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!

It just seems to me that she had every opportunity to go to a top uni and read politics, so if she had wanted to, she'd be doing that.

I think all you can do is tell her clearly you’ll support her no matter what she chooses. Don’t put any pressure on her one way or the other. That way if in a year, or 5 years she thinks she made the wrong decision she can’t blame you.

sociology isn’t just a question of will she enjoy the degree, but what can she/will she do with it afterwards. If she struggles to get a job after doing a sociology degree, or struggles to get her dream job would she (possibly wrongly) blame her degree subject? And if she thinks she was under pressure to stay at uni now would she blame you?

@AnonAnoraThere are jobs. But they are competitive. Every university offers these humanities courses. It’s not just the degree that gets you the job. Or the masters. Dc need a bit more. Targeted work experience, general work experience and personality plus getting on with people. All degrees are just a part of what grads offer an employer.

For what it’s worth, there’s not much difference between history and politics in terms of employability. Plenty of history grads have political jobs so assuming a politics degree is the golden ticket to this career just isn’t true.

Thank you all very much for all your thoughts and advice. You cannot imagine how much you are helping. Being able to just talk and share all the random emotions made me feel supported and like I am not on my own in this.

I have spoken with DD on Zoom and, to my pleasant surprise, she looked and sounded very positive. She said that she very much liked the uni, the city, her accommodation, her new mates and wanted to stay and make it work. They have had many freshers' events and she got a glimpse into sociology. She said it sounded like a lot of statistics! Some modules will be from the joint pool across the Social Sciences department so she will be choosing those related to politics.

Regarding the transfer, she will keep talking to the programme officer in Politics over the next two weeks to re-iterate her interest and try to get a place. She also said that many students from the new cohort want to transfer! One of them is from Economics and Politics - which would vacate the space! - but that girl's preferred course is full too. So there may indeed be some movement. We will keep our fingers crossed.

I explained to her the financial implications depending on what she decides and, crucially, when.

But students can, and do , change course after enrolment.

They seem to be rather indecisive bunch at Bristol all round!

Why are so many of them trying to swap about??

No idea... My nephew at Nottingham and my former student now at Durham said the same - many switched in the course of the first year.

I think this may rather prove the point that some are applying for the place rather than the course and the think they can game the course.

Sociology is an interesting degree. I’ve taken notes for this degree at another RG university in the south and the lectures were very much about social justice, issues which are very prescient in this political climate, class, migration. It might appeal to her if that’s what she’s interested in. It seems to attract more left wing hippyish lecturers and students, possibly different from the politics students, looking for the PPE type pathway.

So, the jury is out on Sociology and next two weeks will hopefully make things clearer about what she needs to do.

She knows that she has my support if, after giving it a go, she decides to withdraw and re-apply for next year.

That's an interesting observation @fluffythecat1. I would say DD is rather left-wing (unlike me) so she would fit right in, in that case. They are reading Intersections and Inequalities in the first term.

Sociology, especially at Bristol, is Proper Woke.

I have looked at the course structure again and no way can it be described as a soft subject or an easy degree. Sociology is a BSc at Bristol so has a heavy data science component. It makes me feel a bit more positive too.

She is bound to love it then (eye roll)

That sounds much more positive. Also, tell her to look at the Student Union societies. One of the ones at the UEA was 'Model UN'. She can also join things like the Politics society or the debating society if shes interested in Politics.

Yes, the home of Edward Colston’s swim. ☺️

@Piggywaspushed What - all of it? Really?

I don't know it just has that reputation. You really wouldn't do sociology unless you were pretty - very liberal. DS identified that as being a major difference between sociologiy lecturers (and the pol ones he met) and history where he encountered quite a few really very obviously right wing academics and students.

It has always traditionally been an academically left wing field. Bristol is especially so in the make up of its sociology students.

In case the implication is that this makes it less rigorous, that is not the case. Marxist academia is hard. And Bristol has a QM reputation which adds rigour in inspecting data. and employability.

Yes they absolutely can, but I said ‘if there aren’t spaces on the course’. Not all courses are full at the start of term.

OP has advised that the university admissions team say OP’s DD’s desired course is full. All the financial risk of staying in the hope that a transfer becomes available soon or at some point would be on DD (and her parent), and the odds of the desired outcome are unknown and likely to be low.

Better time out at home (perhaps on list for a place if one for a UK student becomes available before the university’s cut off for late starts) without an immediate plan than incur thousands and thousands of pounds of costs by dropping out even a few weeks later than the cut off. Or feeling trapped for 3 years studying a subject she doesn’t enjoy (been there done that!)

@Dozer how soon did you realise that you were not enjoying through subject? I wonder if she will be able to tell after two weeks. That's when she can withdraw without any financial liability for tuition. According to the BU rules she would not be able to transfer after 2 weeks anyway even if the place becomes available.

Immediately! I stuck it out because I liked the place and people, and got a good degree and a good job (and DH!), Made the best of fhe course but it was a long, hard slog.

Knew several people who actively wanted to switch having tried their chosen subject but weren’t able to due to uni spaces or rules, who stuck it out. Similarly got good degrees and jobs but didn’t enjoy much of the studies.

Like your DD I chose a subject I’d never previously studied. Had enjoyed all my a level subjects but didn’t think enough for a degree. The course I chose also offered a year in industry or abroad and was more popular with employers at the time. A risky move!

It seems to me that your DD’s situation is different, in that she was always clear what she wanted to study (politics) but wanted to do it in a place she’d turned down (Bristol) and had unrealistic hopes of being able to start something new and random (sociology) switch.

@Piggywaspushed Is your DS at Bristol? Or elsewhere with a different demographic?

Not sure quite what you mean by 'different demographic'. The woke nature of many Bristol students and the youthful vibe of the place itself, with its Green MP, is well documented and ax a PP mentioned it is the place of the Colston statue. The students I know who head off there are usually politically active , aspirational and ambitious.

The modules and the outreach work at Bristol tell a story as do the research interests of the academic staff.

I don't use woke as a pejorative term, by the way. Bristol has always been popular but it's had a real spike this year.

I'm saying helpful and nice things about Bristol so why the dig?

Students didn’t remove the statue. Well documented this wasn’t the case.

Bristol still has quite a few rich students who are not interested in “woke”. Pretty normal people really. One green mp? One. What does that mean regarding sociology students? MN wants it both ways. Bristol is horribly full of toffs. Bristol is woke. It’s neither but you can no doubt find both if you look.

So your DS isn’t there then? Just a few pupils who have gone there. As I said, they might find their tribe but it’s not a very politically active uni in many respects. Ambition and aspiration are less likely to be realised in sociology students judging by employment stats.