College dropout, go back to ???????????

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Has anyone here dropped out of a college course that meant a lot to them due to stress and anxiety overload and quite simply just not being able to keep up due to not being able to overcome various aspie traits despite all the help from the college?

If so how did you cope?

My nephew completely failed an entire semester, got expelled, started over in community college, and 5 years later, will graduate in one week.

I, myself, did not get my Bachelor's until Age 45.

What are your Special Interests?

Illustration and art in general, which is what the course was - a higher national diploma in illustration.
congrats to your nephew- I was at least another two years away from graduating, other wise I would have tried to stick it out.

What was your GPA when you dropped out?

What's keeping you from trying again, say, in a year? Maybe you could do your courses online?

I dropped out of the biology department because there was a class on identifying animals that I couldn't pass. I still regret it. If I had had more tenacity, I would have raised bloody furry with the disabilities department to get enough accommodations and taken that course over and over again until I passed. Another reason why I quit was that everyone around me was cheating, so I tried cheating myself and I got semi-caught the very first time. Lack of subtle social skills, right? I knew cheating isn't in line with my ethics and so I decided to quit instead of keeping with that.

With what I know now, I wish I had stayed. If I had gotten beyond those first courses, the intense competition fades a bit. I was never going to be the best science student ever, or the best scientist. But I could have made a pretty good one. I would have been a pretty good graduate assistant teacher, too. I think I would be happier if I had stuck with it because I really love science and its not a part of my life at all now.

Maia, I do hope you find a way to go back. You must have talent. Maybe you could post some of your stuff in the
Subform here related to Creative Arts--so you could get feedback?

It seems like you might be in the UK--is that so? I'm an American.

In this job market (and in all job markets), it is of the utmost importance to obtain qualifications--even if you get a "C" average. They don't look at the grades, normally--only the certificate.

I'm from Ireland but it is a Brittish qualification. This is my third year trying to get through first year of a two year course. The option isn't completely closed off so I could go back in a few years time assuming I have everything under control anxiety wise.
I don't mind what grade I get, what I do mind is not completing all of the work required for a project which is what I would have to do if I were to keep up with the course.
I don't have regret as such because it is a decision I thought out very carefully- it's just I am left wondering what now? Do I have what it takes to be able to keep illustration in my life? How do Aspies cope with the demands of a professional industry that relies so much on things moving so quickly with so little room for error and that is so pressurised? Like tagnacious I think that is something I would regret, if illustration wasn't in my life. Also college was my way of putting routine into my days.

When I've gone through periods of unemployment (Which is essentially what happens when you drop out of school without a job.) I've tried to get myself to stick to a schedule like I did still have a job.

I make a list of goals. I decide what steps I'm going to take on these goals and I make a schedule for myself.

It really does help to have a schedule. I make mine at bedtime so I get a sense of needing to wake up to get things done in the morning.

If I was as good at following through on these plans as I am at making them, I would be a millionare by now. But I am just good enough that I've managed to make it through.

All too often, I end up online instead, spending too much time talking to strangers, instead of focusing on my own needs. lol I think its time to get offline now.

Ye I was always useless at following through on a list of goals. I'll give it another try though.

Have you thought about trying to get an internship, so you could get some idea of what the job would entail?

Many Aspies succeed.

Adamantium, a frequent poster, is a graphic designer. If you're good at what you do, employers are more likely to make accommodations.

You'll meet others in your general field in the creative arts subforum.