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Has anyone left uni? Did you regret it? And a few more questions.
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Hi there,
Along with many other people it would seem, I went to university because it was expected of me. I was only there for 2 months before I realised it completely wasn't for me. I did not enjoy the course at all and there was nothing I liked about being at uni.
I had to pay back my loan for the first term which was £1476 and although this seems like a lot I personally think it was definitely worth leaving and I don't regret it at all.
I have just got a job, beating plenty of graduates to it. There are great chances of promotion and it pays £22000 which is higher than the average graduates starting salary. There are also plenty of chances for promotion and as the company likes to promote internally I can see myself doing well with them.
I'm a firm believer that there is a lot to be said for experience over qualifications on paper. Ask many employers and they will say they'd go for the experienced person over the qualified one any day.
It is up to you to weigh up the situation you're in. Personally I have no idea why I chose the subject I did and although people were shocked when I droped out I am now convinced I made the right decision. I hope you can make a decision you're happy with, feel free to ask me any questions you may have as I only dropped out in december. xxx0 -
princessbella wrote:Hi there,
Along with many other people it would seem, I went to university because it was expected of me. I was only there for 2 months before I realised it completely wasn't for me. I did not enjoy the course at all and there was nothing I liked about being at uni.
I had to pay back my loan for the first term which was £1476 and although this seems like a lot I personally think it was definitely worth leaving and I don't regret it at all.
I have just got a job, beating plenty of graduates to it. There are great chances of promotion and it pays £22000 which is higher than the average graduates starting salary. There are also plenty of chances for promotion and as the company likes to promote internally I can see myself doing well with them.
I'm a firm believer that there is a lot to be said for experience over qualifications on paper. Ask many employers and they will say they'd go for the experienced person over the qualified one any day.
It is up to you to weigh up the situation you're in. Personally I have no idea why I chose the subject I did and although people were shocked when I droped out I am now convinced I made the right decision. I hope you can make a decision you're happy with, feel free to ask me any questions you may have as I only dropped out in december. xxx
This gives me hope, so thank you! Did your uni make it really difficult to leave? I imagine that mine will... And also, did you know what kind of job you wanted to go for? Or was it just a case of applying to vacancies?
Ooh, and about the loan situation... Did you have to pay it back straight away?
I think that at the moment I'm thinking short term. I can't imagine myself working, but I know that I will have to. I want to see whether the grass is really greener on the other side... And if it's not, then at least I've experienced it.
In a way, perhaps this has happened for a reason. I was going to defer my entry on this course until this september... imagine if I'd found myself in this situation in a year's time. That would be two years wasted rather than just one.0 -
It's much better to drop out now than stick it out for a couple of years only achieving a crap mark due to lack of motivation.
I dropped out of my first year doing something I hated. I got a job in the real world for a year and applied to another uni to do something I wanted to do.
It was the best decision of my life!0 -
apoorstudent wrote:This gives me hope, so thank you! Did your uni make it really difficult to leave? I imagine that mine will... .
Hi, I left my business degree in 2005 after a year and a half of a 4 year degree. I left because my heart just wasnt in it and I did not want to put all of my energy into something i didnt want at the end of the day.
The uni (particularly my tutor) were really supportive of my decision and that helped. Plus my parents were 100% in the " do what makes you happy" school of thought like your mum.
I had had a gap year before going to uni and loved my degree at first but then i realised it just wasnt "me" - u have to suck i and see I guess to know whether something is right for you.apoorstudent wrote:Ooh, and about the loan situation... Did you have to pay it back straight away?.
I had (still have) £8000 loan and I only have to pay it back when earning over the threshold (is it £15000 now?). I think my mum even got a partial refund of the tuition fees she paid .... might be worth pushing for if you do leave.apoorstudent wrote:I think that at the moment I'm thinking short term. I can't imagine myself working, but I know that I will have to. I want to see whether the grass is really greener on the other side... And if it's not, then at least I've experienced it.?.
Working can really suckbut being on a course at uni u dont like can suck too and you're not even getting paid for that.
My suggestions would be:
1. Defer your place for a year at Uni and have a "gap year" - get a job/ do work experience in areas you might like to work in (added incentive then if you do need a degree for the career as you know it's working towards and end meaningful goal). Then if after the year you decide you want to carry on with that degree you can - no harm - no reapplying to ucas etc. If not, just leave the degree.
2. Stick it out til easter and review situation - this time of uni can be rubbish as just had exams / still want to be on xmas hols / homesickness after xmas hols / crap weather etc.
3. See if you can transfer within the uni to a different course - may not be pos this late on but worth investigating. Perhaps an english combined with something else degree?
For me, leaving uni ranks up there in my top 5 decisions i've made in my life. I had some time out, I looked into what really makes me tick and what i really enjoy and want out of life and i now have a place on a degree course starting in september to study occupational therapy. I can't wait. I've done work experience and think i'll love the job so i have the motivation there to get through the degree.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do - chat to personal tutor/friends/parents etc but at the end of the day it is only you that knows what is in your heart. Life is too short to be reading books you dont even want to read
EJ xSmile and be happy, things can usually get worse!0 -
Thanks for your post, EJ. It's refreshing to see that it can turn out for the best.
My mother is now saying that I must get a job IMMEDIATELY (I have nothing on my cv). It's not as though I ask for a single penny from her/my father. I will get a job, but I want to get myself sorted out first. She says she wants me to do whatever makes me happy... but that's soon followed by some kind of guilt-ridden comment about me throwing away my life. I'm 19, but she makes me feel like I'm a geriatric!
I reallyreally don't know what to do - it's so scary! I want to go and get the withdrawal form tomorrow, but I also don't want to be massacred by the parental unit. Oh joy...0 -
I think getting a job in the real world and working full time would make you see, it would make me see anyway, that for most uni students uni is a lot better regarding free time, flexibility and doing something you like etc. Obviously your're not doing something you like but perhaps changing course/uni might be an option? Perhaps getting a job for a while and starting again in September? You would then have had a taste of the working world and it might give you chance to work out what you want to do.
What are your interests? Perhaps a more hands-on degree where you do placements would interest you?
A tad off-topic but still relavent: does anyone know of a site where you can answer questions about yourself and it would offer suitable jobs? In high school there was a program we used called Kudos and it gave you a list of suitable jobs from the answers you gave. Thanks! xStudent MoneySaving Club member 017!0 -
Have you looked at other courses or are you just fed up with the whole learning process?£2 Coins Savings Club 2012 is £4
.............................NCFC member No: 00005.........
......................................................................TCNC member No: 00008
NPFM 210 -
I started a microbiology in 2002, I dropped out a year and a half later because I got fed up and the course wasn't right for me.
I applied for a job in a laboratory " I would like to develop practical skills" which i got after a few months of this I applied to the Open university to study - this is definitley an option if you want to balance work and study, and the bonus with the OU is you can mix and match and swap and change courses (or "modules" to use a brick university term) to create the degree you want.
The OU was the best thing I did, grants covered my fees and it also held my parents at bay (not that they minded much) as I wasn't "dropping" out of university but taking an alternative route. It also means you advance on the pratical/academic route at the same time.
Now I did transfer to a brick uni again (part time) but only because the time/circumstances/course were right and also these OU modules stay with you so you can take a break from study and return later so soon I'll probably have 2 degrees
www.open.ac.uk
The good thing is they can offer financial assistance which you maybe more likely to get as the OU do not take your parents income into account - just your own.
What sort of job/career are/were you looking for?:kisses2: Got married September 2011:smileyhea
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and also they offer certificates/diploma/degrees and post grads so you can do your education in smaller chunks instead of having to sit out a degree.
Ask at your university to see a careers advisor, they may be able to help you a) decide on an alternate course you can change to which may be more interesting to you
b) give you contacts for relevant jobs should you decide to leave university:kisses2: Got married September 2011:smileyhea
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I went to uni a year behind everyone, I took the wrong Alevels at the wrong place (I went to the 6th form attached to my catholic school). Once there I had a great time.
However, after graduating, I was told I did not have experience! swings and roundabouts. I was unemployed for 6 months. during this time I did alot of voluntary work, as this was the part of uni I enjoyed. It did not help with career choice, but did help with what I wanted and did not want out of a career.The sign of a wasted life is a tidy house, Welcome to the chaos!0
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