DD disappointed with uni course - what are the options? Would appreciate your thoughts!

[AnonAnora]

DD has had a most difficult time with choosing a uni. She is very bright and had all As predicted, got offers from all the RG unis she put down. Took a really long time to firm up and then before the results day decided to switch unis via clearing. All those courses were in Clearing this summer. She was absolutely set on Bristol. We had visited and she loved it.

On the results day, her first choice was confirmed but she was adamant she wants to switch. Unfortunately, she just missed out on the course at Bristol that she wanted but was offered a course in a similar subject. She still wanted to go and thought she would try to transfer later.

Well, she is now at Bristol and her tutor said that she cannot switch as there are no places. She cannot change to a combined degree either, for the same reason.

She doesn't know what to do. She regrets not taking up the other offer - although she was absolutely sure when she made the choice and that she was happy with the risk. What can she do now? Start the other course and see how it goes? Transfer in the end of Year 1, back to Year 1 in her chosen subject (and pay 20k plus for the loss of the year)? Withdraw now and take a gap year?

And to think, she had her pick of the great unis!

Out of interest, what was her firmed up uni? DS wants to do Politics and IR next year but hasn't looked at Bristol ( too far from us) and we're looking for open days to go to.

You know what else, when she spoke to Bristol on the results day, they checked her grades (her grades way exceeded the Clearing requirements for the course) and did offer her Politics and said to wait for an official email. She checked and double-checked if it was a definite yes from them, and they assured her that yes, she has the offer and it was being sent. But then she received an email saying that they couldn't offer her the place because none were available anymore. 😒

Edinburgh

I’d say that sociology has some modules that are political with a small ‘p’ - so there’s a bit of a link but not substantial overlap. If your daughter is interested in politics, she should find a way to switch. I think the Uni has not been very honest really which is disappointing.

Oh lol that's even further from us! Well stick to Nottingham 😀

Oh that is awful and not fair of them at all. Tbh it would put me off them.

I think for now the plan is that she will keep communicating with the programme office and re-iterating her interest to see if there is a change on the Politics course. If by the end of second week no luck, she will withdraw from sociology. And then she can either ask to be transferred to politics from next September and take a gap year, or leave altogether and re-apply via UCAS.

My nephew went there. Absolutely loved it (he was in Business School though so a different department). But the Uni and city experience were everything he wanted and more. Made great friends for life (so far )

@AnonAnora Edinburgh isn’t better than Bristol really. About the same. On CUG Bristol ranks higher. Employers doing uni blind will not care though. My somewhat jaundiced view on political jobs - it’s who you know.

Can I vent a bit? Please?

I am just so, so angry. I am not showing it to her (we haven't spoken since yesterday) but I just called my DH and really let it all out. She had everything going for her! She had every goddamn uni to choose from, every possible kind! I spent hundreds of hours talking to her, supporting, going back and forth, over and over again, trying not to push, trying to listen and let her make a choice, all the while she couldn't make the bloody choice! It was draining emotionally and I was there for her, always, just wanting one thing - for her to be happy! And in the end she just f*d up everything. And now yes, it is hard for her. But it is hard for me too! I didnt make that decision but I am the one dealing with it now! If she takes gap year what is she going to do? All her friends are away at Unis. Yes, she can get a part time job but she is not into much else really so the spare time will be spent just laying around with the phone. And what is she takes it badly and develops depression or something else? She can be prone to it. It will be up to me again to support her, and I resent being made to deal with it. She could have had it all. I wish now I wasn't so understanding and insisted that 'you go to the firmed up Uni and it will work itself out'. And be done with it. But she was so happy with the idea of going to Bristol, finally she looked settled and set in her decision. So it felt like the right one. And now everything has gone tits up, I am stressed out again and nobody knows how things will work out now.

I am sorry. I am just so disappointed, upset and angry at how her indecisiveness messed up everything in a very big way. She bloody had it all going for her.

@AnonAnora kids they are so bloody annoying aren't they ?😄 I'm sure it will work out in the end. She has good grades by the sounds of it. If she has experience in an MP's office she has good experience. She may just have to live with the consequences of her indecision. She may feel worse if she does Sociology and it's not something she likes. It's a lottery ((hugs))

I get it. Dd took a last minute gap year. Once she got over the disappointment(in herself as well as results) she refocussed. Found volunteering opportunities related to her ultimate career, interspersed with a few hours volunteering in local library, pt work in a play centre and a tutoring organisation, as well as reapplying for uni. Some of her plans didn’t come off as covid hit midway through. It is frustrating but none of the time and experience was wasted. Your dd can turn it around if her ultimate decision is to leave.

This. The tutor may want to keep her on the course. I'd seek out someone who looks out for the students who knows the options open at this stage.

I think a gap year would do your DD the world of good.

Is it realistic that Bristol uni would want to lose a student with that grade profile if she negotiates this properly?

I just don't know anymore. 😕 I honestly despair. She is the kind of girl that hates bothering people. She gets very uncomfortable asking somebody about something. She feels that she has asked the tutor, got the response and there is no point pushing it any more.

Could you advise please what do you mean by negotiating properly? To say that she is thinking about withdrawing altogether? Which is true.

So she should draft a letter explaining the background with the MP and the whirlwind of A levels results and how passionate she is about Politics and how unfortunately she willl have to look at other uni options and send it to higher up in the uni where they do not want to lose any good students?

OP….i know it’s seems like she Fu**d it but in reality she hasn’t…..I would only call it a f up if she was to stay on the course and finds she hates it with a shed load of debt! With those grades she can probably have her choice of universities.

There is a huge difference between politics and sociology in my humble opinion whilst some overlap….did she do A Level Sociology? I went to one of the top 4 and found that whilst I loved my course I wasn’t as enamoured with it as I thought I would be so switched to another that had overlap within the same department in my 2nd year - im just not sure how easy it is to do these day - my first year didn’t count towards my degree only 2nd and 3rd years. If she cannot get the reassurance that she can swap id agree withdraw! I get your worry re. A gap year and then loafing all day long with a part-time job….perhaps it’s the year she can volunteer for a Local parish council, volunteer at a food bank etc.

Im certain that it will work out for her not matter what the path she takes but it takes more courage to say you made a mistake and change it than stick it out because whilst she will have a great time from a social perspective she could get very depressed having to write an esssy on Weber v’s Marx discuss !?!

@Araminta1003 thank you so much! Someone higher up - like Head of School? Or a vice-chancellor? I think at this stage she has nothing to lose really.

I would say from my experience politics and Sociology do have quite a bit of overlap, similar themes, and you can use some similar info in both, though as others have said it also has distinct differences but very complimentary. However she should check whether her university (as many do) let her to do modules from both courses, many times other than the core modules, politics and Sociology modules tend to both be on a list of approved modules which both courses can choose from even though they aren't technically on that course.

Perhaps let her check as from my experience the majority of the modules are available to politics and sociology students so she could fill her optional modules from politics (in some universities I don't know about bristol).

Would she be willing to reapply next year for Politics and Sociology?

I was thinking the same. How can they reserve it for international students when they have interest from qualified domestic students?

Maybe to make more money.

It is shocking. You don’t have enough seats for your own good students and you are reserving for international students. It will not be acceptable in many countries.

Courses have to be financed, andc8fcthey are financed partly through international students (subsidising home students) then they have to have certain numbers of International students.

When you say “make more money”… you have seen the many many news stories about unis closing down departments, restricting modules, laying off staff etc? And the recent merger of Kent and Greenwich for financial reasons?

It’s not because of greed for high profits. It’s existential for many institutions to survive.