Aw man... I won't give out what my debt is, but I went to a very-much for profit university the very second I graduated high school at 17, and yeah, the figure is up there.

But I think I've told everyone that I dropped out in my 3rd year, not entirely of my volition but I chose my health over college, if I tried to keep going I'd have an expensive degree with no way of using it. Definitely didn't make me feel any better about my decision though. There was this year-period after that that I went kinda crazy and basically figured myself done for, the failure at the bottom of the heap, as you so eloquently stated.

So, yeah, I've definitely been there ;x

Never did think it was very fair to tell kids that their adult life depends on decisions they're forced to make, with money they don't have. "Spend money to make yourself useful to society and that way you can make us money. Make these decisions that will affect the rest of your life right now, even if you still aren't sure what you want to do. Hurry hurry."

Anyway, after that year was when I found out about RM, and that's when I joined up here ^^

It's taken over two years since then, but JUST NOW are things starting to pick back up for me.

Whatever way things go, things are going to be difficult~ College isn't really the guarantor recruiters tell everyone it is, but having your degree will certainly help.

I try not think of my college experience as being a waste, and I know I'd probably be in a better place right now if I'd taken care of myself a bit more in college and was physically capable of graduating...

But, I think, either way, when school is over with, one way or another, things will be better for you~

Get referrals from your professors who know you've worked hard, have them write you a recommendation, is probably the best advice I'm capable of giving here. Future employers won't care about an average or an exceptional GPA, but if you pass those tests you're in the clear, and then that's it!

But life isn't over if you don't, is what I'm trying to get at, take it from me <3

You seem really intelligent and hard-working, I'm sure you'll do great! Someone who feels so anxious about doing well must be bound to, I think~ Just try not to worry yourself too much okay? Do your best and what will happen will happen.

(I feel like there's more/better things I could say, but I'm super tired and you set off my "I-Need-to-Help" senses <3 You aren't alone!!!)

Yeah, hate to say it but collage is pretty much a waste of time that is only good for getting deep in dept. Even if you DO get a degree, it won't help you that much to find a good job. Heck your better off making a living developing indie games or playing games on youtube, both of which is much harder to do then you might think yes, but it's still better then the broken collage system.

Not saying you should give up! You are already deep into it seems like, might as well see where it goes. Maybe I am wrong! But I would never recommend collage to anyone fresh out of high school. There is really no point if all it's going to do is burden you with dept and your most likely going to be unable to find a job outside of flipping burgers or ringing up groceries anyway.

This might seem strange, because I haven't really said anything that would give hint to this on this site (because I've acted like a total doofus), but I'm a second semester Junior in college right now. Gonna be a Senior in August, I have an Associate's of Art (which I realize means absolutely) and in a year or so I'll have a BA in Public Relations. I'll be 22 when that happens, and everyone in the school I'm enrolled in tells me that's a really young age to have a BA. I took a semester off because my grades were poor and I was about to do some serious harm, and as of right now (before finals, conveniently) I'm getting all B's in my 5 classes. If you have to take time off for your sanity, then do it. Work one or two minimum wage jobs, make SOME money, there's nothing wrong with taking 6 months or a year off to clear your head. I wouldn't say take years and years off, but one semester of breathing was probably the best thing that I could have done for myself.

Family stigmas about education are undoubtedly the worst.

The thing about college is that the system... I'm not gonna say it's broken, because it's not, but it needs a re-work because it's ridiculous right now. The biggest mistake that someone can do is ask a 17, 18, 19 year old what they want to do for the next 50 years. College in America will never be free, and should not be free, but it shouldn't be where it is right now. And I'm at a college where the tuition is pretty cheap, the housing/meal plans are bonkers, but just attending the school is relatively pocket book friendly. Let me tell you, $17,000 in debt is not that much. The national average in the US is $35,000. Student debt isn't that big of a stigma as long as you're responsible about it. Students are expected to have it. It's fine.

Personally, I can't speak for how stressful that is. I don't have debt. However, I worked 60 hours a week every summer back when minimum wage was $5 an hour, so I can relate to how stressful THAT was. And it's because I worked that much a week since I was 13 that I don't have debt. I'm not bragging, believe me, it was awful. This is why I say the system needs to be re-worked, because kids shouldn't have to work that much to afford college. It's treated like a necessity but it's priced like a luxury.

It has been proven time after time, in study after study that students with a college diploma that's a BA (no matter what field of study they're in outside of engineering) will make substantially more money than those who have not gotten any sort of college education out of high school. Engineering falls into its own field because it's one of the few areas in college where it is 100% worth it to get your degree. You're pretty much guaranteed a job once you graduate because the US will always need engineers. The degree is more of a social thing. If you get a Bachelor's in, I dunno, plant science and you apply for a desk job at Visa, you're more likely to get that job than someone exactly like you that didn't go to college. Even if the degree doesn't apply to what you do, employers will still hire you because you have a degree.

It's an investment, and it's not made to help you until a substantial amount of time has passed since you graduated. You will not receive an instant reward, but rather something that's going to pay off in 10 or 15 years. If you're looking for instant cash in pocket, it's just one of those things that doesn't really happen unless you're the one person out of millions that hits it big for whatever reason. Killo, you seem like the best sparkly fairy that ever fairy'd, but most devs/YT'ers don't make enough money from that alone to be able to live. If that's the only job they have, they might be able to pay rent, eat, and live comfortably, but there's no way they can save for the future. Combine it with freelance work/another job, they'll be okay-ish, but that's really dependent on work ethic.

Also, Blackboard is absolute bull-pockey. It never saves grades and it ticks everyone off.

ya.... you get a degree, in a field that interests you.... and once you graduate, you can't use the degree because the market is saturated and there aren't any good paying jobs for that degree.... it's a vicious cycle that the news refuses to talk about.... I blame Fox.