Use to have SA bad, but still can't get my College degree

[KewlEugene]

I'm 60 yo and retired. I used to have SA really bad and cured it half my life ago at 30 yo. But I still can't finish a college degree. I go to school for a year 1/2 time then give up. I have 3 years of credits over the last 40 years. I finish classes for mainly B's and A's now that I am retired and have time to study. But I get anxierty and give up. My parents have passed and were teachers. My wife and kids have their degrees. Is my problem still with SA ?

[Robbed]

It's impossible to say why you tend to give up with school. If you finish classes with As and Bs, then clearly you are not quitting because you are flunking out. Social anxiety could be a reason for quitting. From my experiences with college. when it comes to getting a degree, the course material itself is often not the problem. Sometimes, just sticking with everything is the bigger deal. College can kind of wear away at you over time. And you sometimes need something to keep you going. For lots of people, the social aspect of school is what keeps them going. Being involved with college life and having lots of people to interact with is a major motivator for MANY people to stick with college. After all, quitting school would mean giving all this up. So if you don't have this due to social anxiety or just 'not fitting in', college can become ALOT more raw. It becomes MUCH easier to quit. And if you feel like you don't fit in, you sometimes just WANT to quit. Even if you are getting As and Bs with little effort. Trust me. I know.

Another thing to consider is the perceived reward for getting an education. If you just don't feel like school is going to get you anywhere in life, then you motivation to continue with it sinks. This can be especially true if the job market for your major is poor, if you are a good intellectual but poor personal match for your field, or if you are actually making more money with your current job (or a previous one which required no education) than you could in your field of study.

There could also be a myriad of other reasons for you not finishing college, such as other commitments in life (like family) or financial difficulties. However, only you will really know why school has been so hard to stick with.