Uni advice - change course / drop out

[Whowherewhywhat]

Hi - DS started uni in September and came home for the first time on Friday - he’s said he’s not happy on his course and wants to change.
After discussing this and supporting him on this, he then casually mentioned that he’d wished he’d taken a year out instead - so my question is , does anyone have any experience of their DS/DD changing course but also of taking a year out or moving university - was it difficult etc? He’s home until tomorrow so trying to find out how to help him!

Hi, OP - academic and former admissions tutor here.

This isn’t uncommon. Student Finance allows for one extra year beyond the term of the degree, so that side of things should be all right.

But DS needs to get it right next time. Why is he unhappy with his course? Many students find the first few weeks rough going, then become much happier as they adjust to the higher workload and new way of working. Does he dislike his classmates, the subject, his personal tutor, the lecturers — what exactly?

When DS chose his degree programme, was it a close call between two subjects and now he feels he chose the wrong one? Has he suddenly developed a passion for another subject? Could he be depressed?

Analysing this is really important. I would never force a DC to remain at uni. But DS - and, if he is 18 or 19 I would say that you and his other DP, if they are on the scene - need to know what has gone wrong in order to make it right.

I also suggest that DS have a chat with his personal tutor/ academic advisor about his concerns. If they are at all experienced they are very familiar with this. His School’s Student Support Officer is another option. People will want to help him. He can find out when his full fees are due and perhaps save money that way. I think he has a little while - time to make a good decision. Best wishes to you all.

PS It may be too late to restart this year but, to answer your question, applying somewhere else next year in a different subject should not raise any red flags. DS would need to briefly address the change in his PS.

However I am concerned that the same thing could happen again unless he reflects further now. Although there are certainly exceptions, on the whole transfer students in this situation tend to bring their dissatisfactions with them.

My DD really struggled with her first term - wrong course wrong accommodation, wrong flatmates, non-stop illness. She did love the uni though. She managed to swap courses, but it was too late in the year to start the new one, so she suspended her studies to restart this September.
She got a job after Christmas, joined a class or two to keep her hobbies going, took driving lessons.
The difference in her this September to last is incredible. She was only just 18 when she started last year. Her confidence has grown so much over her time out.
She went back in September, is happier in her accommodation, getting on with her flatmates (all returners), loving her course. She came home last week and passed her driving test.
I think for some a year out can really help.

How long since term started? Most allow changes within the first few weeks of tuition especially to related degrees. If he withdraws now he may be liable for the tuition fee and maintenance loan and accommodation costs. Plenty of students struggle to settle as it is a big change and uni may not meet expectations but given time it can work out.

Thank you for the replies - I think he chose the course because he loves sport and wasn’t particularly interested in any other ‘academic’ subject . However , he explained that he had been thinking about a more vocational degree ( around gaming design etc) etc for a while but didn’t know they existed until he went to uni. He says that he can see this as a career path and something that he has always loved doing , just didn’t realise he could study it! He loves ‘playing’ sport, but doesn’t see a career in it outside of playing (he plays football at a fairly high level) . So, it makes sense that he wants to change course and there is a reason behind it.
However, he did then also slide into the conversation that he has found it stressful adjusting to bring responsible for everything - he only just turned 18 before he went to uni so is a young one. Ee had toyed with him having a year out but he then decided he wanted to go.
He says he’s happy with his accommodation and flat mates etc but feels constantly stressed to make sure he’s buying food, cooking, doing washing, having to sort out all his football,( new team, fitness regime etc), do feel overwhelmed. I’m hindsight he may have been better postponing for a year……
It sounds like the best approach is to speak to the uni on Monday and get their counselling before we make any decisions, I guess I just want him to know we are listening and will help him with whatever he decides, but it has to be his decision…..

Hi again.

This all sounds relatively good. DS now has ideas for a career he hadn’t known about earlier, consistent with his interests. He just needs to make sure he has the qualifications.
This is a sensible reason to restart. A new application should be considered without prejudice.

However being young definitely makes a difference, as @Seeline says. Their brains are still developing, particularly boys’. And keeping up a high level of sport whilst adjusting to uni is also a complication. I do hope DS will be talking with someone at uni this week but I feel more optimistic that spending a year growing up and then making the change will set him on the right path.

Does he have the qualifications to be accepted for a game design degree or shown any aptitude in this direction. I am guessing these would be very different from those needed in a sports degree. Not saying he should continue if he feels the current degree will not lead him anywhere but just to be realistic about what other options are open to him.

Thanks again for all your replies - a quick update, DS has confirmed that he does really want to stay at uni. So we talked to the new faculty today and they put him through as express and looks like he can transfer this week, which would be fabulous for him. Thanks for all the advice, going directly to his new faculty head and his current faculty head made a big difference , so if anyone else’s DS/DD are thinking the same , go for it now whilst they haven’t missed too much of the course 👍😊

Great news, OP!

That's good news.

Hi, I'm so desperate for help! My daughter is in her first year at uni and hates her course. She's spoken to student support but they are useless! She wants to change course at the same uni but has been told she just has to finish her first year then wait and see if she can be offered a place on the new course. No time given just wait. She's a mess. Crying, hysterical and I can't help. She won't let me contact the university. Please can anyone advise. How can I help, who can she turn to, there must be something I can do? She's so happy usually and this is killing me.

She should have an academic tutor to discuss it with. There may be certain courses she needs to take and pass to transfer, or start at year one again. Are the subject areas related?

She is doing primary education Qts but wants to change to English Literature. The Qts course is appalling, not challenging, lack of work to complete, poor lectures etc. She has seen student support who advised she didn't discuss the matter with her Qts tutors. I haven't heard about an academic tutor. Thank you for your reply.

Has she spoken to the English Lit department? Can she check of there are any compulsory modules in first year.

Student support told her NOT to speak to them which I find ludicrous. If I mention anything my daughter says student support is dealing with it but I feel like they are ignoring her request.

Does she know any English Lit students? I'd be surprised of she could join year 1 now or year 2 in September. Did she meet the entry grades?

Hi, OP -

Former admissions tutor here (Russell Group). @LIZS is giving you good advice but I am frustrated reading the back-and-forth (which is absolutely no one’s fault!) so I will tell you how my institution and some others would or should deal with this situation and the steps your DD can take.

First, I am sorry that your DD’s Primary Ed QTS course hasn’t worked out. Is she really sure she is ready to close it off? Could her reaction be down to a bad experience that could be solved or put well and truly behind her? These points are worth considering because if she loves the idea of teaching primary this is likely to be a great pathway in a competitive field.

If she is sure about transferring out: yes, every UG student should have a Personal Tutor or Academic Advisor who is a permanent member of academic staff. That’s who I think @LIZS was referring to. If this person has been making themselves available as virtually all of us do, your DD has probably been expected to make contact for a ‘check up’ at least once per term. The PT can be a great ally when anything goes wrong, and that includes helping tutees to transfer when they have good reason to do so.

The School (School of Education?) may be a bit slow, hoping DD will change her mind, because losing her means lost £££. Her PT should be focussed on her well being. As @LIZS said, the PT is really the best person to start with for this reason. The PT can also help her liaise with Student Support

But now we come to the key question: does DD have the qualifications for Eng Lit? If she is well qualified I would think she will be able to re-start in Eng Lit from Y1 next year. It wouldn’t be academically sound to join now, over half way through the year.

I am concerned that something has made DD hysterical. Many UGs are struggling with MH. And there is always the possibility that DD has endured something very wrong, possibly in connection with her studies. Can you help her get to a better place before she hopefully restarts in the Autumn?

Best wishes to DD

Sorry, my message above was for@Haras3210 rather than the OP, whose story ended happily

Thank you for your help. poetryandwine I've private messaged you if that is ok.

@Haras3210
My DD was in a similar situation last year. Didn't like her course, but really liked the uni. She found another course that she liked and contacted the course leader directly. They agreed that she could start the following year in Y1 as her original course didn't have enough matching content for a transfer. She then had to get her personal tutor to agree the swap. The uni agreed to a suspension of studies from that Christmas until the next September. She is thoroughly enjoying her new course now.

Thank you so much. I'm trying to get her to go directly to the eng department but she's hesitant as the support lady told her not to. She's been told she has to finish yr 1 which is hard when you are low and hating every minute of it. Glad you're daughters doing well.

I think if she needs to transfer credits to start a new course in Y2 she would need to finish Y1, but with the 2 courses involved here, I doubt that a direct transfer is possible and she would need to do Y1 again anyway. I can't see the benefit of continuing if it's really getting her down. She really needs to speak to her academic tutor and the new head of course.

Some good advice on here @Haras3210. I don't know why student support are saying that she shouldn't contact English. It depends on the uni, but many allow the students to request a course change directly on eVision (or whatever the university uses) and there is an option on the form to start in the first year (which is most probably what would be required here). So your DD should be able to arrange this herself. It is useful for her also to contact the head of English Lit who will be accepting this request (we hope) because it's more likely to be accepted if the head of English Lit knows the background.

If she is accepted, she can ask whether she's expected to finish first year.

Hi, again, @Haras3210

Thanks for the PM and I will reply there also.

Is the Student Support person in your DD’s unit (presumable School of Education or similar)? You said the quality of her degree programme has been low, so if the SS Officer is in the School and the School is dealing with many complaints, sadly I would not be surprised if delay tactics are being employed.

If DD has the qualifications to study Eng Lit, I also cannot see what she has to lose by contact that unit directly. And soon, as admissions decisions are being made now.

However I don’t mean for that to sound urgent as I do not think it is. Students wishing to restart at the same uni have a bit of leverage in the form of their tuition ££££.
I think it will be down to whether DD has met the admissions requirements.

@Haras3210 I have finally PM’d you some useful information, after a couple of false starts because I missed one of your messages.