Leave or Suspend.. Universtity..

roxxyx

mel48rose wrote: »

Won't uni be worth it in the long run though? I did a nursing degree a few years ago. It was so so tough studying with a family and 3 children but so worth it now. I have a good qualification and can be more selective where I choose to work. Think you need to look at the bigger picture here. No pain, no gain. Good luck.

Yes, this is the thing, I'm doing photography
I studied it at college for two years and learnt lots, now I'm at university so far this year all we've done is do what I did in my first year of college. Also One of the days a week we the contextual stuff we study is 90% is irrelevant.. I want to learn new skills which is what I thought would happen at university and so far looking at the yearly plans I won't be it's just going to be 'lagged' on..

I have decided I would like to maybe take a 2-4 week course with an actual photographer who can teach me hands on stuff and teach me the business side.. I feel I would learn more this way and would not get stressed by this as I would be learning relevant stuff

If that makes sense

roxxyx

Dunroamin wrote: »

I think that if you put having a horse ahead of university study, university is the wrong place for you.

Where did I say this?
I have not said shall I choose uni or my horse...
And if that was the case yes I would choose my horse of university as I'd work the worst job in the world to keep him as he is what makes me smile and seeing him is what I look forward to and what takes my worries. So please don't write sentences as if your judging me..

roxxyx

mountainofdebt wrote: »

I could be really harsh here and say welcome to the real world but I really wouldn't want to come over as uncaring.

Quitting seems the easy option now but what happens after you've quit? Dead end job for the next XX years?

Yes half the work seems pointless and maybe it is but they are obviously asking you to do it for a reason - and that reason may not be apparent now.

List all your life time ambitions - and work out whether you could do them without the job that a degree could bring you. You might find that the little bit of stress you have now is worth it to achieve those ambitions.

I understand you feel you want to say welcome to the real world. But for my age I feel I've done pretty well.. I went to Spanish school for 5 years.. I was the only english person in that school and I coped and I came out with 5 GCSE equivalents A*-C .. When I moved back to England I studied at college for 3 years, Since I've been 16 I've had a job, paid for my own stuff, and myself and the horse (didn't pay board or for food at that point) And now since moving to university, I worked hard to get a job got a job in october to look after my horse. But obviously now I feel university is not right for me and I feel I'd be better off maybe studying spanish or buisness in the future and doing a few weeks course with a photographer obv financial this is a problem. I know there's worse things in life but because I've posted this thread I don't want judging thinking im just a dossaround because im not..

I'm trying to look for another part time job aswell as the one i have now or a full time job. I'm not a sit around do nothing expect money in hand. I work hard for the things I want..

It's just university, I have visited forums etc gotten advice from other people who have studied a degree in photography and most say it isn't worth it, you'd be better off working and doing photography part time for a few years and build your way up or studying a different degree like business so your know how to run your own photography business.. I want to be freelance and again most freelances photographers have said the degree is worth it is you want to be employed but it is not if you want to be freelance as customers want to see your portfolio not your degree..

I hope this makes a bit more sense to why I would like to leave university.. after going Friday my decision seemed the right one, I think I just need to make the right decision of when to leave due to finances

dizzyrascal

Hi
First of all I speak as a horse owner and I know and understand that your horse comes first. You have to be one to know one so to speak and so I do know where you're coming from.
I work as a Careers Adviser in a university with graduates (as my day job) and I would normally advocate staying at university or finding some way to stay with the course, either by taking a leave of absence, or by looking at a course change.
However, I am also a keen amateur photographer (it sort of comes with the territory of being outdoors so much in my leisure time), and I personally have never seen the advantage of having a degree in photography unless it is a way to accelerate your skills. By your own admission, you are already fairy competent as you studied at college for 2 years previously. Therefore, as you rightly say, you are repeating a great deal of stuff and not getting much out of it.
I think you are right about needing to build up a portfolio and you can be doing this right now. Are you looking to do equine work? I know there are a lot of people doing this but it might be worth asking the university equine club if you can photograph their horses and start a facebook page to display your talents, get friends to promote it etc
There are plenty of people who will pay good money for a great picture of their horse(s)
Also, I take it you are a fluent Spanish speaker? Have you utilised this skill properly whilst looking for work. If not, you should. Lots of companies need people with language skills. Again, it might be freelance work, but you could either advertise this yourself or join an agency.

I think the real problem with your degree is that it is not very flexible. If you complete it it will be seen as a vocational degree and not a very academic one. You will have real difficulty explaining your degree if you want to get on a graduate training scheme, for instance. Also, there are a lot of great, self-taught photographers out there so your degree does not easily translate to the job market.

I think you need to speak to the student union about the finances as they are usually the best people to help deal with this. It will be something they have dealt with many thousands of times. They should have a student advice centre or plenty of online help.

laurylaury

In addition to what others have already said, the best bet is to speak to your student adviser who will be able to offer advice and support and also explain the implications of suspending your studies. If you're not happy with your course they may also be able to suggest other courses that you may be able to transfer onto.

Also, most universities have a hardship fund whereby if you are in severe financial difficulty (ie you've used up your overdraft, savings and credit card limits) they will give you funds. Sometimes you have to repay, but from my experience I have received funds from my university before and I did not have to repay them.

You'll need to move quickly though in order to try and get money before April - as the uni finance dept take a few weeks to make a decision and will only be able to make one after they've received bank/credit cards statements. If you don't have any up-to-date statements available then you'll need to request them and that will take a few days for them to arrive as well.

Voyager2002

The best advice is from #15.

In addition, the company that is your landlord will certainly have an agreement with the university, and that agreement may state that no rent is payable when a student leaves their course. You need to find out, and in order to do so you need to seek advice from your university.

Another point: even if you really would be liable to pay more rent (which I doubt), they cannot take money that you haven't got, nor do people go to prison for not paying their debts! You would let the company know about your financial situation and agree regular payments that you could afford. Such an arrangement might well be better than staying at university and hating it.

amiehall

I wouldn't be raising hopes of money from a hardship fund. Not once they look through your statements and see you're paying to maintain a horse. That is self-imposed hardship.

roxxyx

amiehall wrote: »

I wouldn't be raising hopes of money from a hardship fund. Not once they look through your statements and see you're paying to maintain a horse. That is self-imposed hardship.

thanks to all the replies so far i will reply soon as currently at work. But to this comment regarding the horse may i ask you how much YOU think a horse costs per month. Also your making a fuss but i don't drink or smoke or go out. Which i bet most students no and spend more money each month than i spend on My horse

roxxyx

dizzyrascal wrote: »

Hi
First of all I speak as a horse owner and I know and understand that your horse comes first. You have to be one to know one so to speak and so I do know where you're coming from.
I work as a Careers Adviser in a university with graduates (as my day job) and I would normally advocate staying at university or finding some way to stay with the course, either by taking a leave of absence, or by looking at a course change.
However, I am also a keen amateur photographer (it sort of comes with the territory of being outdoors so much in my leisure time), and I personally have never seen the advantage of having a degree in photography unless it is a way to accelerate your skills. By your own admission, you are already fairy competent as you studied at college for 2 years previously. Therefore, as you rightly say, you are repeating a great deal of stuff and not getting much out of it.
I think you are right about needing to build up a portfolio and you can be doing this right now. Are you looking to do equine work? I know there are a lot of people doing this but it might be worth asking the university equine club if you can photograph their horses and start a facebook page to display your talents, get friends to promote it etc
There are plenty of people who will pay good money for a great picture of their horse(s)
Also, I take it you are a fluent Spanish speaker? Have you utilised this skill properly whilst looking for work. If not, you should. Lots of companies need people with language skills. Again, it might be freelance work, but you could either advertise this yourself or join an agency.

I think the real problem with your degree is that it is not very flexible. If you complete it it will be seen as a vocational degree and not a very academic one. You will have real difficulty explaining your degree if you want to get on a graduate training scheme, for instance. Also, there are a lot of great, self-taught photographers out there so your degree does not easily translate to the job market.

I think you need to speak to the student union about the finances as they are usually the best people to help deal with this. It will be something they have dealt with many thousands of times. They should have a student advice centre or plenty of online help.

Thanks for this, it has me more positive in my decision and put together what I was thinking. I would like to do pet portraiture and possibly in the future go to equine events and photograph there. Problem is where i'm living at the minute there isn't many horse places around. So maybe in the future if I move back to my home the equine side will be good (more opportunities and events).

I was nearly fluent in Spanish I just struggled with tenses which I could study more on.. If I'm in Spain I feel confident speaking Spanish but in England I get un confident..I don't know why I guess I get unsure of my ability as I know I makes mistakes sometimes.. (I hope that makes sense)

Yes going to see about talking to someone at University tomorrow
Thanks again

roxxyx

laurylaury wrote: »

In addition to what others have already said, the best bet is to speak to your student adviser who will be able to offer advice and support and also explain the implications of suspending your studies. If you're not happy with your course they may also be able to suggest other courses that you may be able to transfer onto.

Also, most universities have a hardship fund whereby if you are in severe financial difficulty (ie you've used up your overdraft, savings and credit card limits) they will give you funds. Sometimes you have to repay, but from my experience I have received funds from my university before and I did not have to repay them.

You'll need to move quickly though in order to try and get money before April - as the uni finance dept take a few weeks to make a decision and will only be able to make one after they've received bank/credit cards statements. If you don't have any up-to-date statements available then you'll need to request them and that will take a few days for them to arrive as well.

I'm not sure if my university has this service, but I'm going to try to see the finance lady sometime this week, to see what they say, thank you I don't have a student account as I didn't see the point in it as didn't want to get into overdrafts/etc