
Ask HN: Advice needed; drop out of university or not? - kqr
So essence of the situation is this:<p>- I have about 1.7 years of studies remaining for my master&#x27;s degree.<p>- For diagnosed mental health reasons, I have taken both more and less voluntary breaks in my studying, sometimes to work, sometimes to rest.<p>- I have always been described by my environment as unusually intelligent, my grades are generally very good, and I&#x27;m normally good at solving problems and finishing assignments quickly.<p>- For family planning reasons, I want to be done with school and start my career for real at most a year from now, so that requires me to study at a higher pace than normal.<p>That&#x27;s the background. Studying at a higher pace has worked well before, but as of two weeks ago, it doesn&#x27;t. I haven&#x27;t been able to identify what changed -- all I know is that however hard I try, I have failed every single assignment since then.<p>It is infuriating to me and it affects my close relationships badly.<p>I can&#x27;t go on like this, but I&#x27;m afraid I will regret dropping out.I also don&#x27;t think it makes sense to drop out of individual classes because if I&#x27;m not finished a year from now, that degree isn&#x27;t happening anyway.<p>I know I&#x27;m already very employable after many successful study breaks spent working. Either way, I&#x27;ll have a Bachelor&#x27;s.<p>Opinions?
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ISNIT
I think the most important thing to bare in mind is the "Sunk Cost Fallacy"
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_cost#Loss_aversion_and_th...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_cost#Loss_aversion_and_the_sunk_cost_fallacy))

Don't make your decision based on what you've already done/paid. Make your
decision based only on looking forward. Try considering: \- What's my goal?
(Make a family, take over the world, have a masters) \- What actions get me
toward my goal most efficiently? (Start making money, steal the moon, keep
head down)

At the end of the day, it's a highly personal and contextual decision.

If you do decide to drop out, it'd be worth talking to staff about ways to
keep credit for things you have already done - perhaps in a few years you
could finish your course with Open University?

