So much of what I write about, post on YouTube and work with students on is about how not to crash and burn in college. But today, I want to look at this from another angle. What are the best ways to fail at college? Wait, what??
Rather than jumping to how to fix things, I’d rather list out what typically adds up to a critical mass of disruption leading to failing and bailing. Why? Simple – if you check the boxes on several of these, you might be on a trajectory toward the exits.
First Month Coasting – Students that end up flaming-out treat the first few weeks (and months) as a dress rehearsal for the semester. They typically say that it’s too early to start getting organized and there’s no real work due yet. By the time they start working and organizing, they’re behind in work and start missing class and assignments. Around mid-semester, they’re stressed but deluding themselves into believing they can ‘catch up later.’
Last Minute Fallacy – Another classic attribute of those that are destined for academic probation is attempting to convince parents and professors (and maybe themselves) they do their best work at the last minute. No they don’t. ‘I need the anxiety of not having any time to get my work done.‘ This almost makes sense but when we examine this from a psychological perspective what we really are observing is avoidance and the ‘status quo bias.’
More Loses than Wins – Sometimes life just plain sucks and we get hit by loss after loss. It’s one of those periods when circumstance may not be our fault and we’ve hit some bad luck without the ability to shed the weight of the impact.
Negative Trending – If there are too many variables heading in the wrong direction, though they may seem disconnected, there’s a good chance the semester may not end well. I see students report their sleep is getting worse, eating habits are terrible, and exercise just isn’t happening. I often tell students and their parents I care more about trends, not data points. Trends, though not perfect predictors, indicate an underlying system problem.
Relying on Lying – Or to put it more gently, relying on avoidance. Lying is a blunt way of describing avoidance of responsibility and transparency. Key indicators of avoidance are when students are asked by their parents how school and going and they say things like ‘fine‘ or ‘None of my professors have posted grades yet.‘ It’s often not until the end of the semester when the truth is revealed and there were problems covered up for months and months. Should this kiddo really be heading back for another semester?
No Compass Heading – Without a mission or purpose, students without any of the problems above can still stall-out. If we don’t have at least a direction or what’s-this-all-for concept for the semester, students can struggle with getting through the hard work that feels overwhelming in the moment.
With help from the university and a good therapist, each of these can be identified early on and course-corrected. Students have a choice in how the semester goes but those outcomes correlate with early planning and conceptualization.