Sunday, June 8, 2008

The Reoccuring Dream About Missing Class

So, you've been having this reoccurring dream.

You're taking classes...at a college...or a university. Sometimes it's a college or university you actually attended in your past, sometimes it's a college you'd never get into, sometimes it's a shitty community college that anyone could get into.

Sometimes you're college age, and you're a full-time student. Sometimes you're the age you are now, and you're just taking a couple classes for fun. Sometimes you're taking a couple classes because you need to for a very important reason which you're not really clear in you're waking world.

What's the same in every dream is that you've done well in all classes...except one.

In fact, it's 3/4 through the semester, and you've completely forgotten to attend that class, and it's too late to make up the work for the class, and way too late drop the class, so you're fucked. Sometimes it's that you forgot you registered for the class. Sometimes it's that the class moved and you just never bothered to find it again. Sometimes you just didn't go at first, because you thought the class would be easy, but then got carried away with skipping it to the point where you never attended the class.

And even though you've done very well in the other classes, this one class is going to ruin your academic career.

96 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a very very common dream.

Me and 4 of my collage buddies started having this dream after we graduated.

no idea what it means

Mike said...

This is a very very common dream. I have had it and so have 3 of my friends who are all collage graduates.

No idea what it means but it may be the most common dream ever.

Anonymous said...

It's fascinating ... everyone with a college education seems to have this dream for the rest of their life. It would be interesting if someone did a study on it and could come up with some ideas on why it's so common.

In the meantime, enjoy this XKCD cartoon on the subject: http://xkcd.com/557/

Unknown said...

Hmm, I wonder if its referring to a class that we all signed up for whether we realise it or not, ie. life. Maybe its telling us that we're not paying attention to the lessons of life and that time is moving on and at the end we will be tested on it.

Anonymous said...

I keep having this dream too!!! Sometimes its way back to highschool and sometimes university!! OMG its the worst as I wake up feeling like its real and I have no education cause I missed classes.

I can't figure out why.

Worried about failing? Things outside our control? Glad to hear there are more of us out there!

Anonymous said...

Yeah I've been having this dream occur more and more often. It always has to do with me realizing it's the middle of the semester, I haven't gone to class all year, I don't know where the room is and I need to pass in order to graduate. Maybe it has to do with me not being the hardest working student in college, but I did graduate.

Anonymous said...

i have variations of it often. can't find my class schedule. haven't been going to classes at all and now i realize it. can't remember my locker combination.

i played baseball in college too. dreams i have now is that i can't throw the ball right.

Espacio Virtual said...

this is creepy....its exactly waht ive been dreaming for the past 10 years

Anonymous said...

Weird. I've been struggling with this dream for years. It's always History class. I'm about 3/4 through the year, sometimes H.S., something college, and I've realized I've missed it all this time. So I plan to sit down and read the whole History book before the next class, but I end up in the class before doing so...and there's a exam being giving!

Anonymous said...

College graduates are more prone to have this dream because they have attended classes for almost 20 years. While the brain knows classes are over, their subconscious has a hard time adjusting to this not going to a class routine. So while you are dreaming it is your subconscious telling you to go back to class.

Anonymous said...

I graduated 2 years ago, and I've been having this dream every 3 or 4 months ever since. I finally decided to Google it and found this. Exact same scenario. At least I know I'm not going crazy!

Anonymous said...

This is soooo crazy!!!!! I've had this dream several times since I graduated college. It seems so real that I actually wake up feeling stressed. I'm always on my college campus but the class I miss seems to vary night by night. I'm so glad it's not just me. Wow, wish I knew what it meant!!

Unknown said...

I had no idea how common this dream was...I've had it since I moved into my new apartment in September. It kind of makes sense because instead of going back to school at the end of the summer, I transitioned into a different sort of life. In one of the dreams, I managed to show up for class and it happened to be my turn to give a presentation that I had no idea about. I think this symbolizes the things in our past that were completely out of our control.

I think the dream has a lot to do with letting go of the past and its missed opportunities. I think this is something we all subconsciously struggle with.

Anonymous said...

I graduated from college 10 years ago and still have this dream, at work I have found 3 other people who have the same dream..

Anonymous said...

It's pretty crazy that so many people have this reoccurring stress dream (and even crazier that so many of us felt compelled enough to google it afterwards).

I've had this dream 3 -4 times since graduating in 2008 (but never while I was in college). I had the dream again this morning...

Somehow you realize that there is this one class (or sometimes a few classes) that totally slipped your mind. It's always a general education course that has nothing to do with my major and I'm thinking about sneaking into the class after not attending for months.

The final is either coming up in the next few days or it's the very next day. What can I learn by going to the next few classes left before the final? Will it be enough information to pass? What if I have to graduate later than expected?

At this point, I start to panic and wonder if I've already been dropped from the class. I hope that the professor does not take attendance and that he/she wouldn't even notice if I randomly showed up one day. I'm afraid to be humiliated but also afraid not to go and fail the final.

Then I wake up, and I'm panicking.

It's nearly December which would make sense why I am having this dream now (finals season). I guess I have some complex internal clock that hasn't quite shut off yet.

Henry K from Houston said...

WOW- it is creepy. I just had this dream last night. I also often have this dream. EXACT dream. Can't find my class registration documents and at end of semester and begin to realize I am going to fail the class. In fact, I can not reach the admin to even get my current schedule. I was a A student, pre-med- but I doubt this has anything to do with it. I wish we had some Dream expert to delve deeper into the meaning of this dream. I have a sense that understanding the dream could be useful. Hmmmnn. Challenges that are outside of our control? Fear of losing control? Frustration with inability to control our life? Post-traumatic stress release from exam process? Realization that obsessing and worry often for no value particularly as this was conceptually the past. The same can be said for the present moment. Enjoy the now!

Jess said...

I've been having this exact same dream about high school and college! I always forget to go to one class or forget to bring a book home and can't remember the combo to my locker. I graduated from college 2 years ago so it is wierd having it now. I always try to either talk the professor into letting me back into the class or just sneaking in!

I wish someone had a psychological explanation! I get the whole transition thing and I am going through a big transition so maybe that is it.

Anonymous said...

I have been having the exact dream for the lat 11 years since I graduated, weird, glad I'm no the only one!

Anonymous said...

I've had this dream whenever work gets stressful. To make the dream more scary I actually knew someone this happened too. Luckily they dropped the class they forgot they signed up for but the nightmare still haunts me and apparently so Many others. I brought it up to my therapist and he smiled and said. "ah. The imposter dream". He said it often occurs when someone feels they do not deserve the success they have. It's a low self esteem dream especially in the workplace.

Anonymous said...

I've been having this dream every once and a while. But in the last 3 months it's been at least once a week. I've been taking venlafaxine (aka effexor) for depression since fall, and one of the side effects is extremely realistic dreams. I just assumed the drug was triggering it. Also in the
last 6 months, my girlfriend got pregnant, I was laid off,I got engaged, and now I've bought a house.

I am a college grad, have been since 2007. There was one class I barely passed and the teacher hated me and told me she would love to fail me. So usually it's her class in the dream.

I find in the dream i'm sitting in my student house pAssing time, when all of a sudden I realize I have missed about 3/4's of the semester. I get so scared because I have nobody to blame but myself.. I worry how my teacher or classmates will react when I enter the room nut can NOT fathom missing even one more minute of class. If the dream makes me go, I find that my fear of being judges by my peers is usually for good reason.

The teacher seems to enjoy watching my fear and confussion as she tells us what to expect on the final. She rolls her eyes at me as to say why did you even bother to show up. And my peers snicker as to say I'm glad I'm not him.

Someone must know why we all keep having these dreams!!!!

Anonymous said...

Unbelievable that I actually googled this ..and so many have had this dream. I graduated college over 20 years ago, and have this dream all the time, for the last five years or so. The variance I have on this dream that no one has mentioned is that sometimes I've been taking classes for years but never received my grades. There is no record of my achievement. While I think its really insightful what someone said about it being about circumstances beyond your control (this seems a common consensus) I also liked the analysis of it being about letting go of the past and its missed opportunities. I think this is what it is for me. I also think for me, that life has not turned out the way I expected. I have worked all my life and live in absolute poverty, am disabled, and never married. I have never owned a home. In short, none of my dreams came true. Still in my waking hours I am a relatively happy person. Still I did have a lot of promise that I think haunts me in my dreams. Whether low self esteem is a cause or an effect of my lack of achievement, I don't know, but low self esteem is definetely a part of this dream for me .I can remember thinking in the dream "how could I be so dumb as to forget that class?" But also its like my unconscious mind thinks I missed some crucial lesson in life and that's what accounts for my situation, even though in my waking hours I can see the issues that lead me to my circumstances, most of which were out of my control, I think my unconscious mind can't get over it. I also loved school, and was a straight A student, so something being amiss with that is particularly disturbing. I think its about employers not noticing or appreciating my intelligence, like school didn't count in terms of later success. I want this dream to teach me something that will improve my life, and I think its what someone said earlier, about letting go of the missed opportunities of the past. I am trying very hard to make my life better, and its like this dream follows me around and there's some kind of clue there. I will check back on this site to see what others have to say in the future.

Raquel said...

I'm blown away to find that so many others have a variation of this dream too. I'm usually in high school & I don't know my class schedule & no matter how hard I try to remember, I can't. I just woke up from that dream & this time it was high school but I was it seems as if I was my age today. I finally decided to get a copy of my class schedule considering I had already missed two classes that day. I was in line waiting for it when I woke up. Right now is a particularly stressful time in my life & I think this dream is certainly trying to tell me something. Perhaps the fact that I was about to do something about it is a good sign. Maybe I am on the verge of 'finding my way'. Thanks for sharing your experiences. I never gave it real thought until now that this means something.

Anonymous said...

Like most of the other commenters, I googled my recurring dream description and am absolutely shocked at how many other people have this same dream. Sometimes I forgot to go to the 1st class and never found the class location. Sometimes I went to the beginning classes and then forgot to go for most of the semester. Either way, I always feel panicked. I agree with the others who say that this dream is related to having no control over my life and also being disappointed with how my life has turned out. I graduated college in 2002 and expected to have a great job, house, marriage by now. I have a job, not a great job, but an ok job. I still rent and I canceled my wedding. I think deep down, I wish I had done better academically in college because my life would have turned out better.

ararda said...

Wow. I was telling my husband about this and he was not interested so I said, "I will google it" and while you all say there is a lot on the subject...there is ONLY this PAGE - that started in 2008!

I am 45 and had this going on since I graduated. I remember my parents talking about it! I THINK the concensus from this site os that it is stress related. While I FEEL I am dealing with my stress...this dream reminds me I am not exactly.

My dream is the same as all of yours. Just had one last night (first in a LONG time though). This one was a little different than normal for me in that I didn't BELIEVE that I had not been going to class. I talked to friends and they said, "Are you actually going to be in class this time" (And in my dream I am my age not now not my 20 something I was in college) and I say proudly (as at this age I WOULD be there!), "WHAT are you talking about I have been there EVERYTIME!" They say, "REALLY? We have NEVER seen you!" Then I show up and I realize I forgot my notebook and pencil....so I have to run back home (big long adventure in dream world - elevator involved, etc. - can't seem to get back to class) finally get back to class - have to sneak in with the professor talking and open my notebook...and see...I have never been there for sure. ALZHEIMERS???? Scary!

My job...possible lay off after 23 years...my husband ill...kid in collge...mounting bills....I think STRESS is the trigger. That one theory that guy has of a psycholgist saying you don't think you deserve so much....UM that is a crock of shit. I think the opposite. I think I should be better off and I think that is moral of the dream....

Anonymous said...

I finished College and University 22 years ago and I still have variations of this dream now.

For some reason I have not been going to this 1 class and only realise 3/4 way through. I then worry how I can catch up with my old college friends who have been going.

It seems I have just forgot as a result of being too tired and missing days by accident or I don't know why I missed them.

Glad I'm am not alone. Maybe several years worth of college and university have screwed with my head !!

Mina said...

Omg. I have just woken up from this same dream. I started having it this semester, three months ago. I dream that I have not been going to two of my classes and they are always at four.. most of my dream I feel very anxious n stressed out. I think im going to go n talk to the proffesor bt I always wake up before that. When I wake up I feel very stressed out. I dnt like this dream and I hope I dont have it for years, like some of u. It is crazy how I keep dreaming the same exact dream and that soo many others do as well.

Anonymous said...

I have this dream a lot and recently multiple times per week. I left a career I hated and have since been searching for a new career.

I was in education for 16yrs and never had this reoccuring dream until I left my career....now I am constantly dreaming of being in school maybe 12years ago, realizing I had an assignment due but never bothered to do it and they never caught up with me, now I am due to graduate but cannot without a result for the essay but it is too late to retake it...wake up in a panic, not nice, had it twice this week.

David said...

I think the explanation is simpler than what I've been reading. I remember a story about someone dreaming he was caught in a burning fire. When he woke up, he realized a ray of sun was beaming on his face. As for the missing class dream, I believe the dreamer is feeling some stress in his life at that time. The mind then associates this stress with a "stress model" it has access to, another period of stress. For many people, the first real stress they had is during this class and graduation period. It becomes an easy association the brain makes. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Kristen said...

WOW! I have these dreams allll of the time! Always the same concept..I sudden realize that I need to finish one class to graduate and I've missed class all semester. And a lot of the times I'll try to make it to class but somehow forget about it and by the time I remember or get there, class is over. I always tell my friends how stressful these dreams are and that it seems so weird since I graduated college 3 years ago and have a great job! I'm not sure why I never googled the meaning before, but it is slightly comforting to know I'm not the only one!

Anonymous said...

I started having this dream in the decade between dropping out of university and going back to my education. Had it so many times since I can't count.

Solidarity, Brothers and Sisters! Never forget! Next time the Sandman comes, kick him in the balls and dream of boobies and flying instead!

Anonymous said...

I have this dream all the time. But, This really did happen to me. As i wound down Sophmore year and was adding up GPA to average it out, something seemed missing. then I realized that I went to the first week of Literature, but never went back. I ended up just making the final exam the next day, but inevitable flunked the course. this has haunted me ever since.

Anonymous said...

I have this dream several times a month about missing an English class. I have been out of college for 23 years. For me, I have a fear of public speaking. I am a 5th grade teacher and talking to kids is just fine. When there are school instances where parents or teachers are involved and I have to speak, I break into a cold sweat.

Correct grammar was something that I paid close attention to when I was in college. Students who were private schoolers spoke much better than my public schoolers and me. I avoided public speaking as much as I could.

I competed in a pageant and scored very well until the question/answer portion. Of course, a room full of 600+ college students was problematic for me.

Anyway, I have always been aware of my public speaking issues. I think my English class dreams are a reflection of what is embedded in my conscience.

Anybody else with a similar scenario?

Kelly S. said...

I thought this article listed some interesting interpretations, some of which have been mentioned here.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/radical-teaching/200909/recurring-final-exam-dream-you-forgot-you-were-taking-the-course

Anonymous said...

i'm 60 and i still have this dream. I just talked to my 20 year old son and he has it too. Some things never change.

Anonymous said...

I too have thi type of dream. I graduated college 8 years ago and I regularly have this dream. It usually goes like this: senior in college last few weeks, attending classes, look at my semester schedule to see I never went to a certain class and it was required to graduate. The panic sets in and then I wake up. EXACT same dream every time. I have had this dream while single and after marriage. While employed and unemployed.

Anonymous said...

I graduated college nearly 20 years ago and I have had this dream on a recurring basis for years. It seems to be occurring more often recently, but it doesn't make any sense why. I have absolutely NO stress in my life right now...seriously! I really wish I knew why we are all having this dream.

JWZ said...

This is the only recurring dream I have (in fact the only dream that I remember dreaming) and it comes 2 or 3 times a month. Always wake up in a cold sweat, certain that my future is ruined. Interesting to see that so many other people have it too!

Anonymous said...

I've had this same recurring dream since I graduated college and I've come to realize that it seems to represent a fear of the consequences of procrastination. For example I have this dream when I've been putting something off at work that I could've finished long ago and now I don't have much time left. Same could apply to taxes, bills, etc. It could be just fear of deadlines in general for things that are unpleasant to work on.

With no other dream is there as powerful a feeling of "phew glad that was just a dream" when you wake up.

Anonymous said...

Googled this too...I am 55 and have had the dream all my adult life. had it last night with a new twist: I chartered a little plane to land me right int the middle of the quadrangle to try to get there in time! And was thinking OMG this is going to be expensive (and then still couldn't find the classroom)

My dad is 81 and still has variations of this dream, along with the one where you are in a play and don't know the lines.

soularmada said...

I've been having this exact dream as well....googled it for the meaning and the original post described my dream to a "T"

Espacio Virtual said...

just had this dream last night..it was like the 100th time....its not funny anymore

Roy said...

Wow.. I can't believe other people dream this too. 0_0 I've been having this for years, and the school looks like a mixture of my middle school, high school any one of the many colleges I've attended. Funny how similar people can be, right down to our dreams.

Anonymous said...

I dreamed this dream last night. I have had this dream at least 15 times in the last 10 years and graduated college 10 years ago.

Last night I realized I had signed up for the class but never bothered going once for the whole semester. I realized there was no way to even find out how to get to the class for the final which was about to commence at that time in my dream. This I knew, in part, to having received the tip from a college acquaintance, appearing in the dream, whom I haven't given a thought to in a decade. In this dream, the harder I tried to find the exam location, the further away I ended up.

A few years ago I had also dreamed a variation in which I actually made it to the final (ass in chair) and began taking the test which was a combination of geometry and calculus. I panicked because I had never seen the math/equations etc.. and was not sure I even had the mathematical foundations in place to even make a meaningful effort at trying.

Anonymous said...

My friend and I both graduated with similar majors and have had similar career paths (in software development), and we both have been having this dream for 7+ years now.

I think the comment that struck me the most here was about how the dream occurs in people who don't feel deserving or have low self esteem.

I had a rough time senior year from some heavy depression, but I still managed to earn my degree with a 3.02 in a very hard major. But I never really felt like I truly deserved the degree or the job I got immediately after.

So whenever I have this dream, I always wake up freaking out and have to calm down and remind myself that I have the degree. It's over and I never have to go back. That's the only good part about this dream: the relief you feel after waking up.

My version is that it's always finals week, and I had missed some stupid elective like History all semester. Sometimes I have a variation that I never graduated HS and have to go BACK to finish classes from like 12 years ago. So embarrassing.

Anonymous said...

Graduate degree and have been having this dream since I graduated (10+ years). I maintained 3.0 GPA and was on the Dean's list throughout my undergrad and graduate work/degrees. Typically I have it 5+ times a year. I had the dream last night and decided to Google it. I have variations on the dream but the one common theme is College "Finals Week"

Sometimes I can't find the classroom for the final exam. Other times I find the classroom and have the wrong time. Sometimes I have knowingly missed the entire semester or didn't realize I took the class until "Finals Week". Typically the University in my dream is a mesh of my old High School and University. Sometimes I need the class to graduate and other times it does not appear I'm a "Senior". The classes usually vary from science to liberal arts but is only one class.

I hate this dream. It is an absolutely dreadful dream. I actually consider this dream a nightmare. As one poster stated, the only relief is waking up and realizing the reality was it was only a dream.

My only wish is that someday I will conquer this dream: find the class and pass the test.

There is some sense of relief that others experience this dream.

Anonymous said...

I've had pretty much the same dream that everyone is describing for 25-30 years. Often it's a combination of high school and college, and it's almost always a science class --- so I've missed not only most of the lecture classes but most of the labs as well. ;-/

Anonymous said...

Like one other poster I am 60 and have this dream. I went to a very competitive university. I had a great job with okay pay - fabulous perks - out of school but then left career to raise family. when i re-entered did not get a high level position though i really like my job and relates to my education/field. I am really good at the job but have become bored and now have these dreams. I am thinking that I feel I need to try and catch up at the last minute(of life). It is very annoying and I would like to know if I am right so I can move on.

Anonymous said...

I am fascinated by this... How could so many people have such a similar dream! It's neat!

Anonymous said...

I have been having a version of this dream for a while now! It's hard to remember when it started because sometimes it seems that my dreams all fit together into one. Last night I had this dream again and i decided to google it! And what you know there are so many other people having this dream. I think what was different about my dream is that the text book was a major part! It is always math class that i seem to miss, and i remember going to one class(sometimes i didnt go at all in the dream) and never returned because i either forgot or i slept it. I wonder what it all means? I go through phases of reoccurring dreams so sometimes it dosnt even take notice with me, lately it has been me missing MATH class! I have graduated college, and right now I am not working because there was a 3 month break inbetween my contract. I moved to another country and am returning soon. Maybe it is telling me that I am scared about missing out on what i left behind? Or that there is a lesson that i thought i would have learned from leaving that I havnt picked up on? What do you guys think?

Anonymous said...

Damn. I was having lunch with a coworker, she told me about some weird dream she had. She asked if I ever had any, and said yes, but I usually don't remember them....except for one I keep having over and over again: one where I am back at college, and forgot about a class for a whole semester, and now I am screwed and going to fail. She said she had the exact same dream. I google this dream, and here we are. This is freaky, and funny. By the way, I graduated college in 94..

Anonymous said...

I'm 58 and have had this dream on and off since college. I happened to mention it to a friend the other day and, unbelievably, he had the same dream repeatedly. After googling it and finding this site, I see it's fairly common.

In my case, I am presently in a very stressful period between jobs, but I don't think stress has always been a factor in having the dream. The only problem with saying that with any confidence is that at 58 I'm losing my memory. I can't remember if I've dreamed it five times in the last 2 years or 50 times. I just know it is the only dream I can remember when awake.

The other thing that I found amazing is the use of the fraction 3/4. I would have said exactly that. It's almost the end of the semester. I can't remember exactly which class or classes I've missed or what building or room they are in. I think I went to one or two of the classes at the beginning of the semester, but for some reason just forgot to keep going. Strange, but at least I'm not alone!

vudu said...

Alright here's mine- always the same college in the dream and i've never been to this college. It's always laid out the same, or should i say sprawled out. My problem is that not only am i unable to find most of the classes, but i can't remember what time i take them. I know they all start @ 8am., but can't remember what order i take my classes in. I spend all my time looking for the class rooms. I have had this dream about a dozen times for the past 2 years. Today, i finally decided to look it up and yes....this is all i found! GOOD NEWS though- Last night i found the administration dept. and had some old lady print out my schedule! Hope i still have the schedule in my hands the next time i have this dream! Oh, there was bad news though- she said i'm failing math and social studies (yep, grammar school subjects) and it's way too late to drop them! Let you know if i continue to make progress. Hopefully next time i can get through a whole day of classes w/out a problem.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad someone did this blog, and that it game right up when I googled it….
I've had this dream for about 10 years since graduating. I’m always looking through my bag for my class roster and can’t find it. I don’t know the times or the day of my classes, I just know that I haven’t been to class or two, I have not done the readings or homework I was supposed to do for awhile. This just goes to show how institutionalized school can make you… another brick in the wall…“leave us kids alone”

Anonymous said...

Okay, have not seen anyone with this variation on the dream, but this is one of mine. I start to go into the class for the first time midway through the semester. I'm standing outside the door into the classroom and reaching for the doorknob. Just then I look down to discover I'm totally naked. Yes! I think the psychological interpretation here is pretty obvious and has nothing to do with sex (naked = blatantly and obviously unprepared). But how disconcerting knowing I must run back home and get dressed before returning to take the midterm and that I'll probably get back too late to do well on or even pass it.

lasik in atlanta said...

I have been having this dream for the last year too. In fact I had this dream last night and I always wake up freaking out!! I wish I knew what it meant but I have no clue and I can't seem to find it online either....

Natalia said...

i'm so happy to see that i am not alone in having this bizarre reoccurring dream. mine is slightly different than most. when i was in high school, i graduated class of 2010, as a senior my dream was happening in real life. i had been going to that high school all four years, knew all the teachers, most taught multiple grades. starting my senior year i kept completely zoning out and forgetting my entire schedule. like what my next class was and where i was supposed to go. NO i was not on drugs or drunk and i did not have an underlying mental illness. the bell would ring we would be released from first or second period, i would just be walking to my next class with friends, they would then leave me and go to their classes. i am still wondering around and all of a sudden i realize i completely forget where i was supposed to be. i panicked not because i am going to be late for class but that i would be so embarrassed if a teacher asked me where i was supposed to be and i would not be able to answer them. so i would just go the the library for 15 or 20 mins so no one would bother me until i could recall anything about where my next classes were. after this happened a few times i had to start writing down my schedule like a freshman because it would happen so often. a few times i would either walk around the entire campus just to go back to a class i had just been and i would notice that none of the people i knew from my period were in there, the teacher was giving me strange looks then i would get the hint. sometimes sit down in a class that i was not even enrolled in ever. now that i have graduated and not attending any school, i have this happening to me in reoccurring dreams but in my dream a teacher does approach me and i still can't recall any of my classes or the class i had just attended, it's an awful feeling that i just can't get rid of. i have also never told anyone about this because it is so frightening to me.

Anonymous said...

I've been having this dream too...

I dream I'm in my final year of school and getting ready to graduate only to realize that I've failed to take the proper courses or missed a course and am stuck for another year.

It's crazy cause I graduated 10 years ago.

Anonymous said...

It is fairly obvious to me what this symbolizes. We are worried about forgetting to do something in real life.

When I was actually in high school I would have a dream where I was at school and forgot to put on my shoes.

Now that I have graduated high school and college the dream has transformed into forgetting my schedule / forgetting to take a class all year and having to take the exam.

I believe this dream comes when we have busy schedules ahead of us and we are concerned we are going to forget to do something important.

One other thing: We were in school for so long it is inevitable we are going to dream about it. Now that we are so far out of school, we do not remember our schedules or locker combinations. It would be pretty unusual if we knew our schedules from high school years later.

Anonymous said...

Just was woken up this morning by this dream once again and I rarely even remember dreams, but this one is recurring even at age 48, it just doesn't go away.

It's always that I'm in high school, it's the last few weeks of the year and I realize I haven't been to a class or all classes for the whole year, can't even remember my schedule of where to go.

Sometimes it correlates with deadlines at work, other times it's just generally a worrisome time in life. Perhaps this morning's dream is my worry transferring from my son who is graduating college in a few weeks, yet he doesn't seem to be the least bit worried about it.

Oh, well, glad to see this site and feel not so alone with this very annoying dream that apparently will never end.

Anonymous said...

Just woke up from this dream. Failing a class because i stopped going. Wont graduate because of it. It was a g.e. class. Creepy. I just graduated college last week. But this is not the first time i have had this type of dream. It feels so real, and i wake up and feel sooo relieved that is was not real life!

Anonymous said...

Have had this dream countless times. I'm a college grad (3 years out), pretty good student. The dream usually is in a high school setting though. I attend a few sessions at the beginning of the school year then I forget completely about it. Then of course the big dramatic, horrifying realization...I maybe find a textbook in my backpack for the class and my stomach sinks. Probably symbolic of missed opportunities, god knows I've had em. I just hope I don't have this dream every other night the rest of my life. Not much improvement over the naked/pajamas walking down high school hallway or "i missed the bus" dreams i used to have.

Anonymous said...

I have earned my Ph.D. from Michigan State Univ in 1980s. After 30 some years, I still have this dream of missing classes with no way out.

Anonymous said...

This is so weird! Just for the heck of it, I typed in "dreams of college being late to class," and this thread popped up!

I spent 8 years in college, both as an undergrad and a graduate student, and finished in 1985. That was a long time ago, but I didn't start having these dreams until about two years back. In them, I'm sometimes the age I am now. I suddenly realize, after talking to someone in the library or outside on the lawn, that I've never attended one of my classes--if not all--and I'm about to fail. Panic grips me, and I try desperately to figure out a way so I can get caught up...and then, I wake! I'd no idea this was a common dream, but I can tell you, the feelings of panic are very, very real. What does it all mean?

Anonymous said...

I used to have this dream ALL the time, but it had stopped and then I had it again last night. Last night it was that I found my syllabus for an English class and I hadn't gone to class (forgot I was even taking it) nor done any of the reading assignments all semester. The syllabus showed that we had a test or paper (I can't remember which) coming up and I was screwed. I was so panicked...then I woke up.
This is rather creepy that so many people have the exact dream. I knew it was common, but not exact and not THIS common!

Todd said...

I have this dream all of the time, but for me, i think it's because I used to skip class a lot in college.

IMO, having this dream means that we are mature and we understand that we have responsibilities now -- which are things we lacked in college.

dr carlos said...

Hate this dream! Bain of my life, makes me feel like a complete loser. The class changes room n i can never be bothered to go to half the classes and its usually a mix of school college n uni with people from all areas at once. Annoying as hell n usually knighmareish.

Anonymous said...

I have a dream where I'm almost getting ready to graduate or end the semester, but there's this class that I completely forgot about, and haven't attended at all. My only conclusion is that perhaps I feel unprepared or confident about the next step in life? And yeah its usually some kind of Math class or science that I have very little knowledge about. I've had it a few times, Graduated in May with Master's Degree in Architecture... and started having it shortly after that.

Kuri said...

I graduated Uni around 8 years ago, and since then have been having the missing class for whole semester/ forgetting the final project or assignment until the end of the school year etc..... I have noticed that as I have become more dissatisfied with my current job and life situation and I feel things slipping away from me, the dream recurs more frequently.....

Anonymous said...

I just had this dream again last night. This time however, I realized it was my fault that I was in this situation and that I just needed to accept that there was nothing I could do about it. Also, that I would have to deal with the failure and move on. When I woke up I figured that if it somehow happened in real life I would handle it similarly.

Anonymous said...

I keep dreaming that I'm at middle school, and as I get out of one class, the minute bell starts to play music. Then I try to find my class, but just get lost in all the hallways

Anonymous said...

Had this dream last night.....and I know I've dreamt it before....and the weird part is that in the dream...i realized that it was a re-occuring problem and when I woke up...i couldn't remember if it really happened or not...

dylan avery said...

Add me to the list of people plagued by this dream.

I'm always back in High School, and it suddenly dawns on me there's an entire class I never went to.

I'm glad it's not just me.

Anonymous said...

Wow, I also have been dreaming the same dream for the last 20 years. It is so crazy how similar our dreams are. For me it is always a science or a math (Calculus or Physics) class which I am actually very good at and graduated with 3.85 GPA. This happens to me more than 3 times a months.

Anonymous said...

I've been out of any type of formal classes for 20 years and have started having this dream for the past 2 years.

I'm either in High School or University but I cannot find the class schedule. I cannot even find my co-ordinator's office. I go from one class room to another trying to find my classmates.
I know I missed many classes & I will have a lot of catch-up to do.
It's so frustrating.

I'm in my early 40's and menopausal. I have moved house 3 times in the last 4 years. I wonder if the loss of timetable & unfamiliarity has contributed to this dream.

Anonymous said...

I know why I have the dream--I went to an ultra conservative Christian college and that is not me in the least! Beyond missing classes I feel in my dreams that I'm stuck there and it feels like a prison to me!! I have a hard time feeling closed in by any situation these days and I believe it was my college experience that bred that in me! To thine own self be true--today I'm a gay atheist and the dream is fading!!

Anonymous said...

I have had the dream too. Sometimes with one different variation -

In the dream I'm about to finish my graduate program (masters degree) - and then I'm told they realized I did not take a class that was required at the undergraduate level - so I don't have my bachelors degree - and cant qualify for my masters degree....

NoAssemblyReqd said...

Weird how it's always "that one college class." In college we are presented with the choice of being able to skip a class now and again as needed, or to drop it entirely, whereas in high school we were on a pretty rigid schedule.

I often dream that I attended the first couple of days of a class (usually English lit.), and then either forgot to drop it, or got so busy with other classes that I didn't notice my 11 o clock slot was suddenly 'free.' It's not until a week before semester's end that I think, "So *that's* why this semester seemed so easy and light.

I think this dream can affect you whether you're stressed in real life or not. Perhaps you're very successful now, but there's that one nagging detail you fear you may have missed that could send your comfortable life crashing down.

It's always a huge relief to wake from this dream. Feels like Saturday morning.

Anonymous said...

In my case, the dream actually did happen to me.

A few weeks before graduation, I got a summer college -work internship with a local software company. I ended up working there full time for half a decade.

For some reason I don't recall, I needed a copy of my college transcript years later, and when I checked my grades I saw that I had a big fat "F" for the summer internship, which I never followed up with at my school! It had technically been applied AFTER I graduated, so no harm done to my diploma, but it still haunts and amuses me to this day that I have an "F'' for the internship that led to my successful career.

Unknown said...

OMG...I'm so glad for this page. I've been having this dream for years since graduating from college & grad school. There's always this one class that for whatever reason, 3/4 of the way through, I have forgotten to attend this class, and now it's time for the finals and I'm completely unprepared. In fact, I even fear that I've been dropped from this class, but I don't know for sure. And my professor is always this Authoritative, self-assured older white man who is very condescending to the point that he intimidates me. The dream always seems so real that I wake up stressed out and feeling completely irresponsible. I hate this dream.

Anonymous said...

I graduated college in 1995 and had that dream over and over for years. It usually involved realizing at the end of the semester that I hadn't gone to class, and that I was not going to graduate. There was always this feeling that I had been careless. I stopped having it, more or less, when I had a child at age 38. Now, after a lot of soul and spiritual searching, I think I know what it means: That there was something in my life that I needed to learn or engage in that I was missing. That I was not doing the "full course". I think now that I needed to learn about patience and selfless love through becoming a parent. And at one point this feeling came over me that it was important for me to have a child. from my experience, my advice would be: search for that which you have not done, which deep inside you know is important.

Anonymous said...

So interesting to see so many people with close to the same dream. I just woke up with a dream where I suddenly realized, seemingly out of nowhere, that there was a class that I forgot to attend all semester. Finals were coming up very soon.

I looked online at a list of my grades and most of them were 0's out of some high number like 100. There were hundreds of failed assignments (because I never attended) yet every so often, a 30/100 or even 100/100 appeared, but very sparingly.

I then emailed my professor and went to see her in person. I asked if there was any way that I could take the final exam and get my grade up to passing. She said yes, but it would not matter, because the school only lets you miss a certain number of days. In other words, it was too late for me.

I have had this dream dozens of times (that I remember) and it differs but always with the same theme. Sometimes, like others have stated, I just cannot find the room, or I find it and sit down, but I do not understand anything being lectured.

Other non-academic dreams seem to carry the same theme -- such as being naked in public and just realizing at that moment that you forgot something. In my opinion, if we compare these two dreams, we see a common element which is unpreparedness, forgetfulness.

Maybe it means that life can take us by surprise and throw us unexpected circumstances and if we are not prepared, we are humiliated or we fail. In each case, our failure is our own fault. If we forgot to attend a class, who do we have to blame? If we forgot to put on our clothes before leaving our house, then it means we need to slow down, pay attention, do one thing at a time. I think when our mind gets out of control and chaotic, we forget things a lot more, so we just need to learn to relax! :)

Anonymous said...

I was sure I was not the only one havivg this kind of dream. I finished grad school 12 years ago and still dream abour missing some class.

Anonymous said...

I have it too! I graduated undergrad in 2010 and my mother has it as well, who graduated in 1980...

Anonymous said...

I graduated from college 19 years ago and have been having this dream ever since but last night it had a new twist. Instead of high school or under graduate I was in graduate school. I have a bachelors degree when I'm awake and have never attended graduate school. Glad to see my dream is keeping up with the times.

Anonymous said...

I also have this same dream and I recently posted about it on Facebook. It was incredible the amount of responses that I got from people who also dream this, all college graduates. There must be something to this.

Anonymous said...

It's college* my friend

Anonymous said...

Holy crap! I thought I was crazy about having this dream!

My dream is either in college or HS and I go to a class and all my friends are there with me. It all seems so familiar but as class starts i slowly realize that I haven't been to class all semester and their taking up projects that day. I try to act cool but my friends all stare at me as they go up to turn their stuff in and I have no idea what the project is about. Crazy thing is I ALWAYS remember this dream and it ALWAYS seems soooo real!! I graduated HS in 2001 and college in 2008 and i'm still having these dreams at least 7-10 times a year!!

Anonymous said...

I've been having the same dream 3 or 4 times now within the last few weeks. I have to take a final exam without ever being to the class before, and I usually don't even know the time or location of the class. It changes from either HS or college, but I feel that I'm at my current age of 30 instead of a teenager or in my early 20s. The only things I can think of that could cause the dream is missed opportunities from my past, or the fact that I'm having my first child in a month. I'm not an anxious person or feel ill prepared for the arrival of my daughter, but I feel that has to be the reason. I didn't start having them until recently.

Anonymous said...

Been having this same dream for months desp to know what it means. I have two degrees and haven't studied in 10 years!

Anonymous said...

I have had this type of Sean many times, and I'm consciously aware that I don't feel as intellectually stimulated as I want to be. That could be the answer to this dream.

Anonymous said...

Graduated over 20yrs ago and STILL have this dream. Actually had it AGAIN just a few days ago. I usually wake up all freaked out and wondering how pissed my dad is going to be -- LOL...then after a few beats I go...wait a minute...I not only have my undergraduate degree...I earned a graduate degree as well...really odd that so many people have same experience.

Anonymous said...

This is one of the first results that come up on google.

During university, I'll admit that there were one or two early morning classes that I tended to skip that I should've been stricter at attending. One of these I actually failed, sat the summer resit, and barely passed. I graduated on time 10 years ago.

Last nights dream was an example where I decided to turn up to class. It was a university module, yet it was set in my old secondary/high school.
I had realised that I hadn't been attending, and more importantly (given that I could cram in the studying) that I had potentially missed deadlines for assessed practicals - this is usually what panics me. Last night however I paniced, then shrugged it off and went to the sixth form centre (a lounge for grade 13/14 (?) students), and while back at school this only had a snack bar, in my dream it had a bar, I sat and had a whiskey (something I never drank until 5 years ago).

Other times I'll have a variation on the dream where my life now and my life then are mixed a little, some of the more stressful aspects such as rushing for the school bus will be mitigated in the knowledge that I have a car, for example.

Anonymous said...

Thatks god i though i was the only one

Anonymous said...

In my dream I attend the first few classes of the semester and then skip one, then a couple of more, and then realize I haven't been to class in 6 weeks. And once I realize that, I then realize I no longer know the class time or location and can't find my schedule. The issue now isn't an upcoming final, but it's that I've missed six weeks of assignments, tests, and midterms and there can possibly be no way I can pass the course even if I do well on the midterm.

Even after I wake up and realize it was just a dream, I still am stressed just thinking about.

Anonymous said...

I'm almost 70 years old, and I still have this dream but now I am having a dream where I am in a shifty community college and I'm in two classes but have no idea what class it is or what the the teacher is saying. I can't take notes or see the visuals bc they are posted too high on the wall. No one can explain what's happening, so I know I will fail bc it's overwhelming to catch up. Ugh when does this crap stop!!!!

Anonymous said...

Glad I'm not the only nutjob out there!

I have had variations of this dream for years.

Even in the dreams I know that I am beyond all this and that nobody can really do anything to me because of it, so I can't really say they stress me out anymore.

But they do leave me with sort of an empty feeling that there is something I have missed.