In high school I was the sort of student who had her homework done before dinner and was able to handle five AP classes at once. I liked an academic challenge and I was good at it. So, the summer going into my freshmen year of college when a sophomore gave me the advice of "don't be afraid to drop a class," I thought okay sure thanks for the advice, but I won't be needing it.
Fast forward to the first week of spring semester freshmen year. I walked into an upper-level political science class that only met once a week. The professor handed out the syllabus and after scanning it I got an unfamiliar feeling in the pit of my stomach: fear. The professor had us reading over 100 pages per class along with papers. I left the class extremely worried. And after attempting the homework and barely being able to get through 10 of the 100 pages, I knew I just couldn't do it. I could not handle this class.
I called my parents and we all decided that it would be best for me if I dropped the class. I was completely embarrassed to do so and felt like I had failed before I had even started. But also underneath all of that was relief. I was so happy that I decided to drop that class. If I had struggled through it I would have been miserable all semester. In the end, dropping the class was the best decision for me and I learned that dropping a class isn't the end of the world.
Dropping a class has such a negative connotation. People think that if you drop a class it's because you're dumb or lazy, and that is not always the case.
People drop classes because they are too hard for them, it might be above their skill level. People drop classes because the professor expects them to do more work than they have time for. People drop classes because a W is better than an F. People drop classes because sometimes that's the best decision for them. Now, I'm not saying you should drop a class every semester, but dropping one or two classes overall doesn't make you a bad student.
So to all the new college freshmen out there, who are in way over their heads, listen to me. It's okay to drop your class.
