Do you have to pay fees if you leave in first few weeks?

[GaribaldiGirl]

My daughter is not enjoying University with all the Covid restrictions. No face to face, no freshers activities and draconian social distancing rules in halls. We’re wondering if she’d be better deferring or leaving/reapplying. Will she still have to pay the fees? Anyone done this before?

Usually yes if she passes certain liability dates she will be required to pay a certain amount of the fees (possibly half? I can’t remember). Her accommodation contract will likely be separate. She needs to talk to the student finances people at her university to check exactly when and how much she would be required to pay depending on what she wants to do. A number of students do it under normal circumstances and I imagine she won’t be the only one this year

Could you look on the website for the uni she is at?
This suggests

If you leave in the first term, you'll be charged 25% of the tuition fees for that academic year

www.prospects.ac.uk/applying-for-university/changing-or-leaving-your-course

Will look at the small print!

Don’t think anyone realised what it was going to be like. Guess there may be a few drop outs and late deferrals this year.

Sorry it's come to that @GaribaldiGirl.
Where is she? 25 % of fees is the usual amount for withdrawal in the first term but some waive all costs for students who leave in the first few weeks. Are there medical reasons? Clinically diagnosed
anxiety, for example?
That's assuming she's an English student funded via SLC. Universities have slightly different arrangements with the Scottish funding agency (sass) and for self funded (international) students.
The sooner you contact her department and student support to discuss the better.
Accommodation is a separate contract but the university can obviously waive their costs thereif they choose to.

She should check with SFE (or whichever is the relevant funding body) as to the effect that leaving the course will have on entitlement to future funding. e.g. if SFE
www.gov.uk/student-finance/who-qualifies
(scroll down to 'If you've studied before').

Leaving in first year wouldn't normally be a problem, unless another 'false start' is made, or the student needs to repeat a year within a subsequent course.

I think Garibaldis daughter is in a very different scenario PatriciaPerch. Some universities have been very disingenuous , possibly unintentionally, but disingenuous nonetheless. No one said people would have to eat alone sitting at exam desks and possibly live on corridors where there are no other students. Some universities very much played up ‘blended learning’ and are only now have to concede that all teaching will be online in halls of residence with very poor WiFi.

The fee liability point is 14 days from the start of term. She'd also have to pay back in full any maintenance loan received if she left before that, and as others have said will probably still need to pay for her accommodation.

It’s not unusual to drop out right at the beginning of Uni. Sometimes students know that it is the wring place, course and time for them. I think it can be a sign of maturity to make a decision to quit. Especially this year. No one will hold it against her.

Hopefully your daughter can find out the financial ramifications of dropping out straight away. I had a feeling it was within two weeks of starting too but obviously you need to check properly.

Your daughter will Probably be working until she is in her late 60’s so losing a year now won’t make any odds.

Does she have anything to do if she comes home?

The problem is that what looks fine on paper isn't always played out when they arrive. And the stark reality when there is often very different. Going to university is a huge change for many students. The year is far far worse in that sense.

DD's course in the site under their Covid plans said 60% would be face to face. The timetables have come through and it isn't the case at all. It's also even less when they realise that tha/t many courses don't have a full week of lessons so the percentage is the percentage of teaching hours not the week. For dd - in a course which is usually very hands in and practical - this equates to 2 face to face sessions a week.

Due to the governments debacle with grades she is not in her first choice place which means she didn't get her first choice accommodation. She's in a private owned block of flats. Whilst there is a mix of ages, year groups and courses in the block with some first years, her own flat has two post grad students and one second year - all older, all different year groups and all different courses.

We just have everything crossed that dd settles, after a truely dreadful year as it is, and can make new friends under rubbish circumstances.

I can totally see why the drop out rates this autumn could be awful though.

In my view some universities have lied and thus broken consumer law. Others have not. My sons' place only promised face to face "as soon as is safe to do so" which could mean whole year on line. One is at home (fees £11k) the other in Bristol (fees £9k but plus £6k plus rent. They are both post grad. They are both doing an identical on line course.