This semester I learned a valuable lesson. After continuing to stay in a class where I was not getting the education I was paying for, I realized all too late that I took a passive approach to my college education. For some reason, I have found myself incapable of dropping classes. No matter how hard the class is, no matter how much I struggle, I want to finish what I started. However, staying in a class from which I was not benefiting, did much more damage than good. So, after wasting quite a large sum of money on a class that will ultimately cause me to lose more money in the long run, I’ve decided to change my perspective on college.

College is a major investment. The table below shows the average published charges for full-time undergraduate students.

With these numbers in mind, students could be paying thousands of dollars per class depending on what school they go to; which is exactly why I have decided to take the approach of an investor. If I am going to be spending so much time, energy and money on a class, then I’d better be getting a return. I expect the institution that I am essentially buying a service from, to provide me with an education that will prepare me for my career. It was so easy for me to forget that dropping a class that was both hurting my GPA and wasting my time may have been a better option in the long run.