Why I Dropped Two Classes

Previously, I spoke of the hazards of dropping a class without considering the financial repercussions of the act.

This late in the semester, I was faced with that decision again. It turns out that taking three fairly difficult courses that all require significant amounts of time outside of class, and combining it with a 30-hour work week, were more than I could accomplish.

I could not accept getting less than perfect A grades in the course, as I’d set a personal limit on failure at that level. And yes, I consider a B or a C a failure. Faced with my very real responsibilities in the office, and the fact that I still require sleep, I chose to drop two three-credit courses and take the financial hit for going under full-time in credits.

I am not thrilled about it. However, the stress reduction has been gratifying, and I’ve actually had the energy to come up with some brilliant, time-saving ideas that will greatly reduce my workload over the next few months. I’ve also been smart enough to say “I must sleep, there are only so many hours in a day” and have shifted several responsibilities to my assistant.

I’ve also already enrolled for the courses for next semester. I’ve chosen to take two difficult, traditional lecture type courses and two easy, online courses. More importantly, I’ve ensured a schedule that has classes spread out over the entire school week (Mon-Fri) rather than jam-packed into two days. This will allow me to spend time at the office each morning, as well as 3 afternoons per week. And that means I get four huge chunks of time to devote to study, which coincides with the four classes quite nicely.

I anticipate a greatly reduced stress load next semester, both in the office arena and on campus. There is light at the end of my tunnel.