Since it’s been about a year and a half since I quit college, I thought it would be helpful to share what it’s been like after quitting for those who may be considering it or anyone else that’s just curious.

Background

Around 2006 after about a year into college, I starting becoming frustrated with my lack of energy to even go to class, much less study for one. As I was looking for answers, I saw that a lot of people were going through the same thing.

Some were fed up with long college papers, tests, boring classes, outrageous expenses, but I also noticed that there were many who questioned why they were even there in the first place. You could tell they didn’t want to be there, but for one reason or another they kept going and complaining about it. Of course I was doing the same thing at the time.

Most of the advice that I came across just didn’t sit right with me. It was advice like “keep going” and “stick it out, it’ll be worth it later” and “you need a degree now a days” mixed in with some stories of regret for not finishing.

The advice that did feel right to me was “you don’t have to do anything” and “think for yourself”. So…soon after that I decided to drop out.

This is not meant to be “should you stay or should you go” advice. I won’t undermine your incredible ability to think for yourself by telling you what to do. I just want to get you ready for what to expect if you are considering quitting college and to share a perspective of a college dropout.

Relief

I’m pretty sure you’ll experience feelings of relief if you felt college wasn’t right for you. The day I let college go was a huge weight off my shoulders. No more giving into family pressure and reflecting on failing grades semester after semester. No more feeling guilty about not going to classes and procrastinating. No more wild college overspending on said classes and living expenses. No overly optimistic belief that I was gonna try super hard the next semester. Most importantly, no more confusion and lack of direction.

The Critics

You can bet there will be people who think negatively of you when you quit. I’ve had about 2-3 interventions where people sat me down and tried to make me see “their side”. These could be people that haven’t even met you, but heard that you quit through friends or family.

It’s disappointing that some people are brainwashed into thinking that a degree is the be-all, end-all of success. I’m sure you can think of tons of successes you’ve had without a degree. If you can walk, there goes one success already.

You can show these people all the examples you want that shatter that limiting belief. Most likely they’ll still cling to it until they’re ready to let it go.

People also might think negatively of you because they see you as being a quitter. If you quit, technically they’d be right. But who’s to say quitting is always a bad thing? Does it make sense to continue going down a path you know isn’t right for you? If you’ve ever quit smoking/abusing drugs/drinking excessively/overeating/(insert anything else that’s disempowering)….congratulations!

Debt Collection

Uh…I’m not gonna lie to you. This sucks.

Since my mentality was “must finish college at all costs”, I took on a lot of unnecessary debt. Credit cards, high interest loans, private loans, you name it. And…let’s just say they aren’t letting me forget about it (multiple phone calls every day and letters). The debt doesn’t really hit you until you decide to quit because many lenders are pretty lenient as long as you’re still attending school. Even soon out of school they’re pretty lenient with options like deferment and forbearance. Credit card companies..um…not so much.

I imagine the calls and letters would go away if I were to get a job soon and start paying them back, but that’s not how I want to pay them back.

Largely there’s been a lot of ignoring on my part. After a while of taking their calls, I realized that talking to them just made me feel bad and I wasn’t making any considerable progress anyway. Usually they would try to scare me into paying them with threats and what not, so I just stopped answering. I’m aware of the consequences of that decision and I still have every intention of paying back the money I owe, but not out of the fear/guilt state they seem to try to push me towards.

Ironically, the criticism and the debt collection calls/letters have made me feel more successful. If you’ve studied successful people, you know that criticism comes with the package, so being put to test of being able to handle it builds your confidence in your ability to persist. As far as the debt, many of the richest in the world have been broke and/or deep in debt. Those who successfully built wealth eventually recovered from those times, dusted themselves off, learned from it and moved On To Next One.

Authority

By far, the acceptance of my own authority is the biggest benefit to quitting. No one I knew of thought quitting was a good idea, so I violated a lot of expectations.

And it felt goooood.

It felt good not having to please anyone around me. It felt good to know that my decisions were aligned with my desires. It even felt good knowing that people around me would benefit because I would be able to spread my excited empowerment to them rather than my frustration and anger.

Lessons Learned

1. Make quicker, more decisive decisions

Successful people listen to their intuition and other warning signs around them and decisively take action to create an outcome they want. Taking care of it might require taking some uncomfortable action, but they do it before the situation turns into a disaster.

I didn’t have to spend semester after semester wallowing in guilt and frustration. I could have nipped it at the bud. Those semesters cost me money, but more importantly they cost me time.

Discovering the Law of Attraction helped with this. It’s easier to act quickly and decisively if you’re focused on what you want instead of bogging yourself down with blaming, complaining or other distractions.

2. Listen to people who have been where you want to go

I realized that when people give advice, it comes from certain perspectives. I have to take that into consideration if I’m thinking of acting on their advice. For example, let’s go back to the advice I mentioned in the beginning. The “stick with it” advice came from employees. Many of whom I know for a fact are “sticking with” jobs they don’t like going to 40 hours a week. However, “you don’t have to do anything” and “think for yourself” both came from successful business owners.

Sticking with it just caused me more frustration. I’m thankful I made the decision to think for myself and quit.

Some Questions for You

What are you tolerating? Are you going down a road you know isn’t right for you? Scared to quit?

Maybe you just don’t want to go through the hassle of quitting and moving in another direction? I’ll tell you straight up, dealing with those consequences while you’re feeling relief and excitement for the future yields better results than continuing to put up with what you don’t want and being frozen in fear of quitting.

Afraid of what other people might think of you? What about what you think of yourself?

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