economy 😭).. should I always ask my money back or let it be sometimes..

We're all first year undergraduate who dormed on campus this first year. Now we're looking for an apartment for our second year since the second year dorms (suite style) here are worse than the first years. They have rats, no light, built probably 30 years ago, and is right next to a fire station.

My parents are giving me $2500 a month to use on rent plus the ultily bill. We were able to find an apartment in our budget between me and my 4 roommates. I pay double for a room to myself, and the other two rooms each have two of my roommates in them. (3 bed, 2 bath)

My parents were in town and decided to tour the apartment we found (and already put in the application process/ deposit for), and they hated it to the point they're refusing to pay the rent for it. Which is their money, I'm not going to argue with them about it, I'm extremely happy they were willing to pay for my apartment rent. Later that day my housing accommodations got officially approved allowing me to live in the apartment style dorms at a neighboring university, and me and my parents decided that's what I should do.

I did wait to tell my roommates that I wouldn't be living with them anymore after we were approved so I can request the deposit refund..

But I don't understand what else I could be the reason why they're not really speaking to me. They didn't respond to my first message apologizing and saying how I'm not going to be living with them next year. Now they have a separate group chat from what I've overheard. The apartment building has a (2 bed, 2 bath) apartment layout available for when we were originally going to move in, so I didn't think it would be hard for them to switch the apartment they're applying for.

(I have BPD and I was already going through a not so great episode, and this is just making it so much worse. BPD isn't the reason behind my housing accommodations.)

Am I missing something??

Hey everyone,

I've been noticing something while shopping on platforms like Amazon and Flipkart - sometimes there are just too many options, and it actually becomes harder to decide what to buy.

For example:

Buying clothes → I don't mind exploring a lot

Buying electronics → I just want the best option quickly

So I wanted to understand if others feel the same or if it's just me.

open to hearing your thoughts directly in the comments.

Hi everyone,

I’m an undergrad wrapping up a research project and originally planned to present it at a conference, but that didn’t work out. I’m now looking into undergraduate research journals as another way to share my work.

I’m especially interested in journals that accept literature reviews or more flexible formats, since I may need to adapt my project a bit.

I’m pretty new to the undergrad publishing space, so I’d really appreciate any recommendations for:

• Undergraduate journals
• Journals that accept literature reviews
• General advice on submitting as an undergrad

Thanks in advance!