Lacking Motivation...

[porsche4life]

Alright.... As I have mentioned before.... I FLOATED through HS.... Studied 5minutes before tests and made A's... I was always that kid in HS that everyone else hated.

Well... Paybacks a *****... I can't seem to get in the rhythm now in college at the end of my freshman year. I know I NEED to buckle down before finals and definitely in my next year if I stand a hope in hell of getting into the pharmD program here.

Anybody else have this problem in college? Got any suggestions on getting in the right frame of mind? And yes it is the chemistry classes that are kicking my butt... I pull my HS tricks in everything else and still make As and Bs.....

[911Rob]

Hey Sid, been there done that;

Develop a study habit that fits you. You learn easily, but you still need the info to pass through the brain at least once and comprehend it. I always paid attention during lectors; front and center. You're there for the lecture, might as well use the time and pay attention.

Then I'd find a study place (my den) and get myself charged up with some coffee and rest and hit the books seriously for 2 hours before the major exams. Making sure I went through the materials at least one thouroughly. Aced it all, hands down.

Don't sweat it though, make sure you have fun with it. Staying on top of it is half the battle.

Good luck grasshopper

[porsche4life]

I think part of my problem is I still have second thoughts about whether or not Pharmacy is for me. Its getting better now that I am working behind a Pharmacy counter daily. I'm just afraid that I'm wasting 2yrs of pre-reqs if I don't go through with it. I've got a little 4 day trip coming up. Lots of time alone in the car(hopefully the 944) to think. I'm hoping I will come back from that feeling more confident about the whole thing....

[M.D. Holloway]

Like I tell our kids very often - work hard always. Get into the habit even it is easy stuff. That way when a challenge comes around you have the mindset and ability to handle it.

Kinda late for that message now to you - best to start buckling down, grab a cup of coffee and bust through. That means devouring your books and rewriting your notes, participating in all the study groups and visiting your instructors. Do this everyday - and I mean every day for 2 months.

This will cure you.

[MotoSook]

I breezed through HS while in sports and having a respectable social life. Got A's and a few B's. My wife, who was our class Salutatorian hates me for it, hated me for how easy it was for me. I graduated a few places behind her and was voted "most likely to succeed."

Then came freshmen year at college. BAM! Reality struck. I couldn't pull the same crap at the big U, and I hadn't learned how to study. Add that to my newfound freedom and it was a bad mix. I got a C average my first semester and nearly failed Chemistry, but managed to get a C after cramming for the final...

It took a while before I learned how to study. It is not something you can flip a switch on to make yourself do it. One thing that helped...when I was feeling really down about it...knowing that some of the most successful people in the world went through the same "reality check and awakening." I happened to meet a friend's uncle when I was at the valley of my "fall." He must have known what I was going through and over a glass of SoCo he told me how he went from a go nowhere loser to a grunt in a hospital linen room to running the hospital.

You really have to find your inner fire at times like this. Be it your personal history, someone's well timed inspirational story or through struggling from near failure. I had a mix of all that, and today I can honestly say it made me a better person.

Don't worry about wasting prereq's. Even if you decide in 2 yrs Phram school isn't for you, it will not be the end of the world. I too questioned my choice of study. In the end I ended up getting two degrees, and I don't regret any of those years in college.

Towards the end I was taking 20 hrs a semester and struggled through them while working to keep the credit cards from maxing out so I could buy the weeks grocery.

The biggest thing that helped me in the end was finding friends in the same classes and building a study group. I was stubborn and too proud in the earlier years and didn't want to accept the fact that I couldn't do it alone. It hurt me.

So don't worry so much about your first couple of years' classes (or what they are). Think of it as an opportunity to build a GPA cushion by getting straight A's 'cuse you may get a C or D in a class or two down the road. Make friends who have better study habits than you. Form a study group forthe difficult classes and you will soon find it is pretty easy to get in all your study needs and still have fun.

I wish I could go back to school. I'd get straight A's and still party my arse off. It's a matter of prioritizing and focusing on what you are doing "now!" Whether that be studying or drinking more than your fill occasionally.

Good luck. The first few years of college will be the best times of your life....so long as you know how to partition your time.

[Dueller]

Meh...blow it off. The world needs valets. Think of the cool cars you can drive 60 feet.


Get yo' azz in gear, Grasshopper.


FWIW, all of us have experienced the same thing. And both of the steptwins are going thru the same thing adjusting to college after stellar HS grades. Ironically, stepson, who was the laziest just scrape by HS student, is now a junior and making the Dean's list. Who woulda thunk it

[m21sniper]

Hookers and blow. That will solve your problems.

[YTNUKLR]

Hey Sid,
been there.
I wasn't having fun my first year of college and couldn't see myself drain every last drop of blood and sleep over an order of magnitude error on a lab report. I knew I could do it, but I didn't want to at the time. I wanted to be 18-19, young and restless and make some mistakes. But, that was me ; I have no regrets, just 'what-if's?'. I don't worry about that too much.

You aren't "wasting" your pre-req classes. From what I know, anyone that did science at all for any real length of time has an option or two when s/he graduates. When you graduate, if you aren't feeling so hot about pharmacy, or you can't get in, there is probably a reason; likely it's just that you weren't quite interested in it enough. [edited ; I just read you already have a job at a pharmacy ]

If you have a hunch that you like chemistry or computers or whatever, follow it. If it stops being fun or interesting, seriously consider changing course, or, if you're too far along to change it, grin and bear it (you already came this far). I remember it was my third semester in a horrible Thermodynamics class that I was going to get a C (or worse, maybe) in, that I dropped it and changed over to something I really was interested in. I augmented my studies with more humanities, and found other things I liked and was good at besides math/science. In addition to science, machines and such, I liked writing, psychology, history and philosophy, too.

One could say I "wasted" time taking math and physics because I didn't get a math/engineering/physics degree. I don't feel like that. I often find myself thinking of forces, angles, principles of energy, entropy, fields, vectors, etc., and although I generally don't just "do math" for fun, the ideas are eternally useful. I am so glad I did all that stuff. Even though I no longer wish to go to medical school or pharmacy.

I'm only 22, but here I am going to be a hard a$$:
College is the real deal. You aren't motivated because you aren't spending enough time. Or you really, truly aren't interested in the subject or where it may lead you. Don't "Try", Do it. Go at this stuff like a raging bull for a semester or two, and see how you feel then. Go over the edge. Test yourself against yourself. Yes, on random Tuesdays your friends will call and ask if you want to go to a hockey/bowling/billiards/whatever game, get drunk or party or screw. Tell them you're busy. In high school, yeah, it's possible to do that and still get all A's. This is a new ball game. Sometimes this game is going to suck balls and you are going to have to make sacrifices. You're going to have to be in the library some nights trying to pull off a B while your friends are out drinking and carousing and yelling like retards. SERIOUSLY, give this pharmacy thing a chance, break yourself, but if your course of study is not working in 6 months' time, you need to change it. You should change it. I know several people in Berkeley Engineering that should not be there because it is too hard for them or it's not right for them. Smart and talented people grinding their lives away basically in tears because it's 5 am and they have 3 indepth homeworks and a 20hour lab report due in 3 hours. I have a close acquaintance that seems permanently scarred by trying to do too much in college. You don't want to be these guys...they literally are so burned up sometime they seem like they've been hitting heavy drugs (and I know they don't touch any of it, or even have a beer on Saturdays).

In short, my advice is; find your breaking point RIGHT NOW, you will find it fast if you do it right. You will feel in over your head. Then your dungeon master will ask you if you want mercy or more punishment. You better get it right.

Looking back, it all went so fast. I have fond memories of most classes (all but 3 or 4). But the ones that I remember most and loved most are the ones that pushed me to my breaking point. I am glad my entire experience of college wasn't about being stressed out to the point of self-destruction, however. I would have missed all the rest; some unforgettable dance parties, some incredible friends and nights out, some random music jam sessions and bike rides; all of what life has to offer. I had the chance to say, I will take the easy road and just get by and pick up my degree on the way out. But then, I would always be wondering, "What if I really tried?," "What are my actual capabilities?," "Who am I?," "What am I good at and what am I not good at?" Make sure you are satisfied with your own work; if you aren't you will always wonder and you might regret what you didn't do. The pain is temporary; your education, your self-knowledge and your enlightenment are forever.

Go clear your head. Sign up for some random astronomy or bio or poetry class. Come back to the ring swinging like a MFer. Do your work, read your books--you or your parents are paying for them. And if you don't like the boxing ring, switch it up. You didn't lose, you aren't a loser. This is your life. Of course you want to impress your folks and your friends with your smarts and your accomplishments. But, if you have to fold once in a while, do it and don't look back. You don't want to spend your life playing games you don't find fulfilling. You make YOUR choices, and when everyone else is dead and gone, the only one that ever mattered was YOURS.

I hope this helps you even a little.

I'm pullin' for you, whether or not you become a pharmacist, Nobel Laureate, the POTUS, a civil engineer, a builder of furniture or a digger of ditches. You will find what you want.

[s_morrison57]

Sid , I think it boils down to the job you will have when you finally finish, if you like it now thats a good start, will you like it in 10 or 15 years?
My G uncle wanted to be a small town pharmisist and ended up being the Dean of P Science at UBC, he is with out a doubt the greatest pharmisist of modern times. The Canadian War Archives made a short vid on his life story, from planning D Day , pic of him and Churchill, Eisenhower some cool stuff then his life ,education and what he did till he retired, Pres. of the American P Assc. for 25 years stuff like that. Everytime I watch that film I realize how badly I've wasted my life.
How to re-modivate your self is a tough one and something that you will probably have to do on your own, your education is important as you know, you just have to want it more than anything else.

[Tishabet]

I had the exact same problem, breezed through everything and then got to college and realized that my peers had studying skills and discipline that I did not. Organic chem was probably the single biggest wake up.

[audiman08]

I struggled a little with motivation as an undergraduate until I found my niche. I would say that motivation is the offspring of interest. If you have little interest in Chemistry or science, I would reconsider Pharmacy. I initially worked toward a more practical degree, one that I had no interest in. When I switched to history (my real passion), I made straight As and now I'm doing very well in graduate school. Unless you really have a passion for pharmacy, I would reconsider going with a narrow degree program like pre-pharmacy. Good Luck!

[legion]

I was one step worse than you in high school. I got A's on tests without studying, but I refused to do homework because it wasn't teaching me anything. I could generally listen to a lesson and ace the test. Unfortunately, many teachers felt that they should grade based on effort and not information retention, so they made homework anywhere from 30% - 70% of your grade. I literally had multiple teachers say that if you turned in every homework assignment, you were guaranteed a C. Anyways, I generally aced every test in every class, but got anywhere from D's to A's depending on what weight was given to homework. (I did do homework for math classes, as it actually helped me learn.)

When I got to college, I found the lessons much more interesting and much faster paced. I was expected to digest in a week what I was given a semester to digest in high school. I actually did homework in every class and kept up with lessons, whether or not I had any assigned. (A lot of professors who actually assigned homework would have you turn it all in at the end of the class--the trick was not falling behind.) I was expected to read whole books and write papers on them between Monday and Wednesday.

I also had some major events take place in my life my freshmen year. Within a one-month period, I broke up with my high school girlfriend, got into a fist fight with my roommate (who was my high school best friend), had my roommate move out, and got into a huge fight with my parents. Suddenly I found myself away at college and alone. The thing I learned from all of this turmoil was that I had nothing to fall back on. If I flunked out of college, I was on my own and without an education. If I wanted to succeed in life, I needed to be successful in college.

Over the course of college, the fights with my parents intensified to the point that I pledged never to live with them again after the explosive summer between my freshmen and sophomore years. I got internships that kept me from home the remaining summers, and the motivation to never go crawling back to my parents sustained me through graduation.

[Tishabet]

Couldn't agree more with audiman08 re: motivation being the offspring of interest.

Like you, Sid, I entered college with an image of my career after college and signed up for courses to realize that goal rather than signing up for courses that actually interested me. I ended up switching majors to something that was more intrinsically interesting to me and never had motivation problems again.

I have quite a bit of respect for people with the self discipline to study/succeed at something that really doesn't speak to them because it is part of a greater goal, but in my case I'm just not wired that way. I consider this to be the college aspect of the career adage about finding something that you love to do so you'll never work another day in your life.

[gprsh924]

Been through it, there is no secret to getting motivated, you just have to man up and get your stuff done. Set a goal for yourself for a given class or exam or whatever and beat that goal.

Many here are saying you have to buckle down, don't go out so much don't do as much during the week. For me, going the opposite way actually helped me. I have found that the more fun stuff I have scheduled (trips, drinking, etc) the harder I work to get my stuff done in a timely fashion. Instead of watching tv and screwing around until midnight and then staying up all night to study for an exam, I'm much more likely now to start studying sooner, get home from class and work hard for a few hours, then go chill with friends all night, maybe even hit the bar for a little bit. Its worked for me. I basically look at a week or a month and say to myself, "I want to do all this fun stuff this week, but I have x amount of work to do, how am I going to manage my time" At this point I'm going out almost every night, but I'm still getting my work done.

[Seahawk]

I am not suggesting you take time away from college and work some difficult, physical labor, but it worked for me.

Since I was chasing a baseball dream, I took about a year and a half off between high school and college. As I have posted before, it was the absolute best thing that ever happened to me.

One, I was on my own and, two, I really saw what I didn't want to become. Lastly, I was much more mature and focused when I got to college. I used to listen to the freshmen ***** about getting up for 0800 classes and just smile. After working as a construction laborer, as a ground maintenance monkey at a golf course, a ton of other jobs, an 0800 class was an absolute luxury.

Again, I am not recommending time away, but perhaps your school has some programs that get you a semester volunteering/working in another country or working with Habitat, etc.

[David]

I procrastinate so bad that my first attempt at an engineering degree turned into a liberal arts degree.

The second try, paid out of my own pocket, was much more successful.

I found the only thing that worked for me was to study in the library. There's just too many distractions at home.

[smokintr6]

I'm not sure how helpful this will be, but I will share my experience. I sailed through high school just as you did, and went to Ohio Northern undecided. My parents encouraged me to study engineering, but I couldn't find the motivation. I didn't care about integrals or derivitaves, and I certainly didn't want to spend hours of my free time studying. I selected a major that was more hands on. Basically industrial technology with an engineering minor. At the time, the pitch was that you could still compete for lower level engineering jobs and work your way up the ladder.... that was 8 years ago before the economy was completely in the can. I finished out my studies and earned a 3.5/4.0 with a reasonable amount of effort. I now find myself in job that I dislike immensely, without the tools to compete in the market place.
As I have grown older, I have completed many hands on projects for myself and others. I'm now at the point where I would like to tap into my engineering background and design machines, but I can't get my foot in the door. I have been doing a lot of work with standalone EFI controls, and I would really like to do R&D for factory calibrations. If I had an "engineering degree" I think my future would look quite different. The thing is, it's hard to have regrets. When I was in school I was disinterested. I guess that's a character flaw, if I don't care about something I have a hard time giving it 100%. On the other hand if I feel like my work has value I am relentless about following through. I don't think I had what it took at the time. I know I do now, but I lack the funds. Nice catch 22.

Here is how I vue your options (based on my experiences):
1: Suck it up, do whatever it takes to force youreslf to become more interested in school. Make yourself realize that though your classwork may not be your favorite thing, ultimately it is an investment in yourself. The more effort you put in, the more you get out. Hope that when you finally find yourself, you are where you want to be.

2: You can punt (kind of like I did). Find something less difficult that you can engage yourself with, and be good at. Hopefully you don't end up in a place you don't want to be

3: Take some time off of school: internships, get a full time job etc etc. A little blast of the real world might help you see what you are actually working for. It might give you a reason to focus. A little something to realize why you need to work so hard.

Ultimatley I have learned that everyone eventually figures out exactly what they were meant to do in life, no matter how slim that realization may seem. The trick is figuring it out when there is still time to do something about it. I have also realized that school was supposed to be about learning. NOT simply getting a degree. I also learned that life is hard, a fact I wish my parents would have drilled into my head at every opportunity.

Good luck, hopefully you can figure out how to get yourself on track with a minimal amount of wasted motions.

[Superman]

I had a similar experience, in HS and in college. Then, several years later, I decided to return for a Masters degree. I was about 30. I had always been told I was exceptionally bright and capable, but I had never applied myself. I decided to apply myself, to see what I was capable of. I learned two things:

1) I am indeed bright and capable. Material is easy for me to learn and process and apply.
2) There are other people out there who are also bright and capable, and who work hard. If you're a guy who is bright and capable but does not work hard.......those people are going to KICK YOUR ASS.

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

Just some thoughts on what I did in college. My first degrees were earned while on active duty so I had a full time job and a wife at home (ex).

I recorded classes so I could listen to the professors while working. I befriended a person who had good study skills so I could leach habits off him. I listened to recorded classes EVERYWHERE I went and while doing almost anything!!! Even the maths can make sense when just listening to them.

It can be done!!! (In the peak I was completing 18sh a semester with A/B grades.)

[legion]

Oh yeah, and don't procrasterbate.