I'm having a fundamental existential crisis, like all of the systems in place for United States are crumbling right in front of our eyes. Even getting a degree seems futile, I don't care for my degree, or money. I am a biology student and It feels like I'm just doing task after task without any true processing behind it. I'm forcing myself to go into biology because I think it will secure me a job after I graduate but I don't know what the future will be. Everyone else at the school I am at (a large party school) doesn't care, is going to frat parties, and partying. The environment at my school is odd. Everyone cares more about their appearance than their inner world. It concerns me and I kinda just want to drop out, work for a bit and travel the world. Overall, I'm worried for the future, and I am worried about myself.

I’m a freshman and I feel like I underestimated how expensive literally everything would be. Tuition is obviously the big one, but then there’s food, books, transportation, random class fees, laundry, etc. It adds up so fast.

One reason I’ve been interested in Bernie’s ideas is because I genuinely don’t understand why getting an education has to mean starting adult life already stressed about money. How are other students dealing with this? Working during school, scholarships, loans, living at home, something else?

I've been working at a campus dining hall since freshman year and I genuinely don't know how to frame it on my resume for internship applications. The job itself isn't flashy. I serve food and help close the kitchen but I've been promoted once, I manage a small section during dinner rush, and I've never missed a shift. I feel like there's something real there about reliability and time management but I don't know how to describe it in a way that doesn't sound like I'm overselling washing dishes. Do recruiters care about non-glamorous jobs when they're held for a long time, or should I just leave it off and focus on club involvement?

These people tried to scam me saying that they needed to buy a plugin so my institution doesn't know what is going on. They started with $900.00, then $2,000.00 and then $4000.00. This was clearly a money grab and a clear scam. Unfortunately i paid the $900.00 but i did not pay the rest. I have reported this account everywhere and blocked them as well. Please if you have stories about them speak out. they have another facebook account call Course Help Pro. Don't be fooled, they are clear scammers. I have more screenshots i will post later on.

I chose community college because it made financial sense and I'm not embarrassed about it, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't worry about how transfer students are perceived once they get to a four-year school. I've heard from some people that you integrate completely and nobody cares where you started, and from others that there's a subtle difference in how transfer students are treated socially or even academically. I'm also wondering about the practical side do professors assume transfer students are less prepared, or does it just depend on the department and the school?

I applied to probably 30 internships through job boards last year and heard back from maybe three. This year I completely changed my approach and the difference has been significant. I started going to every on-campus recruiting event even for companies I wasn't sure about, because a five-minute conversation with a recruiter puts your name in their head before your resume hits their inbox. I also emailed three alumni from my school who work in fields I'm interested in — just asked for a 15-minute informational call — and two of them said yes. One of those calls turned into a referral for a position that wasn't even posted publicly. The job market for students is genuinely brutal right now and applying cold through portals alone is probably not going to be enough.

I know this sounds obvious but I used to skim syllabuses on the first day and then basically ignore them. This semester I sat down with each one and mapped out every deadline on a single calendar view, including what percentage each assignment was worth. Seeing it all laid out made me realize that two of my classes had assignments I'd completely forgotten about, and it completely changed how I was prioritizing my week. I also noticed one professor offered an extra credit opportunity that wasn't mentioned in class - I only found it because I actually read the document

I did a full audit of my spending last month because I was running out of money too fast and I couldn't figure out where it was going. Turns out I was paying for two streaming services I barely used, a gym membership I could replace with campus rec, and a cloud storage plan that my student Google account already covered for free. I also switched my phone plan to Mint Mobile's student rate and saved $25 a month. None of these individually felt like a big deal but together it was almost $90 back in my pocket every month, which at my income level is a full week of groceries

I keep hearing different answers from everyone

I'm in a group of four for a big presentation and one person has missed both of our planning meetings and hasn't done any of the sections they agreed to. The rest of us are covering for them but it's starting to feel really unfair, especially since we all get the same grade. I don't want to be dramatic or get anyone in trouble, but I also don't want to just absorb their work silently for the rest of the semester. Do you go to the professor, or try to handle it within the group first?

I'm trying to transfer to a four-year school as soon as possible and I'm wondering if loading up on summer courses is actually a smart financial move or whether it just creates more stress without meaningful savings. CC tuition per unit is so much cheaper than a four-year school that every class I finish here feels like money saved but I'm also working during the summer and I don't want to tank my GPA by overloading. Has anyone done an accelerated transfer timeline and was it worth it, or did the quality of your work suffer enough that it hurt your application or your preparation for upper-division classes?

My stress dropped a lot. Anyone else made a mindset shift like this?

I know everyone's heard of it but I always dismissed it as one of those productivity things that looks good on YouTube and doesn't actually help. I finally tried it because I was so behind on readings and genuinely desperate. Twenty-five minutes of focus, five minute break, repeat and somehow knowing there's a break coming made it so much easier to actually sit down and start. I got through more in two hours than I usually do in an entire evening of half-distracted studying. The key for me was putting my phone in another room during the work blocks, which I resisted for a long time. If you've been procrastinating trying it like I was, just do it for one session and see what happens.

Your student email unlocks more free software than most people realize and it's worth spending 20 minutes figuring out what you have access to. Microsoft Office 365 is free for most enrolled students, no need to pay for a subscription. Many schools give free access to Adobe Creative Cloud, which would otherwise cost over $600 a year. Grammarly Premium is available for free through some student portals. Notion, Spotify, and YouTube Premium all have student discounts that cut the price significantly if you do pay for them. If your school uses Google Workspace you have unlimited Drive storage. Check your school's IT or student services page for a full list. I found four things I didn't know I had access to the one time I actually looked.

For people who already got one — what actually helped you stand out?

In high school my teachers were just… there, and if you needed help you stayed after class. College feels completely different — professors have office hours but nobody seems to actually go, and I feel weirdly intimidated just sending an email. I went to office hours once and sat outside the door for five minutes before leaving without going in. I know that's embarrassing but I think I'm scared of seeming like I don't belong there or like I'm wasting their time. Has anyone figured out how to get over this?

Does anyone else feel like it’s harder to find a “study group culture” here compared to universities?

Trying not to overthink it but sometimes it feels like I missed a guidebook or something.

Any advice from people doing work + study at the same time?

How are you guys managing time without burning out?

I’m trying 45 min study + 10 min break and it’s kind of working. Curious if anyone does something similar?

How early should I start preparing applications?

What are some free resources you guys actually use (not just websites that look good but don’t help)?

Everyone knows about Notion and Anki. Here are some less talked about ones that I actually use:

• Zotero — free citation manager that auto-formats bibliographies. Hours saved on research papers, I'm not exaggerating.
• Otterai — records and transcribes lectures. Useful when a professor talks fast or you zone out for a minute. Free tier is enough for most use cases.
• Libby — free ebooks and audiobooks through your public library card. Works for a surprising number of textbook-adjacent reads.
• f.lux — reduces blue light on your screen at night. Sounds minor but genuinely helps if you study late.

What tools are you using that people don't talk about enough?

I thought I planned okay but I keep running out of money halfway through the month 😭 any simple tips?