The Student Room Group

Is dropping out of uni a good idea?

Basically, extreme anxiety and depression has led to me missing 3 weeks of lectures and classes. I only leave my room to go to Tescos and when my dad picks me up every weekend to take me home. I've went to 2 meetings and they said to see student support but I'm too anxious to even do that. I've missed 7 weeks of work and missed 2 tests. I'm wondering if I'm really cut out for this or if I should just give up? What job will I do if I leave uni?
Have you been seeking medical help? Is your university aware of your health problems?
Reply 2
Original post by Chief Wiggum
Have you been seeking medical help? Is your university aware of your health problems?


Yeah, I'm on antidepressants, the university also knows.
Original post by xxVENUSx
Yeah, I'm on antidepressants, the university also knows.


Might you be able to do something like take a year out to try to get back on track, then start again next year?

I don't personally think dropping out completely would be a good idea, a degree is helpful for opening doors in life.
Original post by xxVENUSx
Basically, extreme anxiety and depression has led to me missing 3 weeks of lectures and classes. I only leave my room to go to Tescos and when my dad picks me up every weekend to take me home. I've went to 2 meetings and they said to see student support but I'm too anxious to even do that. I've missed 7 weeks of work and missed 2 tests. I'm wondering if I'm really cut out for this or if I should just give up? What job will I do if I leave uni?


If you cant meet with student support then e-mail and speak to them n the phone. Three weeks can be recovered, but going home every week sends yourself the wrong messages. You nee dot weigh it up whether its Uni in general or its this one or the course you dont like.

Were you going ok and then what stopped?

If you leave, then you can try uni again in the future.

As to what job, then maybe an apprenticeship?


You need to talk to someone and figure ouy whats gone wrong and whether its fixable.
Reply 5
Original post by 999tigger
If you cant meet with student support then e-mail and speak to them n the phone. Three weeks can be recovered, but going home every week sends yourself the wrong messages. You nee dot weigh it up whether its Uni in general or its this one or the course you dont like.

Were you going ok and then what stopped?

If you leave, then you can try uni again in the future.

As to what job, then maybe an apprenticeship?


You need to talk to someone and figure ouy whats gone wrong and whether its fixable.

I've been missing classes since they started, I'm too scared to leave my room and even though I have access to the work, I have no drive or motivation to do the work.
Reply 6
If I can't motivate myself to get out of bed, how am I going to motivate myself to go to work everyday when I'm scared of going outside?
Original post by xxVENUSx
I've been missing classes since they started, I'm too scared to leave my room and even though I have access to the work, I have no drive or motivation to do the work.


But you can go home?

Can you see someone at home?

Can you find a course closer to home where you can commute?

All you are describing is that you are staying in a room which is incidentally at a university, but you arent participating or able to take any action to resolve the situation.

Eventually they will just withdraw you.
Its not the end of the world. Theres always the chance you can give it another try in future, when you are able to handle your anxiety better.

https://www.nopanic.org.uk/feature/helpline/
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by xxVENUSx
I've missed 7 weeks of work and missed 2 tests. I'm wondering if I'm really cut out for this or if I should just give up? What job will I do if I leave uni?


It may be possible at your university to apply for extenuating circumstances. If you can provide the university with proof of your medical issues e.g. doctor's note. It can be used to post-pone your exams/allow you to re-take without the usual 40% cap.

If you don't mind me asking, what year and what course are you currently in? :smile:

Student finance is nice in that they give students a 'grace year', basically the length of your course (usually 3 years) + 1 year = 4 years of funding. If you're a fresher, there's no need to worry about funding if you were to re-take the entire year in September 2018 :h:

No need to get yourself worked up! It's still early days and I'm sure we can help you figure something out.
You need to assess your situation here carefully and ask yourself:

- Why do you lack the motivation? Since you say that you have been missing classes from the beginning, what has been the cause of this anxiety? You could really benefit from seeking advice from a counsellor at university like the above poster has mentioned through email or calling.

- Are you passionate about the course/its subject or were you ever? If your anxiety decreased do you believe you would still feel interest or motivation to continue with the course? If it's the course or university that is having an adverse effect on you i.e. you found the course too difficult or you don't enjoy your accommodation etc then I would suggest looking into changing courses or university. It might be too late to do for this year but you could always return next year.

In my honest opinion, you do not seem to be in the right frame of mind currently to undertake this course especially if the anxiety was there from the beginning and it's been a lot of missed classes and work. Whilst you may still be able to pick the work up, I believe you should properly evaluate your circumstances, speak to someone about it and think about what you could do as an alternative to the course. A gap year would be beneficial so you could seek help and work on the medical issues but also to assess whether university life is for you, like above poster mentioned. If you did wish to return to education, I think you would fare a lot better after some time out and returning with a positive mindset about your abilities and in an improved situation. Just please do not panic. You have a lot of options and there is always some way to make this better.

I myself dropped out of university because I was not motivated due to the fact that the course didn't interest me and I felt so homesick. I simply was not mentally prepared for university life and did not want to pursue a career in my chosen field at all. I used to cry every time my dad would drive me back to university during weekend visits back home. It wasn't an easy decision to drop out. I had to consider and plan my next steps: what will I do for the remaining year in terms of finance - how much do I owe student finance for my accommodation and the course so far; what field do I want to go into and what interests me, and considering these career options, will I return to university to undertake a degree or will it be an apprenticeship or will I try to get a job? It was two years until I returned to university and was in a better mind frame. I benefited so much from this time out.

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