10 Signs You’re in Trouble at College

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This article is soul crushingly over the top and condemnatory. All that I gained from reading this is "If these apply, you're screwed." Hyperbole everywhere ("it's impossible to have the discipline and mental focus needed for success at college,") contradictory signs (you study all the time and you don't have time to study because you're wasting your time) and has no redemptive message or advice whatsoever besides something to the effect of "get professional help, you're screwed."
Yes, getting poor grades is troubling. I just want to know who doesn't feel overwhelmed at a competitive university their first year of college. These items are all anecdotal, unresearched, and largely unbased. Please provide more data, explanation, etc. to these pithy and condemnatory claims that are published by a reputable source.

Ryan of CA 2:24AM April 03, 2013

Wow, I hope the authors are not teachers. Horrible article, as a parent I hope my daughter does not read this because it is no help at all. As a professor I hope my students do not read this. I let my students know that college is just college and knowledge is not based off grades.

Miss Amparo of CA 3:42AM April 01, 2013

This may apply to a handful of people at the uttermost.
You can also feel the writer sides strongly with certaint aspects he "believes" in.

Warren of NE 4:49PM December 13, 2012

This article is unfair. You're not in trouble if you're earning a C in a class or if you're having trouble in general studies. Personally, I had almost all C's in my general studies in the W.P. Carey School of Business and you know why? Because their lower division business courses are designed to weed out students and fail freshman, and because the teachers are expected to have a large percentage of failing students. It is literally expected for a majority of students taking the two required accounting introduction courses to fail one of them and have to retake over the summer. You know what happened to me when I survived these extremely difficult lower division courses with barely a passing C in most of them? I earned almost all A's my Junior and Senior year because I was finally in courses specialized for my major, and I was in small classes with teachers who can individually work with a student instead of a 500 student lecture hall where we were herded in and out like cattle. Of course I'm overwhelmed all the time, of course I drink, of course I call my parents, of course I kill time on Facebook, of course I have credit card debt, of course I failed a course my freshman year, but I stuck it out and I'm graduating this spring with two business degrees from WPC under my belt and I've gone through EVERYTHING that this stupid and unfair article claims is an indication that I'm in "trouble".

Victoria of AZ 2:30AM October 16, 2012

@THANKSFORNOTHING
Most professors will make exceptions for students who are trying, but have life get in the way (on the short term). The point of the article is to ask students to be honest with themselves and differentiate between having temporary problems that can be worked around or larger problems that take a semester or a year to deal with. If problems are that large, they should be focused and not going to school while dealing with those things isn't doing the student any favors.

sympatheicandrealisticprof of TX 1:00PM April 05, 2012

Why not try giving some constructive advice rather than telling people that they're doing everything wrong? These people are probably the kind of professors that make you feel like gouging out your eyes before you'd go to them with a personal problem, and they'd probably revel in the fact that they were feared and confuse it with respect, but honestly there's more to life than college, and life's problems do not stop and start because you have an exam. The authors seem to lack the kind of humility that is necessary in a good teacher, not to mention a human being...

Thanksfornothing... of NY 10:42PM November 15, 2011

I am at this point what can I do to make college work for me.

Jason of MI 12:02AM November 03, 2009

Going to school has its ups and downs. I believe that this article explains that there is a lot of things that may happen while going to school or just in school.

Robert McDaniel of NC 12:10AM October 16, 2009

Eight on the list lumps prescription drug abuse, alcohol, and illegal drugs under the term "medication." The opening sentence is particularly unfortunate. While the gist of the paragraph seems aimed at drug abuse, and not the legitimate use of medications for psychological conditions, the paragraph fails to clearly separate the former from the latter. Some editing might be in order. Otherwise, good list.

Jasca of CA 8:42PM October 14, 2009

I teach general/freshman chemistry at a university, and more than half of my students are not ready for college. The average for my classes is between D- and D. Maybe for some professors, the average is between B to B+, but I learned that C meant average skill. Sadly, most of my students don't have average skill because they lack the retention of pre-requisite math ability or have poor studying habits.

H W Eng of FL 11:12PM October 05, 2009