# Do you regret going to college?



## MobiusX (Nov 14, 2008)

A friend in the past went to college for 4 years and got a Bachelor's degree. It's been now over 6 years and he still works at Target. I have a better job than he does, and I didn't even go to college. I only need a high school diploma to get the job I have. I don't even like working especially because of the social interaction. I remain after 3 years the mysterious guy since I don't talk. There are a few people at the job who also have college degrees and can't find a job and have to pay for loans. It's not really the unemployment rate to blame. It's more to do with the wrong career, and a crappy college they attended which didn't give them the best training. These people usually have to work 2 jobs in order to pay these loans, that would suck. 

After all of these years out of high school and taking 25 credits of college core courses, I've come to the conclusion that there isn't anything I want to study. I'm not smart enough to be a doctor or anything like that. I didn't even read a book by myself only until I got in college. Yes, it's embarrassing, I know. It's the combination of my lack of attention in class, distractions in class (class clowns taking over), my parents not being able to teach me anything or cared enough to emphasize the importance of education, but in the end I'm the one to blame. Like I said I don't consider myself smart, but that doesn't mean I'm an idiot. I think if I started out since a young kid I would have been able to reach my full potential.


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## sansd (Mar 22, 2006)

No, but I regret my major and a lot of decisions I made.


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## GaaraAgain (Oct 10, 2011)

No, I don't regret it right now. I might at some point in the future though, if I'm unable to find work.

I have a friend just like yours. Went to NYU, graduated with mountains of debt, and works at a department store. Seems like a waste to me.


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## SilentLyric (Aug 20, 2012)

yes I really only went to college because that was what's expected. I didn't do anything right at college. I didn't live the college life. I am feeling better about getting good grades, but I know this whole degree isn't going to do much. I wish I wasn't forced to go. That my parents realized that college isn't what it used to be anymore. Or I wished I did college better.


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## ACCV93 (Sep 6, 2012)

No I don't regret it, seeing as I just started lol. But I don't regret the decision I made to go I guess... :stu


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## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

Cerberus said:


> I'd much rather spend my life studying and enhancing my level of understanding than working. I don't really care if this benefits anyone else.


This.


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## AussiePea (Mar 27, 2007)

I don't, I was lucky enough to know what I wanted to do and how to get there. Uni was a stepping stone and has been great.


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## BeyondOsiris (Nov 2, 2012)

The thing is, pretty much everybody nowadays has a degree of some kind.


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## altghost (Jul 13, 2012)

I really hate that I feel so pressured to attend, despite the fact that I'm taking random courses because I've no idea what career would suit me. My parents see any kind of degree as a somehow 'golden ticket' to a good and happy, financially secure life, and more importantly, to a job that leaves me fulfilled. Case in point, Mom keeps bringing up being a teacher or maintaining that an English degree is perfectly fine, as long as I have it.

I went to uni straight after highschool, dropped out after one semester, moved around a bit, and now I'm in the latter half of my second first year. I'm left entirely confused by their constant insistence that I stay in school and by my own want to please them, my fear of working forever at a corner store, and my fear of wasting time and money. And at the end of the day, every day, all I am is stressed to the point of tears.


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## njodis (Nov 8, 2006)

It's something I'll regret for the rest of my life. If you're a teenager, whatever you do, don't feel pressured to jump into post-secondary education by anyone right away.


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## zant (Nov 25, 2012)

Well what did he get? Obviously if u get a worthless or extremely impacted degree it's gonna be hard to find a job...


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## SuperSky (Feb 16, 2011)

Nope, now that I've got an awesome job in the field that I studied, I'm really glad I went to uni.


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## Freiheit (Dec 8, 2008)

No. College is virtually my only way to gain skill and become qualified for a decent job. Otherwise I'd have no hope but to apply to a burger joint or some sh**.


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## Farideh (Nov 13, 2011)

I regret wasting one year in college because I attended culinary school and it was a big waste of my time. not to mention it was far from my house too. Driving there every day. Wasted my money, gasoline, and time. It was also a f*cking bad experience thanks to the sh*tty scumbags that made it like that for me. Such a waste of my time. I am never going back.


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## Resonance (Feb 11, 2010)

Well all my degree has done for me so far is prevent me getting hired to jobs because the employers felt I was 'over-qualified', and excluded me from others because they were government-funded apprenticeships which exclude graduates because apparently we already have enough 'advantages'. So basically yes. But on the other hand I suppose graduate jobs are open to me in the future, maybe it will turn out to have been worth it.


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## Wurli (Sep 15, 2012)

I don't regret it one bit. I do, however, regret how I've handled myself for the duration of a good chunk of it.


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## sleepytime (Feb 18, 2011)

I regret the choosing the course I did more than anything, I wish I had chosen a different course entirely. I think the problem with having to choose a career path at 18 years old is that a lot of people haven't a clue what they'd really like to do when they're 18 years old. I think a lot of people would be better off spending a few years in the real world (i.e outside the structured world of formal education) in order to get to know themselves and what they really want better.


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## AxeDroid (Jan 11, 2013)

No, I know it may be a waste of time, but I do like knowledge.


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## ericastooge (May 20, 2009)

Freakin yes! Every time there is something I want, I can't have it. Why? Because of my damn college loan. I dropped out and I'm never going back. I am glad that I stopped before the loan got bigger, so I have a chance to pay it off in two years if I get that extra money. I teach myself by reading books and the internet. Besides, I just want to be a housewife and have children with a loving husband who I can just make love to and feed him and take care of when he's sick etc.


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## Monroee (Aug 26, 2009)

Seeing as the current reason I'm in college is simply to buy me time while I figure out what the hell I'm doing, I'd say I don't regret it quite yet, as I'm still in panic mode of "what the f-k am I going to do". I'm in a psychology major, but lets be real, there's no way I'd get to master's level which is where one needs to be _at least_ to be able to do anything with it.


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## LONDN (Dec 17, 2012)

I don't regret college one bit. It has been tough at times but with that comes the following positive points:

1. Living away from home has taught me to be self-sufficient.
2. Learned to deal with my own problems.
3. Met a small handful of good friends at uni despite my anxiety. Hopefully friends for life.
4. Learned that if i'm struggling, by laying my cards on the table to my professors and coming clean about my anxiety and other problems, i can get help. This in turn has motivated and pushed me to seek therapy and CBT in the next month or so.
5. I've learned a lot about myself with all this time to think and i know what i need to do in life to be happy.
6. I know what i want in life after being exposed to work placement. I don't want to work in a big corporation for my whole life. I want to start my own business(s) and be entrepreneurial and live by own rules. 

College/University has really helped me to grow up and as a result of time apart from my family, i believe it has even strengthened my relationship with them.


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## blue the puppy (Jul 23, 2011)

no, but i regret a lot of the things i did in college. i wish i would have shopped around more for a major. if i had it to do over again i would have majored in something different. and of course, i wish i had done everything different socially.


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## AlphaHydrae (Jun 15, 2011)

too much regrets inlife, so much that it doesnt matter anymore.
i jus thikn it's like a must. whether you can find a job or not after you graduate is that is not until later.


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## Fledgling (Jan 1, 2013)

carambola said:


> No, but I regret my major and a lot of decisions I made.


Same here. I feel like I've wasted a lot of time and money. Even worse when I keep hearing about old acquaintances and batchmates that have become quite successful in their careers and I just pale in comparison.


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## lostinlife (Jun 2, 2010)

I wish I would have gone to vocational school and learned a trade or at least gone to community college first so I wouldn't have as much debt right now. I actually love learning, but I was sick to death of academics when I left high school and I never felt really welcome around the people that were meant to be my peers.


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## mesmerize (Oct 19, 2012)

No because im european but if i was american i wouldnt go to college because they require loans and id rather starve than acquire a loan.


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## Gavroche (Jan 12, 2013)

What I regret is feeling as though going to college is going to deprive me of youthful years that might be better spent on journeys of self discovery and encountering the world before I really hunker down and engage responsibilities. I want to travel outside of where I've been living, I want to see this country let alone the world, I'm 21 now I graduate next year and I'll be 22 going on 23. I don't want to wake up one day and be 30 and realizing my experience of the world is akin to a teenager who happened to attend extra classes and read a few extra books.


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## SecretMe (Dec 16, 2007)

I do regret it, because I had to drop out before getting my degree. Now I'm thousands in debt with no way of paying it back.  Not only that, but college was literally the most stressful thing I've had to deal with so far.


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## matte (Sep 10, 2011)

I regret my major.


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## zach87 (Sep 4, 2009)

It is hard to say. I went to college but I was so messed up socially and emotionally that I did not know what I wanted to do. I majored in Biology, but I was not together enough to focus on studying all the time. At first my grades were great, but gradually I got more and more depressed due to loneliness so my grades slipped. At first my GPA went from 3.8 to 3.5 and I thought it was the end of the world and I went into major depression. Then it just kept doing down and down, and just recently I barely graduated with a 2.6 GPA. Now I feel insecure and depressed about not being able to compete with my peers for jobs because they likely have better grades than me. Sometimes I regret going to college because I also have friends who did not go to college, but they have great jobs right now. Of course, these people are better than me and they were able to become successful because they have great personalities and they are passionate about what they do and they were able to make connections. Whereas I was just they shy, depressed kid who had no idea what he wanted, so he went to school and did so badly that all he is left with is poor grades and just another reason for people to reject him.

I had a job for a while working at a bank, and even without a degree I could have been promoted and made a respectable career out of it, but I was too shy and awkward and slow and learning things and following directions that I got fired. It's true that I graduated with a degree in Biology (granted my GPA isn't the best, but still...) and I can't even work in a bank. 

Basically, what I want to say is that college is only worthwhile if you can focus on studying and put your messes up social problems aside. Since I spend so much time inside my own head, feeling anxious and scrutinizing myself so much, studying in school was just not the right thing for me. 

BUT MAYBE IF COULD HAVE DONE BETTER IF I PICKED AN EASIER MAJOR. I dunno...


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## retracekim (Jan 13, 2013)

No, it helped get from socially horrid to slightly below average in social situations. And I learned to critically think and I dress better lol and I learned a lot of things about myself that I needed to learn. This all because of college.


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## kikyoumiko (Nov 24, 2009)

I wish I wasn't forced to choose what I wanted to major in back in high school. How many 16 year olds know what they want to do as a career for the rest of their lives? Back then, I THOUGHT (or what someone suggested/lectured me about) I wanted to do Pharmacy and majored in Biology for two years. I learned that this field wasn't for me at all. I had to switch majors quickly because the grades that I had in those chemistry classes were bringing down my GPA. I had a scholarship that paid for most of my tuition and if my GPA fell below their requirements, I'm screwed. I felt that the next major I had to choose would be something that I would be interested in studying and that won't bring down my GPA (don't want to lose scholarship money). The only major that fit those categories was Psychology. I researched it beforehand and I kept hearing how it's a worthless degree. At that point, I was like **** it and switched it to Psychology anyways. I didn't want to waste any more time and money in college. I graduated last spring and was able to complete a Bachelor's in 4 years. 

But now I'm still living at my parent's house, unemployed and miserable. I guess the only good thing about going to college is giving people the illusion that I'm achieving something in life. People are suggesting that I go back to school for something else or go to grad school. Pssh, I have no money for that and why bother when I still don't know what I want to do as a career?


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## retracekim (Jan 13, 2013)

kikyoumiko said:


> I wish I wasn't forced to choose what I wanted to major in back in high school. How many 16 year olds know what they want to do as a career for the rest of their lives? Back then, I THOUGHT (or what someone suggested/lectured me about) I wanted to do Pharmacy and majored in Biology for two years. I learned that this field wasn't for me at all. I had to switch majors quickly because the grades that I had in those chemistry classes were bringing down my GPA. I had a scholarship that paid for most of my tuition and if my GPA fell below their requirements, I'm screwed. I felt that the next major I had to choose would be something that I would be interested in studying and that won't bring down my GPA (don't want to lose scholarship money). The only major that fit those categories was Psychology. I researched it beforehand and I kept hearing how it's a worthless degree. At that point, I was like **** it and switched it to Psychology anyways. I didn't want to waste any more time and money in college. I graduated last spring and was able to complete a Bachelor's in 4 years.
> 
> But now I'm still living at my parent's house, unemployed and miserable. I guess the only good thing about going to college is giving people the illusion that I'm achieving something in life. People are suggesting that I go back to school for something else or go to grad school. Pssh, I have no money for that and why bother when I still don't know what I want to do as a career?


You sound just like me. Except I did Sociology...


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## meepie (Jun 20, 2010)

The purpose of education is to make you a better human, not to make money. No matter what degree you did and its value in the job market. So no, I don't regret my college education.


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## Ricebunnyx3 (Sep 1, 2010)

I'm still in college, but I'm regretting it. I'm only here because my parents want me to be here and if I drop out, I'll be homeless. I don't want to be homeless so I'm still here.


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## blu xo (Dec 27, 2012)

..


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## jesshoff213 (Jan 29, 2013)

I don't regret going to get my degree but I kind of regret going away. I'm happier when I'm home or even living complete by myself (not a fan of dorm life). I wish I had just went to community college for two years, saved up money, then commuted to a 4 year school close to home. I cant stand the judgements and pressure of being so social beacuse I'd rather be by myself


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## DesertStar91 (Feb 1, 2012)

Hell no!It's awesome!


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## TheTraveler (Jan 31, 2013)

No, I love college. Also, the degree I am going for for my job you must go to college. If you go to college you have to pick a major that you cant do without a degree or it will be a waste of time.


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## CrimsonTrigger (Jun 28, 2011)

I don't regret college itself. More that I regret what I chose to study. I combined drama with psychology. If I was more secure with myself, I would have just studied drama or combined it with a field that I feel is more interesting. I don't have any interest in pursuing a psychology related career. I realized that very late in my studies. I guess it's too late to change it now.


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## soulvelocity (Jan 21, 2013)

I don't regret going to college. I love the program the I am going for. I just wish I would of looked into a few different schools first instead of getting all excited and just choosing the closest place and enrolling right away. Other than that I'm 100% happy.:banana


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## DamnExtr0verts (Jan 9, 2013)

i dropped out of high school so im pretty happy to be in collage right now, it challenges me to deal with my issues


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## monotonous (Feb 1, 2013)

ok you don't have a degree you have issues you don't even want to work and you got a better paid job, you didn't say what it is but it's either your family or friends hired you or you're very talented in anyway.

im 26 and still going to college to get a degree bc my past was messed up and i have owed a lot of money but i'd rather take the chance than working as a telemarketer or whatever, because i know im not talented in those things so i'd rather do more hard work. in these days to find a job if you don't have anyone help you you can only count on yourself, all colleges can be crappy or terrific (unless you went to some really bad ones) its all about how you make out of it


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## CopadoMexicano (Aug 21, 2004)

no..im very thankful for having an education its all been paid


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## allthatsparkles (Mar 1, 2013)

Not at all.

I'm still in college right now, but I can say with confidence that these past three years have been a great learning experience. Obviously, there's the academic part of that but beyond school, I feel like living away from home and meeting so many new people has really allowed me to grow as a person. Not to mention the fact that it's fun - there's always something happening on campus, loads of people around and lots of opportunities career-wise (internships, career center, networking).


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## Nighty (Apr 1, 2011)

Cerberus said:


> I graduated with my first degree without any debt. I didn't get a good job out of it, but I believe it was worth it. I'd much rather spend my life studying and enhancing my level of understanding than working. I don't really care if this benefits anyone else.


:ditto


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