It seems that you are headed for a melt down as the chips are all falling on you at the moment. You ask the question, is this what my future is going to look like? Only you can answer that. If you aren't happy doing what it is that you are doing, then change it up. I agree with the I will not live to work. I'd rather work on my terms doing what I like doing that isn't going to make me crazy and keep me poor. Money is always an issue even for me as a full time student. So don't max out your entire life so early, there is still a whole life to live and you don't want to be cranking on the bills till the end of time. If you need to step back, do that to gain better perspective, and don't go crazy. If you are maxed out mentally and emotionally, how can you stay sane? Keep it simple would be my advice. Lean on those you can and remember that asking for help is not a sin nor a crime. Summer is coming and I am sure there will be jobs to be had. So make yourself a great looking CV with your good stuff on your terms and see where that leads you. If you break the bank now and you become defeated it will take you months to a year to rebound, so take it easy and remember to be good to yourself and your boyfriend.

Misery and Poverty is to be avoided at all costs. Do what is right and don't disclose more than you have to. A BF? that is great, having to explain why you have a BF is pointless, if those who really don't want to know try to understand.... it's not rocket science. Stay sane and keep it simple. I am here if you need me, but you know that.

Jeremy

You don't really expect to be anything BUT mentally burnt-out at this time of the year (if you're pushing for A's), do you?

The most important thing you may have learned this term is to be selective in the delegation of your time and energy - if you're not A+ material, come to accept that but don't simply throw in the towel. You should have enough academic background now to make wise course selection fairly straight-forward. Satisfy the course requirement without going to extremes - they're only that - courses.

After all, for the most part, you're enjoying them. Do something complementary when you're not studying - something healthy like working out - it's a no-brainer but you'll find it benefits your brain as much as the rest of you.

Then, when it's all over, be particularly selective in your choice of jobs. There's some really good ones out there ...

adam

ps. don't feel guilty though if you end up taking some time off - it's not unheard of and it can lead to any number of unexpected crossroads - scary to some, challenging to others

When I started University some years ago, I had a friend who set his standards so high (grade wise) and he would say "I am gonna get A's across the board, yet at the end of each semesters he would end up with C's. Why? because he did not put forth the effort to get the A's but was resentful that he got such terrible grades. When he graduated he got into the Master's Program, and at the end of the haul, he was 1 paper away from completion, he decided, rather, to do drag and be gay, rather than just finishing the assignment and getting his Master's Degree. Which I never understood.

With all this University experience, you should know by now what you are capable of, what you can do and at what pace you want to do it in. If you are cranking out class after class and you are exhausting your energy reserves, maybe it is time to pair back your studies into more manageable "bites" so to speak, so that you can stay in school and finish a degree instead of starting and stopping. At this rate you'll never finish because you are in burn out mode once again. Unless you are able to expend lots of energy, then don't do it. Take your time and work at a pace that is much more comfortable.

I don't know any university that pushes students to Crank out grades at an explosive pace.

You know what you are capable of - so take advantage of what you know to help you get where you want to go, sanely, safely and on your own terms.

Don't set the bar so high you can't reach that goal, because you'll resent the process and stop studying. The pump is primed now academically, now moderate the gas and proceed at the pace that you can handle. Quitting is unacceptable. Failure is unacceptable. You must succeed and become that man you are meant to be.

Cheerio - Jeremy

But see, the thing is - Last semester and this current semester, I've only been in 3 courses. I got an A and 2 A+'s last semester, and expect to get at least 2 A's and maybe a C (and F) this semester. I'm not the one who pushes myself to the extreme. It's the teaching staff, and team pressure. The professors tell us they're making us desirable workers by pushing us to an extreme level of work, so when we get into the real world, we have an edge over the competition. What sort of edge is that? "I'll kill myself working for you!" I still have something like 13 courses to complete for this degree, which is nothing like 1 paper, and I am getting the marks my work deserves. But it's exhausting, and I can't take any less than 3 courses at a time if I ever want to graduate in a realistic timeframe, or if I want to remain a full-time student.

It's your life, Rob. You can always go back and do another course when you're 40 if you like. But life is now. You can't just let it swish past you. In theory, yes, finishing a degree would be the ideal, but in real life, it might not be worth it. And Norway's richest man didn't even finish high school so there are no definite answers here... I'd much rather see you happy than graduated and exhausted..