About Failing, Withdrawing, And Dropping Out

"When I was in high school, I never failed or withdrew from any of my classes. For me, failure was never option that could ever happen to me. When I got to college, particularly the last couple years, I realized that failure is always an option. But failure and withdrawing aren't inherently bad. Failure is a part of life, but the important part of failure is learning how to try again and do better next time."

- Neil, College Senior

“I intentionally failed my last semester in college. As of today those four or five Fs are still on my transcript. While I am proud of that decision, it’s not one I would recommend others do. That said, the principle of it I do highly recommend. College was a time where I really felt the weight of other people’s expectations and I worried a lot about whether or not I was doing enough. I decided that if I picked something crazy enough that nobody could agree with, I would be able to let go of those fears and anxieties. Turns out, I was right. It’s sort of a paradox but it was only by getting to a place where I wasn’t concerned about how well I was doing in life that I began to start doing to start moving forward.”

- Theo, BA

“Fun Fact: I dropped out of grad school. I went for less than a week, realized I wasn't in love with what I was studying and dropped out. As someone who aggressively plans their life and had wrapped a lot of their identity up in being a student (I was barely 19 when I dropped out of my grad program if that tells you anything), this was kind of a devastating moment for me. I wasn't totally sure who I was in that moment - I felt like a disappointment and a bit of a failure. I had a lot of shame about my decision, even though I knew it was the right one. That was three years ago and I still haven't gone back to grad school. It's in the cards, but it's not the next card I'm playing. Instead, I'm focusing on bettering and understanding myself as a person - not a student. This is baffling to some people who largely knew me as the girl who was akin to Hamilton in the pace at which I attacked academia, but I honestly think it's for the best. For once, I'm sitting in a moment and investing in myself and, contrary to what I used to think, the world has not come irreparably crashing down.”

- Sara, BA