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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My goodness there are crazy people on this thread!

OP, I hope you have the sense not to listen to anyone telling you that your life will be ruined. That kind of black and white thinking is idiotic.

On the other hand, a Columbia degree is your shortest line to a degree and there may be ways to make it more palatable (study year abroad, summer courses at another ivy, etc). Have you emailed your advisor about any of those options?

And why does this decision need to be made now?[b] Can't you just kick the can down the road until you have worked out a definite path with your therapist? I think you need that. And I also think you need to realize you're not the average person. You are actually a very bright young woman with a bright future and you just aren't sure what direction to take now.[/b] [/quote]

OP here.

1. I've already kicked the can down the road; I took a leave of absence in January. And my therapist -- who, quite frankly, is a white woman out of touch with Asian culture and expectations (I couldn't find an Asian therapist who takes my insurance) -- isn't magically making plans up for me or "working out a definite path forward." Like most therapists, she simply gives me a cold pros/cons list of leaving Columbia and leaves the decision up to me. Therapists aren't supposed to make decisions for you or even give you advice about a decision. They just try to "empower you to make the best decision for you :) " (whatever the hell that means).

2. Unfortunately, because I have most of the Core left, I can't take summer classes at another Ivy or study abroad (also because I declared my major really late). I really wanted to study abroad, but unfortunately because of my late major declaration and the Core I can't.

3. I am absolutely average when it comes to intelligence, work ethic, ambition, and drive. The only reason I've gotten as far as I have now is because I had Asian immigrant tiger parents who screamed at me in high school for every A minus I got and monitored my online gradebook like a hawk. For my math, chemistry, and physics classes in high school, my dad would do every single assigned problem with me and basically became my personal tutor. No wonder I wasn't able to hack it on my own in Columbia STEM when the only reason why I got through AP Calc, Physics, and Chemistry in high school was because my dad gave me about ~20 hours of personal tutoring a week in high school (20 hours seems like a lot, but it's really not when you consider that I'm awful at STEM and was taking my high school's hardest STEM classes at a wealthy, competitive public school).

4. I do NOT have a bright future ahead. My future is filled with tons of student debt and a lifetime (or at least a decade's) worth of awful, soul-sucking corporate jobs that I'll inevitably hate so I can chip away at the principle of my student loans. My life will be MISERABLE for the next ten years (and most likely more), and frankly, I know that I'll be much better off getting murdered in Morningside Park than continuing at Columbia. Every day I wish I was never born. 
[/quote]

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