Students Lost to Procrastination & Burnout

“Just feel like with my app I’m just donating to all these schools. I’m trying to be optimistic but when every school asks if you failed a course or any academic discrepancies I just lose all motivation. AAMC calculated mine as cGPA:3.18 (extreme upward trend) sGPA:3:32 Solid mcat though: 511 But my diy post bacc is 4.0(30 credits). I flunked out of college my first semester because I’m an idiot and thought I was too good for it and wanted to go work in the plants. Realized that I didn’t want to”

“As a rising junior in high school, I have genuinely never felt this much stress in my life. Not only have I been unable to get an internship because I didn't put in enough effort, but I genuinely feel like colleges won't accept me. The reason I feel this way is because my writing skills are poor, and I am just afraid.I have goals in high school, like creating an indie blog website where I can put information about me and my interests. I also just want to show interest of my passion for c”

“My qualifying exam is in 3 days. I’m so anxious I can’t eat and am shaking and have chest pain. It feels so stupid because my advisor told me there’s no way I will not pass. I am convinced they just don’t realize how little I know. I don’t know how to get through the next few days. Any advice? submitted by /u/veryballer [link] [comments]”

“I don’t even mind the school year beginning. What I dread every single year (this will be my 21st year), is the pre-year crap. I just want to never do another icebreaker or scavenger hunt again. I don’t want to ride a school bus to the district auditorium to participate in a worthless pep rally. I hate all of that so very much. There are no fun days about me. I just want to prepare for the school year.”

“Hi there, I'm doing a PhD in STEM in spain (AI applied to robotics), and I'm now starting to write my dissertation but I'm struggling badly, both with my mental health and with what I actually have to write about. I've had a rough run in my lab. I started my thesis without a clear topic, just a vague idea from my PI, in a lab with no prior experience in AI for robotics and no hardware (I didn't even have a robot until the end of year 1). To keep it short: I suffered a lot. I”

“Hi I’m 21(f) i gave my neet this year and i expected better than this. My score was not so good but i did really try but not my 100% so i just want all of you to help me . I feel i can do it but I’m scared at the same time what if i can’t make it and all , many suggest that i should change my stream and opt for arts for upsc and many said for ca or anything because it’s been a long time and aap select nahi huwai and all But i really do wanna become a doctor that’s my dream but I’m also scared th”

“<(<_>)> (/☆) So I was on my way to high school to pick up my grades. I spoke with my friends in complete calmness, and I was happy because my marks were the best. I walked home alone, feeling calm and empty-headed, but there was something bothering me—the heat—though it didn't affect me much. ​Once I got home and told my mother about my grades and everything with enthusiasm, I went to lie down on the bed to rest. Suddenly, I felt a familiar sensation—one I recognize—that started”

“I’m 24 and honestly feeling really stuck. When I was 21, I was studying Nursing. I was severely depressed at the time and ended up dropping out because I knew I couldn’t continue. Instead of taking time to recover, I immediately started a Computer Science degree that same year. I actually enjoyed Computer Science a lot more, but mentally I still wasn’t in a good place. I hadn’t dealt with what had happened, and I ended up dropping out of that too. So now I’ve dropped out of two universities and”

“My friend recently just finished her exams but shes super nervous about getting the results and she thinks shes failed maths which means she has to repeat the entire year. She told me shes been having nightmares about it and cant stop thinking about it. And has been having suicidal thoughts because shes worried what her parents and what other people are going to think. If anyone with any advice for me i would be extremely grateful . Thank you. submitted by /u/WoodenReindeer2138 [link”

“Hi, Im abt to enter my second year and im worrjed im doing too much alongside school. I have a harder semester with stats, orgo, genetics, comp, and evolution. Im also gonna be doing research, a club exec position, volunteering, and a part time job alongside school. So that's 4 ecs alongside school. Im just worried that I might not be able to do it especially since I have a harder semester. Has anyone else ever done this much alongside school ?? submitted by /u/sam3539 [link] &#3”

“As the title says, I may be the worst procrastinator on this planet. When I recieved my Dartmouth ED acceptance halfway through December I had a grand total of 0 of my RD essays finished, 2 started and like 24 to write. Yeah. Thankfully I got in. Find Fit . Everyone says this but legitimately of all the essays I attempted to write, Dartmouths were so much easier because I really rang though with the topics discussed in them and ultimately was super happy with them because I felt they represented”

“My first in college , never went to the exams and. Wanted to change my courses , but didnt happen so i continues studying the same thing , this year i went to the exams and i failed , dont know what happened to me but i rarely went to uni and always doom scrolling , the phone ´s basically my life , and now reflecting of the waste of time , 2 years , is eating me alive , shouldve been graduating next year , BUT NOW instead ill be graduating in 3 years ( ill be 24) and ofc need a masters of 2 year”

“Hey! I'm a first year phd student in geography in France. I have ADHD and i am on anti-depressed medication since one year. My vacations are soon, mostly ten days and i have a lot of things to do before sleeping and relaxing time, but i'm like... paralysed caused of anxiety and tiredness. Few days of the week i just can’t get up of my bed and came also very late at my lab. That’s why i asked if some of you are dealing with the same shit (probably yes) and what are your solutions to get o”

“Sleeping that much is not normal. There may be a medical issue such as a vitamin deficiency. You should get a blood test done.”

“The first week after submission I didn't think much of it. I figured my brain was fried after the final push, so I took it easy and expected to get back on track soon. But now it's been over a month, and I still feel exactly the same. I had a really nice talk with my supervisor about what's left before my defense in late September. Compared to the last 4.5 years, it's actually not a long list, a couple of "simple" experiments. I thought that would make me feel more rela”

“send help, i am so unwell and feel like an idiot all day....i feel like i am not even improving....this is horrific why did i do this submitted by /u/medtinder [link] [comments]”

“Mine is when I read the same sentence six times and start blaming the font lmao. I’ll be wide awake from coffee but still completely useless idk then I start doing fake productive stuff like renaming files or fixing one citation for 40 minutes because apparently that counts as progress now :)). What’s the point where you finally give up and close the laptop? submitted by /u/Beneficial-Big-9380 [link] [comments]”

“I just passed my qualifying exam, took a week off, and I can’t seem to want to actually work on my project anymore. It feels difficult having to do this on my own - if something doesn’t work out, the pressure is on me. I don’t feel passionate about my work anymore, and think about mastering out everyday. Except, I can’t because that would let down everyone in my life, and it seems like getting a job with a masters would be difficult (in the molecular biology field in the US). I keep telling myse”

“im seriously freaking out, i submitted my amcas primary a long time ago, literally last month, and was double checking my hours for all my activities, before realizing that one of the entries for a paid job was completely incorrect, being put down as 700 instead of the 400 i completed. I GENUINELY dont have a single fucking clue on how i let a discrepancy that big slip me by, the only thing i can think of is it was either a genuine typo or it was bc i was concurrently changing several activities”

“I am in my third year of my PhD in an engineering field in the US and I'm heavily considering dropping out. I met my advisor while I was still applying to schools at a conference and knew I wanted to work with him. It's not the most prestigious school but has a well respected lab in the field. At the time he had just received an appointment at a research center that was expanding into this field. They offered to pay for a graduate student so he agreed to be my advisor while the research”

“Title, advice is welcome if you have anything useful, but I'm also okay if this becomes a commisseration station. I'm in the summer between my 3rd and 4th year, and my whole goal for the summer is to finish my candidacy paper (or get close) so I can finish it at the very beginning of fall and advance. The problem is I have reverse seasonal affective disorder (i.e., it is worse in the summer)* and terrible, unmedicated ADHD that has made this impossible. My deadline for sending the first”

“for the past day and half ive been a whiny stupid bitch and now i deserve the consequences. it started yesterday night, after i showered i tried to cut my bangs and ended up with a shitty uneven mini fringe, so like the bitch i am i went to whine to my long distance gf and complained about it all night. next day i go to work and wear a bandana because im too ashamed even if i don't like to wear it. you might ask whats the problem, well the fact is that after i realized the mess i made on my”

“It's July 15th. I have my essays written. I have my LOR writers done. I did this week's ago. I still didnt reply. idk why. I keep telling myself "ill do it tomorrow" and I keep putting it off. Idk what's wrong with me. I'm literally throwing my life away and for what submitted by /u/No-History770 [link] [comments]”

“I am in the second semester of my first year in a STEM PhD program and I feel like I am suffocating. My advisor expects at least thirty hours a week in the wet lab on top of my own research, but I am also taking three heavy lecture courses. Every class requires a massive final project or a huge paper at the end of the term. Yesterday I sat at my desk for six hours staring at a blank document trying to outline a twenty page literature review on microbial metabolic pathways. My brain was fried fro”

“as anyone who's been through doing their phd knows, the process is incredibly grueling. You hit roadblock after roadblock and problems that seem impossible to solve, endless revisions, experiments that fail, ideas that fizzle out etc etc. you pour in massive effort day after day and you fight thru exhaustion, doubt, and frustration just to make incremental progress. But here's this strange thing that creeps in when I'm really deep in the weeds and stuck on something tough: I start re”

“I've never been a top student and I'm scared that I'm the dumbest and least competitive person in the room. Is it okay to go through uni without aiming for honors? Especially when wanting to pursue med in the future? I'm not even from an ivy league school so there are already loads smarter than me. How do I not feel small in something as suffocating as the academe? submitted by /u/moomin___ [link] [comments]”

“My primary will probably be verified this week but I literally have no motivation to pre write my stuff, especially with all the other extracurriculars (2 lab, job, volunteer) Honestly want to give up at this point 😭😭😭 all my friends are enjoying their summer while I’m stuck here torturing myself (Btw does the two week limit start from the point med school receive ur primary?) submitted by /u/Arles__411 [link] [comments]”

“Its so brutal out here. I got a 70 on my organismal bio test. I figured the class would be easy, its intended for non science majors to get elective credit and i think the topic is interesting so i decided to take it. Its so hard for no reason! I know bio I know anatomy and its killing me So for the next test i made 150 digital flashcards using a different website cuz quizlet sucks, and i go back to check and they are all gone!! And thats just one class, physics is even worse. My prof doesn'”

“My psychiatrist just told me that there is a high chance that I have undiagnosed ADHD, which is a primary trigger for my depression and anxiety. My prelims are in 4 months and I want to know if anyone might have been in similar circumstances and survived. If so, how? For context, I'm an international student in the US, and any chance of treating the ADHD will have to be in the US, since the ADHD screening from my home country will be invalid in the US. The wait time for getting any kind of s”

“It was a nice run, I can’t say I’m glad I shot my shot, I fear I wasted far more money and time than the shot was ever worth. I feel bad for the teachers and bosses who wrote my lor, and my friend who helped me do that one schools video essay. Good luck to all the incoming students. You got this! submitted by /u/Electrical_Chain53 [link] [comments]”

submitted by /u/GoldenThame [link] [comments]

“Hey all....I am facing really extreme recalling and memorizing problems....I am not able to concentrate on studies at all and this has been extremely tormenting for my mental health...and this has been going on for past 2 years....Can someone please please tell me which professional I should see? submitted by /u/Big_Sherbert4559 [link] [comments]”

“I feel guilty when I miss out on things just because I'm tired. I've read up on it on the internet and people think it's being lazy. People around me complain about being tired all the time but why can they still do things while I can't? Am I just not pushing myself hard enough? submitted by /u/FckAllTakenUsernames [link] [comments]”

“Hi everyone I am a student studying in BLR that to evening shift from 4.45 to 9 and recently I have shifted a bit far away approx 5 to6 kilometres away and I am very lazy human as fuck sometimes I want to kill myself because of that ...... Today I was doing my assignment because of that I was feeling a bit lazy so I thought to go clg around 5.30 and i booked rapido that driver reached another location i don't know where so i cancelled that ride and booked some other ride by that time it was”

“I’ve entered the final stage before submitting my thesis (end of July). I still have work to do on my thesis before I can submit it. I have mixed feelings – I worry I won’t manage it and I’m not satisfied with my work. I feel guilty every time I take a break, sleep or eat; I feel I shouldn’t be doing that and that I should just be working. These feelings make me feel guilty, and instead of making progress with my work, I find myself stuck. Please, I’d like some advice on how to overcome these pr”

“This summer I thought I would be able to at least somewhat relax, but highkey it is not possible. Im taking 3 summer classes at my cc, and normally I can handle that much but because of the shortened semester its soo fast paced. The worst offender is physics, its already hard but trying to learn it so fast and keep an A is really hard. Then on top of that I still have to worry about all my ECs and trying to write essays. I havent even written a first draft for my personal statement and I feel li”

“I am 18M and going to start college in about a month, but I have no clue what I'm doing to be honest. My main class (aviation maintenance) didn't get accepted by the FAA in time so I am just doing gen ed classes. I am going to schedule a meeting with the people who help new students, but now I'm starting to have doubts. I feel like everyone by now knows exactly what they are doing the first week of college, but I don't even know where to go, it is very overwhelming how much resou”

“My 4 years of engineering school, were arguably the worst 5.5 years of my life. I'm 26 now and working as an engineer and I do not miss a day of undergrad. It was terrible. Sleepless nights, crying, failing courses, repeating courses, suicidal ideation, being broke as hell. I started uni before covid and finished after covid. I get a nervous laugh when I think about university. I'm in such a better headspace now. There's a part time engineering management master's designed for wo”

“Hi guys , I'm a 19 year old guy from India ,I was busy preparing for the JEE exam and couldn't clear it which caused a huge mental toll over my body because it caused anxiety, worry and hairfall and I could not even got a support from my own damnn parents ,from childhood onwards I always had a irritable/angered nature and that's the reason why I don't have any friend ,and after this exam and all I started feeling lonely and depressed and I actually became unconscious about what I”

Dramatic title but genuinely feel like hitting self check-out. Will try to keep it short. Basically, I misread a methods paper in my first year here. I built my entire project on…

“I am finishing my PhD. I just need to write my thesis and complete my international research stay. Yet, instead of feeling happy, I often feel like I'm far behind everyone else. I look at recent graduates or fellow PhD students, and I see myself at the bottom. I know comparing yourself to others isn't healthy, especially when you're overwhelmed with both work and a PhD. Still, I can't shake the feeling that everything is going wrong. I was recently informed that if I leave my com”

“For starters, I’m 20F with a toddler. I’m only in the very beginning of my journey for nursing. I’m only in prerequisites with a 3.6 GPA… I already feel like a failure, but I am hoping to get into nursing school by spring. Is it too early for me to say I want to pursue becoming a CRNA? Should I not even look into it because of my weak academic skills? Is it going to be even harder not working on prerequisites now? Even with a toddler… I can feel that I am capable of becoming a nurse and actively”

“I am currently in school for a science-related field, but my heart lies with Academia. I am filled with so much regret that I didn't major in the things I actually care about, but the field I am currently studying will make money that I can put towards studying philosophy, language, and history. But in the meantime, I have decided I want to attempt to make my own curriculum until I can learn from actual professors. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I do know I want to be disgustingly ed”

“when I look back at my primary now I feel like I’m not an interesting person at all and a lot of schools will look at this and think I don’t deserve an interview also writing secondaries feels like I sound so dumb to myself- I feel like between schools I’m starting to repeat myself and am having trouble finding ways to make myself sound unique I’m so scared of not even getting an interview somewhere I’ve been sick to my stomach submitted by /u/Extension-Mind5718 [link] [comment”

“Hi my fellow PhD people. This is probably going to be a very rambling post but I just need someone, anyone to give me any sort of advice or support :) I'm almost a year into my PhD (neuroscience, wet lab). I started out really just loving and adoring the research I was doing (and I still do!!!!!!! want to make that clear) but the past few weeks I've just become so unsure if this is the path for me. I work primarily in cell culture, and I just have this constant fear of contamination, I&#”

“I'm sitting here writing this at 3:30 a.m., the day after my Ph.D. preliminary oral exam, because I can't sleep. I received a full pass, but I don't feel like I deserved it. The exam started well. I answered the first round of questions reasonably well (although, honestly, much of it is already a blur). Then a couple of committee members started building on each other's questions and digging deeper into my project. Eventually I reached a question where I had to say, "I hones”

“I finished my bachelor's degree at 28 years old after being unable to study for multiple years and impaired for the rest of the time. I started at age 20. Now I want to do a masters degree because I am feeling a bit better and think I can do it in the regular 2 years but I still feel bad thinking about how long it took me to finish my bachelor's degree. I guess I would like to know whether somebody else had a similar experience and how they deal with it. submitted by /u/EveCa”

“i know, it’s bad. i hate that i let it happen. second semester i wasn’t as on top of my assignments as i should’ve been, especially the important ones. i failed two required courses. i’d pin it to a lack of discipline and communication (with professors or other resources at my university). for some reason, i never thought to reach out when i needed help. all that said, i want to be a physician and i will be a physician. i guess i’d just like some pieces of advice, especially from those who were”

“i havent broken down like this since last year and now i have twice this week. I have chronic fatigue as my most debilitating symptom and it is genuinely making me insane. I have dreams every night that i get to go back to high school and make friends but im a dropout and havent been high school age in a long time. I never got to go to high school because thats when my illness got bad. Ill never get to go out and make friends. Ill never get to go to college. Ill never get to do any of the things”

“Im 25 and basically 1 class away from finishing my undergrad in Neuroscience. I had a lot of issues throughout college due to financial stress and mental health issues along with family issues and a short period of struggling to find housing last year. Definitely in a better spot now. I recently started working in a hospital after years of having no luck getting clinical work during school im my college city. But after moving to a new city i finally landed a full time hospital job transporting p”

“My intended major is mechanical engineering, though I may switch to a different engineering field. During the school year, I was very motivated and had very good grades. I didn't join any clubs which I regret. This summer though, I have no internship, no job (worked one for a week), and no research studies. I have a little over a month left until I go back and I wonder what things I can do to boost my resume as I would like to have an internship next summer. Im thinking about starting a pers”

“I'm in my second year of a STEM PhD program and I'm dragging through yet another week where I've accomplished next to nothing. My mind is in a fog... I can hardly concentrate on reading, string sentences together for a grant proposal, or focus on my research. I feel like I'm getting no where, just wasting my days and weeks. I rarely cry, but I actually cried before going into lab yesterday because I dreaded it so much. Then I spent the day staring at a computer screen, thinking a”

submitted by /u/mothernectar [link] [comments]

“I (F17) have been feeling numb and tired since fifth grade and I’m now in my first year of college. Constantly I find myself bed rotting, flunking class/ skipping school, not taking care of my hygiene, and basically not having a care in the world to take interest in anything because I know no matter what I do I won’t be interested in it. Now, you’re probably wondering these are all telling signs of depression but in the back of my mind I worry that I am not depressed and just lazy because there”

“hi all. please take a moment to read, i am genuinely having a crisis. please be nice, i am genuinely grieving where i failed myself. i went to university for double majoring in psychology when i was 19. now i just turned 23, and i am in the shitter. i was so so miserable and suicidal that i failed so many courses, and retook them, still did poorly. i never completed my double major. i was on suspension, and my cgpa is a 1.38, without ever having completed half of my credits which ALL count for a”

“Ever since from child hood i knew only one path study hard and you’ll feel all worth when you get a high paying job. Worked hard through out my childhood, got into one of the better colleges in india studied hard there and decided to pursue masters here, while everyone are seeing masters as an entry to the US Jobs and everyone are selecting super cheap colleges, i decided to go to a good college with taking an education loan, Now i am a graduate in computer science, graduated in may 2026…. I hav”

“Really need some advice/encouragement. I have been prolonging my math Praxis for a very long time. I am in no means a mathematician and really worried about failing. I have been studying as much as I can given I’m pregnant and also have a seven-year-old at home. Has someone taken this recently and if so, what were the main things I should focus on in terms of studying? I currently got the subscription for study.com and it’s very detailed, which isn’t a bad thing necessarily. But I am taking the”

“My viva is in 4 week (UK, Physics), I submitted end of May. I can barely get through my thesis without questioning every sentence I wrote. Maybe a good thing? I am very critical of my work so always like to find improvements But I am more terrified of my examiners to be honest. My internal, who I have had a good relationship recently did another viva and the student said he was relentless. I don't think it's something I can cope with to be honest if he did the same to me. I have publicat”

“For context I'm a PhD student (Field: Organic chemistry) who will be attending my qualifying exam in 11 months or so. I'm paralyzed by fear because my progress is slow and I need results for my exam. I already know a 3rd year PhD student who was terminated from his PhD. All of this is weighing on me and I find it hard to even move without panicking and it's affecting my work. Granted my situation might be different from other's but can anyone who has gone through similar feelings”