Overwhelmed

I just finished my fourth semester of college and received my final grades last week and it was not good. I failed two classes on top of the one I had to drop since I was failing. So I only passed two classes this semester. So I had to register to take all three of them this summer. I'm so stressed out and worried because I need to pass these classes to finish my AA degree in August so I can transfer to the university in the fall and have to have at least a 3.0 GPA to keep my scholarship. So I finally made a decision this weekend to quit my job. I left a note for my boss with my two week notice and I have to work tomorrow so I'm really nervous about what she's going to say. But I know that I need to quit my job so I can put 100% of my focus on school because that is the most important thing to me right now. I know a lot of people work and also attend college, but I've been so overwhelmed trying to balance everything, that I know I really can't do it anymore and I have to do what I feel is best for me so I can get my grades back up and keep my scholarship.

I've never had to work and take classes at the same time so I'm not entirely sure what to say...
I know how crappy it feels to fail multiple classes; the first round cost me all my scholarships and second round (a couple years after) got me sent to therapy.

Summer classes in particular can be very difficult to manage with work, especially if it is a 6-8 week session, and especially with so many classes. It is very stressful to manage both and can be difficult to maintain grades. It is good if school is your priority to put this first and end work if you can afford to do it. For me it was worth it, as I too needed the grades to get into the program I wanted and to keep scholarships as well. My grades improved when I stopped because I had more time to devote to my studies, I could focus better, and I was not so tired. You may find once things settle down, you can pick work up again to integrate back in if you want/need to.

It may be an awkward conversation with your boss but giving 2 weeks notice is helpful to them as you are not leaving them immediately shorthanded. This will help to stay on better terms to possibly to go back in the future. Good thinking.

Good luck with your classes!

It's very tough to try to balance everything. I know, because my senior year in High School I was working AND going to college as well. Our High School had a college program where we could take a couple of college classes at our Community College. I succeeded, but got only C's due to how overwhelming it was, and I was never a C person.

I think you'll do just fine the second time around, now you know what to expect. Not sure about quitting your job, but if you're financially stable then it wouldn't be a bad idea. I am not so I could never quit my job even when college starts back up in September.

Good luck!

Thanks everyone, financially things will be tight, but I have a really great family who is willing to help me financially until I get married next year, so I'm really appreciative of that and I'll just have to cut back on a lot of my spending and I think I'll be okay. At least I won't have the stress that comes with having the job and can focus entirely on school. I'm also glad I gave my boss two weeks notice because I know it's going to be really tough on her to hire a new person, and at least now she knows what I'm doing instead of me just quitting right away.

I think you made a great move to quit and just focus on your studies, Dani. School is stressful. Some people can do both and even throw in extra classes or whatever, while some can take a couple classes per semester where it is permitted. But everyone is different. Making comparisons wouldn't help anyway. Go at your pace; do what you can manage so you won't be overwhelmed all the time. Sounds like you're doing that already, which is good. You're on your time, so you should be in control of how much of that time gets dedicated to each thing in your life. So well done

Ya i agree, your doing the right thing, i had 2 part time jobs and took 18 credits one semester and ya im never doing that again!! so i hear ya, quitting the job is a good idea if you dnt it to pay for school. lucky, i didnt need the jobs either, just wanted some extra money, but i never had time to spend any of it, i was too busy working or studying lol.

good luck with every thing, hope all works out

21

Well I ended up not quitting. My boss talked to me and begged me to stay, and we agreed that I would only work every other weekend and that's it. So I guess I'll see how it goes and hopefully that will give me a lot more time to focus on my studies this summer.

I just wanted to update this thread because I had posted that I was not quitting, but I did quit my job in June. It was honestly the best thing I could have done, because I have been doing so well in my classes this summer and will be graduating on Friday.