help re uni dropout?

jcc_2

Hi Everyone,
apologies if this isn't the correct place for this but, our son has just informed us that he does not want to complete his uni degree next year. He has done 2 years and before that had 2 years at college doing a

btec

and 1 year higher education doing A levels. The only employment he has had is 2 years weekend work while he was at college. My question is, where do we go from here? He will

obviously

be looking for work, but is he entitled to anything? Are we or he entitled to any help towards his keep whilst looking for work? Any help thankfully received

Teresa60

He is entitled to Job Seekers Allowance if he is actively looking for a job.

Teresa60

P>S Our daughter dropped out of uni not long after she started because she didnt like being away from home nor did she like the course. She is on JSA while looking but jobs are a bit scarce so good luck to him

eamon

I can sympathise with your son as I also dropped out of higher education, though that was 26 years ago. For me it was the right decision, though with better/different people around me I may not have needed to make that decision in the first place. Anyway


Yes your son can apply for job seekers allowance. But more importantly does your son fully realise what he is about to do? If he is looking for work, he couldn't be picking a worse time, its very tough out here, even the most menial of jobs are scarce.


Don't despair though, is is possible for his present university to postpone his final year for a couple of years?

jcc_2

Hi, Thank you everyone for your replies. He does realise it is going to be difficult to find a job at present, but says he is prepared to do anything, there's nothing I can do to persuade him to stay, says he loves being at Uni but hates the course. I can't and don't really want to force him into doing something that he doesn't want to. I know he wouldn't have made this decision lightly. I had thought about him having a year out, but if he hates the course that wouldn't be much help, and a new course would be another 3 years. So as much as I hate it, he will have to be another statistic for a while. Hopefully not long.

onlyforboards_2

jcc wrote: »

a new course would be another 3 years. So as much as I hate it, he will have to be another statistic for a while. Hopefully not long.

It might not be. He might not have to start at the beginning if he transfers.

bitsandpieces

He should speak to his tutor - or similar - if he hasn't already. He may be able to restart a different course at a later date, with partial credit for what he has already done. He may even be able to focus on a different course for the third year and graduate with a different degree (some places have general humanities/social science degrees, though not all that common). Either way, he should make sure he leaves on the best possible terms - will want a reference, etc.

barnaby-bear

jcc wrote: »

Hi, Thank you everyone for your replies. He does realise it is going to be difficult to find a job at present, but says he is prepared to do anything, there's nothing I can do to persuade him to stay, says he loves being at Uni but hates the course. I can't and don't really want to force him into doing something that he doesn't want to. I know he wouldn't have made this decision lightly. I had thought about him having a year out, but if he hates the course that wouldn't be much help, and a new course would be another 3 years. So as much as I hate it, he will have to be another statistic for a while. Hopefully not long.

The open university degrees are fairly flexible so he could use the credit transfer scheme to get the credit for the first two years and spend another year (or more doing it part-time) in somehting completely different and on alow income he'll get some financial support.
http://www3.open.ac.uk/credit-transfer/index.shtm
An open degree is one where you can choose any field of study:
http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/open-programme/index.htm

di3004

Hi there

My son's was a 2 year course at uni, he done one year then dropped out to start employment.
He left right at the end of the first year, when all exams were over, the same time as everyone, as then it was the holidays.

The student support contacted him during the 2nd year and asked why his forms for finance had not been sent back so they can credit the funds into his bank account, so of course he explained, he completed the first year to the full, then in the holiday started employment, where he decided to stay put.

Within a few weeks they wrote back and requested he pay back an overpayment of the grant from the first year, even though it was explained to them he completed the first year, they said, the grant was financed up until going on to the 2nd year.

We understood the student loan must be repaid, but as this was a grant, they then classed it as an overpayment, because he never went back to the 2nd year.

Of course again we got confused thinking they paid funds in for the 2nd year, so went through my son bank statements, and realised they were going by the last payment made for the first year.
My son got back in touch, and he has to repay approx £250 back in grant payment.

This matter was also posted on the Student support thread, where some say this is probably right, even though he did not get paid for the 2nd year, the first year grant was also towards the 2nd year, something in those lines.

My son had found out since that another guy he knows from uni, dropped out the same time as himself and have not heard a word from student finance, but my son has paid up now anyway.

I realise everyone's circumstances are different, but just to be careful, if this happens ask for a breakdown of payments, of when they were made and so on.

Floss

onlyforboards wrote: »

It might not be. He might not have to start at the beginning if he transfers.

Speaking from experience it is very unlikely he will be able to step into the middle of another degree course without re-doing at least one year. If nothing else, he needs to consider the financial implications, as he will probably have to be self-financing for the first 2 years of another degree. This may also mean only 75% of any loan and no fee loan (as it did in our case).

I've been in the same position as the OP, except my son did 2 years on 1 degree, transferred to a 2nd degree, paid his own fees for another 2 years and finally dropped out. He is now on income-based Job Seekers and is actively seeking work, but as he still lives in a University city, it ain't easy.

charlie..._7

if he completes two years he will have a diploma (or should have)