Post here if you are a non-traditional student

What is your story?
What are your goals?

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non-traditional?

truth and nothing more

Switched majors in my 4th year, will be in undergrad for a total of 6 years

Goal is to graduate

Didn't do well. Now a NEET.
Wait, that's traditional for Veeky Forums.

Be warned, people. Study well.

This is my 10th year in. Gonna need 11 in total to graduate. Took me a while to grow up and deal with my issues.

Feelsbadman. Everyone looks down on me. No friends anymore since they graduated long ago. Life goes on.

What happened man?

>tfw taking a semester off to work and deal with personal shit.
I'm on my way to that degree lads, it's just gonna take a while.

>bad childhood
>still got straight a's in HS and went to top uni
>fucked up first 2 years, was drug addict
>took 2 years off, got clean, worked
>came back, straight A's 3 publications 3 conference abstracts and in my last semester
>PI is hiring me to work for him for another year as I apply to grad schools

Not sure if I'm really considered non trad, but I feel like an old man at my school.

I feel like anyone that doesn't just do college for the straight 4-6 years or whatever is considered non traditional.

>Went to decent enough University
>halfway through first year mother gets admitted to psych
>fuck up schooling cause sad
>go to community college and move out of house
>stop going to school and work for a year
>join the Air Force and go back to first University
>3 semesters in and strong

Not gonna lie, I'm liking the old man feel

Depression, anxiety, being bullied, parents that dont care, led into alcohol and class C drugs, pouring all my time and energy into escapism.

Then on day you wake up, you are in your mid-to-late 20s, you dont have any friends or positive social connections or interactions, no job, no money, no experience with relationships with the opposite sex. In some dead end Uni wondering why they still didnt kick you out and "studying" something you dont care about.

You try to get your shit together but you forgot how to study, your brain doesnt want to remember anything, you cant concentrate. You try to socialise with other students, make new friends but they look at you like a loser and a failure (granted, thats what you are) you cant seem to make any connections. You are poor. Etc.

One step at the time, I guess. As long as I am moving forward and trying.

Anyway, the biggest advice I can give is to be brave enough to move forward if/when you fail or to change.

PS: There should be a mntoring program in highschool and Uni for every student.

>nice blog post

mentoring*

Had to work to support me and my mother for 6 years after school. Joined the Scottish SWAP program, got undergrad degree in chem, went on to PhD. Got my PhD at the age of 36. Working at a pharmaceutical company doing mentally stimulating work. All in all could have been better, but I did the best I could

Did a year in community college, struggled with depression, got bad grades. Got kicked out of my parents' house. Moved to a nearby town. Tried to bike (couldn't afford a car) to the same school, didn't attend regularly, dropped out. Went a year and change looking for a job and never getting one. Finally worked at Walgreens for a year. Got sick of it. Got married. Convinced my dad to let us move back while I finished a degree. Did a semester at that community college, retaking the classes I'd failed. Applied to a good-tier state university, got in. I'm a couple of years in now. I'll be finishing my double major in math and CS next spring. I'll be 27.

Goals: own a roof, some land, sleep between the two. Ideally, pay for it by developing legitimate expertise in information security.

I went to a university for 2 years and on my 2nd year every one of my close friends joined fraternities, and were suddenly too cool for me. I couldn't make new friends because it seemed like everyone had already found a "group" so I was always a secondary friend. Because of this, I spent my free time getting blackout drunk on my couch or fucked up on any drug I could get my hands on. I essentially lived in complete isolation. Soon I had no money or meal plan, so I had to hustle drugs to make enough money to even eat. I fell into addiction and summarily ruined my life. My anxiety got to the point where I couldn't function. After that year I moved back in with my parents, got sober, and now I'm taking classes at CC in a vain attempt to steer my life back onto track.

sorry for for the blog post

dropped out the first time due to horrible listless feelings and restlessness, know now the latter is an indicator of depression. moved around the country, did some cool shit, struggled with addiction and poverty, met my long term gf so it worth it. it is pretty hard to live with

We're all gonna make it bro.

you sound like a bitch. who gives a fuck if you had no "real" friends? i haven't had any for over a decade.

Was worthless NEET for 4 years before I got back. I have ADHD, and it fucking shows, because on meds I actually was able to get my shit toghether and now I'm doing a phd. I might be very idiosyncratic, but I work very hard as well.

Aderall, ritalin ?

>All these fucking crybabies in this thread

Jesus Christ.

In most cases the only thing responsible for your failures is you and nobody else but you. You can't blame dropping out of college for "depression" or "social awkwardness" - no, those are trivial reasons to don't be disciplined enough to put your studies at the uppermost priority in your life and is nothing more than excuses for incompetence. Try getting my compassion when your reason for failure is either "extreme poverty" or "brain damage".

There is nothing in this life that cannot be achieved by following two factors:

1) The smile of Fortuna, typically meaning being rich enough to attend a university;

2) Self-discipline, paired with intelligence and emotional stability.

Dropping out usually means the lack of a second factor, which is unforgivable.

ITT brainlets

I learn for life. I often choose to devote time to an interesting, useful subject. Then I look back after a year or so to see all I've accomplished, when most people learn nothing from the time they were five.
I want to feed everyone healthy vegetables so they can be intelligent rather than stupid (eg, starving children tend to have mental damage). It's either this or I suffer them till I die.

Just finished The Fountainhead, huh? Don't worry; you'll eventually grow out of this phase.

Not him and only ADD but Adderall is the only one that worked reasonably well for me.

>neet for 3 years
>bartender for 4 years
>got sick of it
>in ee now

Babby tier: I recommend venturing forth into Aquaponic optimization. Even the most inefficient of current systems could still feed the world cheaply and create an economy of self.

God tier: Lab grown meat (I would recommend attempting to recreate poultry/fish over beef). sciencealert.com/lab-grown-burger-patty-cost-drops-from-325-000-to-12

very nicely said brother! will print this out and hand it out to the next homeless panhandlers I see. That should help them get their asses into gear!

t.whiteboi living in a suburb

>NEET it up for five years
>decide to go back to school at 24 at a CC
>Spend 3.5 years at a CC trying to transfer and become an engineer
>start off in Elementary Algebra
>do al lthe math and GE and transfer to Cal poly pomona
>fail the first semester in Physics I and intro to EE
>change majors to Business Finance
>know I won't get a job in business since it's saturated and every mainstream media seems to have a hardon in STEM
>I'll be 29 in July

Man, it sucks being a brainlet failure.

>false consciousness

25, taking 24 credits, all stem

does non-traditional just mean non-4 year bachelors?

i did a bachelor's in five semesters. ask me anything

>Graduated
>job at soobway (subway for the fags )
>toodepressedforcollage.jpg
>KMS

>consciousness of uncontrollable mind

21 is the extended max credit limit at pretty much all ivy league and public universities, you're a fucking liar unless you your university is a fucking joke.

>he isn't concurrently enrolled at two or more institutions that mutually accept transfer credit

brainlet

nah, real shit though, i took 18 at uni and 6+3 online at a local community college one semester

Started in a top ten chemE undergrad program. Dropped out in my second semester from depression and too much weed. Went back the next semester but the same shit happened. Took a semester off, then started going to community college. Took calc 3 and barely passed. Dropped out again the next semester. Took another semester off. Now I'm taking public speaking and a chem class. I haven't smoked much pot and I'm getting better at not being a pussy. Probably going to go back to Chicago in the summer and get the credits I need to transfer into chemE at UIC or IIT.

Being a NEET for last 7 months, in few months going back to college feels good to do something again.
Meanwhile I've been programming and helping open source projects and staying healthy.

>spent 5 years on a 2 year course because I can't bring myself to finish it
>currently 21 and has finally found the thing I want to do with my life.
>its to be my country's FBI agent
>it requires for me to be a law graduate
>I now plan on going law to fullfill my dreams

Goodluck lads

>Never attend lectures or practice sessions because you don't like being around other people.
>Still score on the top of any course you take.
>Finish bachelor's degree in 2.5 years. (Could've done even faster but didn't see any reason to rush)

I'm sure that happened

I'm glad to hear that. Often the stories written on Veeky Forums can be hard to believe; at least for me.

>to be my country's FBI agent

Your country only gets 1 FBI agent? Fuck.

parents said they'd pay for school and wouldn't let me work so I could concentrate on school 100%.
they couldn't pay at some moment. by the time they could I spiraled into depression and self loathing from trying to help them get back on their feet (dad wasn't paying bills, people knocking on doors for credits to take stuff away, school bills weren't payed so I couldn't take exams etc). This went on for about 4 years.
I switched schools and majors after all of that and I'm doing fine now. I smoke a lot of weed (mostly alone) from money I earn tutoring. I'm hoping to get rid of that habit soon.
I'm in second year now. 6 total in undergrad.
there's still money problems but I'm not letting depression take me over and I work when I can to help out (school is #1 priority still).

>t. never been hungry or depressed and always had famly thanksgiving dinners were grammaw made turkey

Kek what a brainlet failure

Whod you have for physics?

Broncofag here

its gonna be alright user. one day at a time, i believe in you.

no, i meant my country's FBI equivalent

>Dropping out usually means the lack of a second factor, which is unforgivable.

So you are saying that is "unforgivable" that someone ends up lacking emotional stability because he had violent parents who beat him, demoralized him, hit each other in front of him, etc, etc.

You sound like an imbecile who has no idea what he is talking about. Not everyone has the luxury of growing in a nice house you know.

This isn't tumblr faggot.

>tfw mentally ill with cognitive impairment that keeps getting worse each year
>mfw still on the dean's list
It's only a matter of time.

Way Back When
>Started middle school trying hard
>Get accused on cheating on assignments I actually did myself
>Hard work doesn't pay off
>Observe rift between parents, don't get along with siblings
>Nobody ends up Happily Ever After
>Dad always complains about "minorities" getting jobs he wanted because of Affirmative Action, he works a shit job and watches TV whenever home.
>Never see mom, who works 2-3 jobs.
>Have zero guidance, just get told "You have to work hard"
>Working hard is bullshit, none of you people are happy, you're all lying to yourselves
>Get through HS with a 2.9 GPA
>Parents split a week later, I'm stuck with dad, who by now I'm convinced is the dumbest fucker on the planet
>Go to CC. Kinda interested in some Math-stuff but immediately counselors are all like NO DONT DO THAT, TAKE ALL THE GENERAL REQS LIKE ART HISTORY
>Hate life
>Get bad grades
>Parents don't want to help me through school, now working full time while at school full time
>Everything is pointless
>End me
>Nobody ends me
>Eventually get Associates
>Start thinking Maybe Engineering Is Cool
>Maybe I'll take out loans and study really hard
>Late 2000s Recession Occurs
>Dad was forced to "retire" from his job early
>He comes to me in tears about how he's going to lose everything, has nobody to rely on
>What the fuck do I do?
>Put school aside, keep working shit-ass job to help him along
>He watches TV every single day for over a year
>I find him dead one morning; stroke

Years Pass
>Mom took me in
>Realize I had a loving family, if not the brightest
>I can't live life by their rules or their expectations, I need to figure that out myself
>I need to do something important, something I believe in
>Find Aubrey De Grey's Ted Talk
>This guy is fucking insane but holy shit, I'm excited. Fuck all the rules. Let's be fucking immortal.

I started up school again, slowly at first. Built up steam, looking to get BSc in Biochemistry Summa Cum Laude next year. Then, grad school.

Not be a career rat but really know what is going on

>t. Someone who's never held a real job or struggled financially

That was my time at my first college. I used that college's credits and the qualifying physics degree to get into Georgia Tech. Jesus fuck, is it a different world. A good university is an actual challenge.

It tends to mean people who didn't go to uni straight out of high school or dropped out initially, then returned.

My story:
>skated through HS with Bs, never studied, knew I was going to CC first as family couldn't afford real uni (all the more reason to not apply myself)
>crush first two semesters
>start dating and end up in an abusive relationship and surrounded by people that told me to quit school and it was useless
>realize I can't pass precalculus
>everyone around me chokes out my self esteem. Get depressed. Girl cheats on me and I keep crawling back until the third time she cheats on me
>drop out
>tried to pursue theater, do okay, but no means to "make it" as I can't support myself in the cities that matter
>stop theater too
>depressed, sleep until 5pm, game all night.

Fuck this is too long for green text.

I wasted away gaming until my mother tearfully asked me to please get a job and I did. Forever21. I worked as a cashier for almost a year until my sister got into a school and asked me to be her roommate off campus. I was offered a job in a grocery store so I moved out and did that. Started a little bartending on the side. I made okay money for my age (22 at the time.)

Then I started dating this woman, and I realized several things at once.

1) I hated my jobs
2) I was smarter than a grocery store clerk and a bartender
3) what if I wanted a wife some day? who could love a lazy drop out like me?

I went back to school with intention of going to nursing school, passed precalculus with an A (I had failed it 3 times before). Decided to possibly pursue medical school. Told this to no one and applied to a good uni after a year of straight As in community colleges. Got in. Applied as a math major. About to finish my lower divisions for math and take upper divs next academic year.

The girl and I broke up, but fuck it. I'm deciding on either math graduate school or medical school. I'm holding off on choosing until I finish real analysis and Algebra

>it's another "i blame my failures on adhd and depression" episode

Sounds like you're on a good path now, user. Best of luck to you

>Low Iq
>Trying to learn math to enter Uni
>Low Iq
>Fail Life
>Look for a bridge
>Do a backflip

Sheeit, I thought I had it bad being in the start of my 6th year of undergrad and most likely not completing it until the end of next year or midway through the year after. But damn, I truly feel sorry for you user.

I blame my failures on too much energy and no way to exert myself so i can focus on homework. Also blame terrible freaking books that are impossible to stare at and study.

My goals got fucked up by terrorists now I just wanna graduate college. trying to save what I have left of a future career while im still young. tomorrow isn't promised to no man.

Joined military at 17. Got out early at age 20 for reasons that are difficult to talk about. Wanted to be a chef, cooked professionally for 3 years while taking classes at CC intermittently. Decided to study engineering, finishing an Engineering Technology AAS now while taking pre-reqs for an EE. Started at college algebra, worked my way to linear algebra, through gen chem and physics. I'm gonna make it, I don't care if it takes me 'til I'm 30. Overall I feel pretty positive about the experience and I feel proud to have came even this far.

...

>I don't care if it takes me 'til I'm 30
as someone who's on his mid 30s and on 2nd year

don't use age as an excuse, sometime life just happens and you deal with all that shit first, if anything, it makes you tougher

>started psychology at 17
>1.5 year later switched to Industrial Engineering

Now I'm learning to program to eventually go to Silicon Valley and/or develop my on app.

How long have you been taking your meds? I just got diagnosed recently, and I am taking Ritalin. I feel completely different now, it's amazing how I can focus and SIT STILL FOR HOURS. Get diagnosed changed my life a bit.

trying to motivate myself to study for the mcat so I can get my ass into medical school.

I was sort of in the same position, minus the fallout from heavy drug use. I was deeply depressed and all of my friends were doing "bigger and better things" with people who didn't associate with me.

What did I do? I got into painting. I asked one of the art professors if I could use his classroom after hours using some art supplies I bought. People would come in to finish their projects late at night, and I'd talk to them. There's really nothing more soothing than talking to others who share the same hobby or desire as you, because I knew right away that everyone coming in shared something in common with me.

It was also awesome because I got to connect with a cool crowd without having to pursue a degree in Art. The professor even told me after two weeks that the tools I was using was shit, and just let me use the school's resources instead.

I'm telling you. Find a passion or hobby that you know others enjoy, and the friends will most often times come to you.

It's gonna be alright user, we are all gonna make it.

>mom forces me to enroll in a major I hate
>I initially wanted to retake the exams
>whatever
>move away
>study and sorta socialize for 2+ years
>good grades
>by the end of the third year I was completely burned out because of social isolation
>wanted to drop out
>mom wouldn't let me
>spend another 2 years doing nothing

>after 2 years of doing nothing decide to drop out
>lose weight, excercise, work on a startup I've been planning for a while, look for a job to materialize it
>fail mostly due to sabotage from my mom again
>give up
>get sick

Now I'm still enrolled.
6 years in for a 5 year degree, and I won't graduate for another year or so, even if I manage to get my shit toghether and study.

>>I find him dead one morning; stroke
What a story, I'm proud of you for having the courage and stamina to change.

How bad is it to take a break guys. I feel like I've been in school for ages and I'm genuinely feeling burnt out. I got two more years until my Masters but I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel like I'm stagnating. I transferred to the university from cc because poor fag but in all honesty it's been hard going from a place where I was involved in some interesting research to a place that I'm treated like dirt because I'm in undergrad.

Long story short what's your guys views on taking breaks?

>all of my failures to do basic things like go to school are my mom's fault

if you can't take responsibility for your own shit you'll never succeed -- and all of those failures will be your own fault, you fucking idiot

t. middle class faggot with a normal family or someone with a victim mentality
go fuck yourself either way.

>bad childhood
>got fat
>bad grades
>horrible school way
>lowest school form in my country (Germany, "Hauptschule")
>make a bad abiture on a bad school after failed 2 times
>go to a horrible college
>failed first semester, I learned but had depressions and cried every day.

I dropped out of high school when I was 16. Walked out during an Algebra 2 class. Standard story- lot of problems at home causing some serious depression, combined with my shitty American public high school made me say fuck it.

Got a job bussing tables at a shitty chain restaurant when I was 18. Bussing got old after a year. Management told me I could be a cook or a server. I hate interacting with customers, so I went cook.

Ten years later, I find myself helping a friend open a high-end restaurant in Manhattan. Working alongside some high-profile chefs for promotional/investment purposes. Did a few fundraiser cooking competitions with some TV personalities. Pretty much went as far as that career could take me. Figure that's a good note to end it on; I'm pushing 30 at this point, which is old for that industry, for someone who doesn't want to be an E.C. or restaurant owner. Not to mention, living on a cook's wage is fucking hard. I had no retirement or savings, and I was sick of spending my whole life never being able to afford to do anything (like, say, a trip to a doctor when I was sick or injured).

Got lucky. Met a woman, fell in love. She offered to support me while I go back to school. So I moved away from New York and started going to a community college. Will complete my second year and transfer to a University this fall.

I initially picked E.E. based on employment statistics. I figure if I'm going to be in my mid 30's when I enter the job market, I'll need every advantage I can get. Also, it sounded challenging- a good way to redeem the whole "wasted potential" thing. And of course, the salary means that I should still be retirement-ready when I hit 60, despite being short a decade on savings.

Now that I'm halfway through my bachelor's program, I'm finding additional motivation in that I fucking love math and science.

Failed out at 18

Came back at 28

Only doing it to spite those who said I couldn't.

got through BSc chemistry without really trying, lots of stress nights before handins, 48 hours to write 8000 word thesis, some of the worst moments in my life, got a 2.2, couldnt be bothered to apply for jobs, worked a year in temporary work, really liked the job (others would call it shit), spent most of the last 3 months managing people/departments even though only £6.70 p hour, it was really fun, felt like i missed chemistry, got into masters course and enjoying the actual chemistry, tutor keeping me on track, hoping everyone will just find a job for me and utilise me, whilst letting me have fun, i have a ridiculous amount of hobbies, last week i made a 3d printed robot arm, life is a game, i cant really be bothered to become like everyone else and be boring and dead inside for the meager reward of survival, i love life

tfw people call you childish and you wont survive in life, and you know your more emotionally stable than they are to enjoy what they probably couldnt

>graduate with Communications Degree
>telemarketing job first year
>no job the next
Going back monday for Software Engineering

It can be find if you find a way to make it fine my guy