well, I did it.
I dropped out of university, mechanical engineering to be specific. I literally want to just fucking curl up and die right now, I've never felt like such a failure before. I always thought I was smart, I've scored in the 130 - 140 range on IQ tests several times before (for whatever it's worth, which probably isn't that much but whatever), I've never had a problem understanding anything in school until I came to uni. The first year I was struggling and barely getting by. Failed my programming class and calc 2. Tried taking them up again, literally working 14 hours a day, failed again. Fuckin hell uni hit me like a ton of bricks.
The worst part is, I can't blame it on being lazy, because I worked my fucking ass off. Which means, it's because I'm not smart enough. I know that's what it is too because no matter how hard I try I just can't understand the things we're learning. It fucks me up because I've always been the "smart guy" and even skipped a class in high school because of it, and still got straight A's at one of the highest ranked high schools in the country. Always loved science. But for the last year and a half it's all come crashing down. I literally have no idea what to do. At first I thought "oh I'm just acclimatising", but after one and a half year of literally not understanding anything in the advance maths and programming courses I've come to realise that I'm just not smart enough.
Ignoring the identity crisis I'm in right now, how do I make sure I end up not fucking broke? What other options do I have? Should I study something else? Pls halp
>>924499
Military for you.
>>924499
Go back. Do a different major.
Just go back to uni.
>>924499
Police also need engineer drop outs
No, you did not study hard enough. Spending time at the school library browsing 4chan is not studying. It is always a lack of study. Even a dumb blonde slut could make it in CS if she studies enough, do old exams and so on.
>>924511
Mech Eng is a lot harder than CS
>>924511
I'm gonna be honest with you, that really pisses me off because I made sure to always sit at the school library where I wouldn't browse facebook/youtube/4chan/whatever because there's people around and I don't feel comfortable browsing those websites with people around. I turned off my phone every time I went to study (which was LITERALLY, yes, fucking literally) mon-sunday from 8 in the morning to 10 in the evening. I have extreme self-discipline so I didn't do any fucking around. It was long hours of intensive, focused study, but it didn't work.
I gave up fun
I gave up exercising
I gave up socialising
I was freaking out when I started uni because I was doing so poorly so I literally became a fucking monk and dedicated my life to studying for basically the last year. Last time I browsed 4chan was for like 20 minutes back in the end of August.
So please don't tell me that I didn't study hard enough. I know I shouldn't be mad because how could you know anything about my studying habits? I didn't really specify anything. But now you know. So don't tell me I didn't study hard enough.
>>924525
>being this defensive and closeminded
Im starting to see why you arent gonna make it, OP..
>>924509
Thing is though, there's nothing I'm really that passionate about besides science and technology, which fucking annoys the shit out of me since apparently I'm not that great at it.
Should I just not give a fuck about what I find interesting/exciting and just start some uninteresting business degree? Because I don't feel like that would be a good decision either, I mean who needs shitty businessmen/accountants/whatever anyways?
>>924527
please do elaborate, because I literally don't see how I could've "studied harder" than I was doing. Seriously, fucking tell me what it is you're 'starting to see', I want to know.
>>924525
its the way you studied, or perhaps you're just not motivated enough, which is perfectly okay. you have high expectations of yourself, which you need to work on. you're only human.
I have exams next week and I have a shit load to do, I didn't do my homework for the past 6 weeks
Help, what do I do?
>>924545
>its the way you studied
see I figured this out pretty quick myself, and I read 4 books on how to improve your grades and become a better student, watched youtube videos and read several articles on the topic in those 2 hours of free time I had every saturday night.
>perhaps you're just not motivated enough
I burn for science, in particular space exploration. Always loved it and consider it to be probably my greatest passion.
>you have high expectations of yourself, which you need to work on. you're only human.
this is where I think my problem may be, that I'm overestimating my skills and that I'm not actually cut out for higher STEM education. It's just a really tough pill to swallow considering how a large portion of my sense of self is tied up into being this smart science person as that's what I've always been.
anyways, thanks for taking the time to help me with my problem, I really appreciate it. Same goes for the others ITT with constructive answers.
>>924555
forgot to mention on the first part about studying habits: It helped quite a bit, but not nearly enough.
The only flaw I see with your study routine is not taking nootropics/enhancers, and perhaps studying to the point of mental exhaustion.
>>924533
Youre lying to yourself. You didnt work as hard as you say you did, or you would have made it. Its not about smarts its about hard work. That you didnt do. And I dont buy that you have learning disablities somince you did good in high school. Fuck, even Reese Witherspoon became a lawyer.
>>924562
HOLY FUCKING SHIT
GET ON MODAFINIL RIGHT NOW
if you want to succeed...
(btw how do I order them without my parents finding out, I need it )
>>924525
not the same guy, but from this, it honestly seems like mech eng is not for you. I knew mech eng wasn't for me when I got just barely passed dynamics and thermo. Assuming the level of studying you say is true, then move on.
Lots of first year eng dropouts actually switch out to compsci, so see if you can try that. Life goes on, anon.
You're just like my buddy. He was so set on chemistry undergrad that it held him back semester after semester. He worked his ass off and failed one or two classes each semester (o chem). Finally he just gave up on the fantasy that he is a top 1% student and went to state college for an easier degree. Now he's a psych graduate.
Sure psych has a bad connotation, but its better than being a community college dropout in chem.
Its time to find your psych... Otherwise, you'll just be that "smart kid" who couldn't handle his undergrad classes and dropped out.
>>924570
>this
just switch into something you actually enjoy
heads up anon.
>be me
>start mech. eng. in top25 Uni in Yuropoor
>fail after 2 full years of studing my ass of
(lit. 10h a day in the library and shit)
> switch county and go to a smaller uni mech eng. again.
> MFW suddenly under the 25% considering the grades and credit
ffw.
>Been 5 years, now working for big car company.
it's not always you. sometimes it's the evironment. still have no idea why i failed in the first place. Content of the studies were similar, difficulty was same. i dunno
http://www.wtfprofessor.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-kicking-ass-next-semester/
>>924499
I had a similar problem OP. Studied Computer Engineering for 3 years. Barely scraping by and failing a few classes. I would get totally lost in my EE requirements but was ok - decent in the CS stuff. The difference though is I mostly did poorly because I'm lazy as fuck and lack discipline when it comes to studying. I bit the bullet and switched to CS, made an effort to be more on top of things, and am doing better now.
I don't get how you can't understand the concepts after all the time you allegedly put in though unless your studying was very inefficient. (spending lots of time on unimportant material, looking at example problems but not physically trying to solve them for practice, etc.)
I can understand why other anons are skeptical because I imagine if I was putting in the hours you did I would have been getting straight A's.
Anyways, advice if you want it: Go into a trade: electrician, plumber, machinist, etc.
Make money, pay off debt, get your life together and consider trying uni again in the future.
Or seriously just try another major. CS or Electrical Engineering or something,. Business?
Well there's always the trades nothing wrong with that.
>>924554
work your ass off, turn off all electronic, non-kindle devices
>>924499
>I've scored in the 130 - 140 range on IQ tests several times before (for whatever it's worth, which probably isn't that much but whatever)
doesnt mean anything at all, indeed
if it counts for anything, you sound articulate and mature enough so that i can safely say youre differently able rather than retarded, you should try courses somewhere else, dont even need to switch disciplines
plus theres always the problem of your professors being dicks/adjuncts who dont care, where did you go to college opie?
>>924499
>working 14 hours a day
>130 - 140 IQ
I highly doubt either of these. I have an IQ of 145 and ME was silly. I'm EE and I probably worked 8 hours a day, including my classes at a uni ranked in the 30s worldwide. The average IQ for engineering majors is in the 120s.
You're saying that you knew how to study, had the capacity, mentally, and studied for longer than even medical students do, yet you dropped out.
You have to understand that by what you say, something isn't adding up. So, you're either lying which is the most probable, or you simply don't realize that you worked much less than others did and didn't know how to study, or there were other external factors influencing you.
You don't study for 8+ hours, have a high IQ, and know HOW to study, and still fail and drop out of engineering. It's not that hard of a major, contrary to what most people like to shill. If you're good with your Algebra and remember your Trigonometry, you'll be perfectly fine in engineering as long as you are interested in the particular major.
My guess is that OP is full of it, as per usual.
>>924555
>passion
>burn for science
Oh, you're another one of those 'I FUCKING LOVE SCIENCE" people. I can see why you think you're so hard working and smart, now.
>>924499
Relax cunt, ive gotten drunk and forgot programming languages.
>>924665
>he takes IQs seriously
hey grandpa, 1941 called
>>924499
Which university did you attend?
I could imagine myself getting assblasted if I went to Ivy League or something.
>>924499
You are in a top college though. To keep up their rankings they MUST have ridiculous standards.
Try moving down one tier. I bet if you transferred to say, from Caltech to UC San Diego you would still be in a top 30 college but UCSD would be piss easy compared to Caltech for example.
Also please consider that your English might not be up to snuff. I had GPA issues because of little grammar things though I knew everything about my subject I still wasn't top of my class because of so many fucking redlines.
Not sure if this is you but maybe you could write better, take a summer writing class before you go to UCSD and do one semester, if THAT doesn't work switch into Kinematics, its the study of the human body as if it were machine, be a physical therapist.
>>924668
They hold a small merit, yes. You just need to take the same test multiple times as the score you earn is based on more than how smart you are.
Holy shit, this is the first time I've ever actually emphasized and felt bad for an anon.
Hope you work things out man.
>>924698
>emphasized
>>924700
motherfucker.
I meant empathized.
>>924529
That's why you should take other course to find something you might actually be good at it, and maybe you'll find something you like.
>>924499
Engineering is all about "engineering" your own success, it literally means creative in latin or greek. You shouldn't have had to spend 14 hours per day till year 4 where the real projects come. Break out your studies in manageable chunks and don't f around, complete your 4yr degree in 6yrs if necessary.
>Failed my programming class and calc 2
>Studied 14 hours per day
I'm sorry but I simply don't believe you. I mean if you studied 14 hours per day you must have come across enough of the problems before to pass the class.
OP first, clean your room.
Then work out.
Then take a shower and think about every thing.
Then eat something healthy and continue thinking.
Talk to your friends and family, maybe from them, you can formulate an idea of what you want to do.
But most importantly, you need to go back to school and finish your education.
It isn't possible to fail basic programming with a high IQ, because IQ tests literally measure logical thinking. OP is lying, surprise.
>>924801
Hes a high functioning autist probably. He also might have a problem remembering syntax or some shit. Logical thinking would come later on after
>>924529
Can you switch to part time uni, work part time if necessary, and hire tutors if possible? If you have half the amount of things to learn you might be able to learn them more easily.
ITT: OP takes an online IQ test and believes the result
>>924499
Don't worry OP.
Elec Eng here. I had to face that possibility a couple times throughout school after failing some dumb test, so has most other people who go through engineering. Sure, there's a few braniacs who can breeze through without studying, but for everyone else its years of hard slugging to try to make the cut. At my school something like 2/3 of those who start don't finish.
However, keep your head up. I have several friends who switched to Commerce and were top of their classes, and others who went into trades and own their own businesses now. There are many routes to success. Look for the one for you, and not necessarily what society tells you to do.
How much of what you learn in engineering school is actually used on the job?
>>924862
Depends on the job.
All through my degree, the faculty told us that their job was mostly to teach us how to learn and how to work as teams.
Once you get into the real world, everything you learned in school turns out to be pretty basic and academic since so much is computer assisted and governed by recommended practices and engineering code and you'll be put to work doing some small part of a possibly multi-year project. I hated school but love work, possibly because I realized how much was bullshit.
>>924855
This. I was in EE and got annoyed because for the first time in my life, I was having to study and still wasn't doing that well. My problem was that I found out I'm not nearly as interested in EE as you need to be to have success at that level.
Switched to Finance (easier for most anyway) and I actually enjoy learning about it and reading supplemental material. I wen't from failing a class in EE to A's in Finance. It's about finding something that you mesh with, not just something you're passionate in.
>>924558
I have a possible answer to your problem, which you will not like. I speak from my my own experience: I was a pretty able pupil til around class 10. Then my performance got worse and worse. I barely graduated high school. The reason for this was a developing kind of schizophrenia.
The earlier it gets diagnosed and treated, the more damage can be prevented. It is a condition 1% of all people get and it is bad, but without medical treatment and therapy some decades ago it was way worse.
Farewell.
>>924896
I'm planning on switching from CS to Finance do you know if it's a good major? Will I have to suck dicks for a living?
>I gave up fun
>I gave up exercising
>I gave up socialising
Probably that's why you aren't in a good position right now. Sure, fulfilling your goals require sacrifice, but that's just not heatlhy. I was going to say some half-assed theory that bacause you're putting so much pressure on you, and you never had to do anything like it, your mind-body isn't reacting too well.
Also, I'm studying Electromechanical Engineering (I know there's no equivalent in the USA, but it's basically a combination of Mechanical and Electric Engineering) and it's hard.
Dude ive been in community college for 4 years and i feel stupid for it, i have made dumb decisions of not taking it seriously. I have just realized the importance and i refuse to quit and i want to go to a 4year college afterwards. Im only 22, so dont give up.
Not everyone can do Engineering. I admitted that I didn't have the IQ for it or the work ethic so I switched to Accounting from Chemical Engineering.
I'm glad I made that choice because Chemical Engineers are struggling here in Australia anyway.
>>924741
This
>>924525
You studied hard, you didn't study smart.
>>924849
Pretty much. If your IQ is really high then schools put you into gifted after taking a long IQ test. Teachers report any potentially gifted students...
>>924499
>I've scored in the 130 - 140 range on IQ tests several times before
Yeah you took those on the internet. It looks like people called you smart because you're well-spoken. People can have wonderful verbal fluency with terrible logical faculties.
>What other options do I have? Should I study something else?
If you study hard (assuming you're not lying) then just pick a different major...
>>924499
Assuming this story is remotely true, you should consider going into a skilled trade, like plumbing, electrical, welding etc.
Most of these trades have pretty stable demand, reasonable incomes, and although you can't be a total dumbass, they generally aren't quite as complex as university-tier sciences/etc.
>>924499
School is for women OP, it just means you aren't a submissive faggot like a woman or jew
