"it's just university is not what I thought it would be"
You are not the only one who had the same thoughts/feelings. I can't tell you if you should stay or leave, it's your decision at the end of the day.

There could be many reasons why you thought that...you see, university is a big jump from high school, and sometimes it takes a while to actually get used to it. Some people thought it would be easy and then at the end of the year realized that university is not for them because of their poor performance reflected in their final grades. I am not trying to say that that's you or anything, just giving you some examples :p

There's nothing wrong with taking a year/semester off to think about your life. I had a friend who took a semester off to think about his life. I would say stick with it just this term, like finish your exams and then take a break next term and think about your future.
Switching programs might be something to think about, you might not be interested in your program.

Talk to your academic advisor about it, discuss with them your situation and see what they say. You don't have to accept everything they say, it's your life after all. I think it's a good idea that you are seeking help; it's sometimes good to talk to others about our struggles, they might have something useful to offer.

Remember, never be afraid of failing, always work hard and have confidence in yourself. Confidence plays a big role in everything we do.
I wish you the best of luck with your life

Hey Laura, shoot me a PM if you want to vent to somebody who's been there, or even just a sounding board. I really do know the feeling, and wish I could go back and change the way I did things.

Best of luck -- whatever it is, it won't always be like this.

it's just university is not what I thought it would be

I feel your pain man (or sis). I thought university life is swimming in alcohol and being covered by beautiful young women, but in reality it's swimming in redbull and being knee deep in textbooks.

I don't have too much advice to give but I will say this.... I couldn't handle first year. I was scared in first year taking Chemistry and Biology and whatever because I had forgotten a few things from high school and felt like I couldn't keep up.

I fought through it, took up some tutoring courses, talked to a few people about my problems, and worked my ass off harder than I ever thought I could.

Now I'm in third year finishing up first semester and I'm glad that I stuck with it. Yeah, I'm not going to be doing what I originally thought I was going to do, but you find back up plans along the way. Things fall into place for people a lot of the time.

I'll play it out until you finish the year, you still have another whole semester to look forward to. First year is a huge transition and it's really hard to get the swing of things. My grades were terrible first year, by fourth year I made the Dean's List. If after first year you learn it's not for you, you can go to college or switch into another program. Also, I'd suggest you do one of these, I do this with people who are trying to make major decisions:

Originally Posted by AngryBean

it's just university is not what I thought it would be

I feel your pain man.

I'm a girl

Originally Posted by laura1265

I'm a girl

Hey baby... got anything planned for next Saturday?

Originally Posted by AngryBean

Hey baby... got anything planned for next Saturday?

Probably not since she's planning to drop out of university.

I'm going to disagree with a lot of people here.

I don't know what the personal issues you're facing are, but if they're really that serious and you know they'll resolve themselves eventually... it might be best to take some time off. It's really hard to be dealing with school and stuff like that, especially in your first year.

One of my previous housemates a couple years back got really depressed and started giving up on everything. Even after getting help, the time it took for him to 'get going again' or whatever spanned several semesters - semesters of courses he failed and needed to take again. That's a lot of wasted money he has to pay off now.

Another route you could go on is taking a semester (or two) at college instead. The pace of the work isn't quite as fast as university, and will give you a lot longer for that transition away from high school to sink in. I know a couple of people who did just that - dropped out of university in first year, did a year at a college, and came back to university much more successful than last time.

There is no rush to complete your degree.

Originally Posted by Ownaginatios

I'm going to disagree with a lot of people here.

I don't know what the personal issues you're facing are, but if they're really that serious and you know they'll resolve themselves eventually... it might be best to take some time off. It's really hard to be dealing with school and stuff like that, especially in your first year.

One of my previous housemates a couple years back got really depressed and started giving up on everything. Even after getting help, the time it took for him to 'get going again' or whatever spanned several semesters - semesters of courses he failed and needed to take again. That's a lot of wasted money he has to pay off now.

Another route you could go on is taking a semester (or two) at college instead. The pace of the work isn't quite as fast as university, and will give you a lot longer for that transition away from high school to sink in. I know a couple of people who did just that - dropped out of university in first year, did a year at a college, and came back to university much more successful than last time.

There is no rush to complete your degree.

Alternatively, you could take a reduced courseload. I'm thinking that might have been particularly useful for your friend that was depressed, but it of course depends on the person and might not apply to the OP's position at all. We're really lucky that Mac charged per unit during the fall/winter term; at some other schools you are charged a flat rate regardless of the number of courses you take. Being charged per unit makes it financially feasible to take a reduced courseload and be a part-time student. This way, a seriously depressed person isn't sitting at home alone by themselves, they're being productive, interacting with other people, and in a way that is much more manageable and less overwhelming. For some people, taking time off would be the best course of action in this situation, but for many others, it could make it worse.
So yeah...reduced courseload is another alternative to dropping out.
At least explore all possible alternatives before dropping out. Most of it depends on your specific situation. I understand not wanting to go into detail about that online to complete strangers, but that really is the biggest determining factor for what is the best course of action. We can offer you suggestions and alternatives, but only you can judge if they're feasible or not.

If you want to drop out...
I would say that dropping out is not a bad idea and you can always come back to school whenever you want.

If you are having problems, you should deal with that first because studying with that in your heart is a big burden and make studying torture. There's a lot to deal with in university so take your time to sort yourself out.

I have a few buddies that did not enter university and took a fifth year in high school to think about what they truly want. People in university tend to switch out of their programs at their 3rd or 4th year and enter another from level 1. So if you don't feel ready, then maybe you are not.


If you decide to not drop out
No one really has a plan. I asked countless students and many of them did not know what they want to do. So if you decide to stay in school, try what you like first and keep going from there. Go and volunteer, talk to your profs, and talk to people you meet while volunteering. You will come to learn what you want. I am still in the process and it's not easy. So do not fret cuz everyone is on the same boat.

I stuck to Life Sciences in my current second year because I wanted to keep it broad and general.

I hope that you feel better and that everything works out for you.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by Alexmahone

Probably not since she's planning to drop out of university.

because people who drop out of university dont have any form of a social life..