Have I made the wrong choice?

Choosing the right course

It is the first day of the rest of your life. You have won a place at the university of your dreams, your housemates are fun and friendly, you have new found independence and confidence, your social life has well and truly kicked off but hang on… the course isn’t all it had cracked up to be. The subject you have always been good at is no longer so interesting. You are not getting the marks you used to get at college. Maybe you should change course?

Well hold your horses before making an important decision that could have a big impact on your future…

There are endless amounts of courses available to the growing number of prospective university students meaning the decision of choosing what subject to study can be somewhat overwhelming.
For all the students who know exactly what they want to do in their future career there are also those who want to continue into high education but are unsure of which path to go down.
If a student finds them, self filled with regret about the course they have chosen there are many things to consider before making that decision...

“I really don’t enjoy my course!”

You have chosen the course you have always wanted to be on but it isn’t living up to your expectations. Have a think about why you’re not enjoying your current course and see if there is anything you can do to make it more enjoyable – why not try a different module?

If you want to make the leap and change course you must do plenty of research on the course you want to switch too. What happens if a couple of months down the line you are unhappy on the course you have switched too? You will need to look into what modules and assessments the new course consist of and if it is really worth the time and money in the process of switching.

“I’m not doing well academically.”

So you are not getting the A star grades you were getting at college but remember that you have made a giant leap going from college to university. The workload will obviously be more challenging and you have had to deal with all the other stresses of starting university.

Consider how much of the problem will be solved by jumping to another course? Speak to your tutor to gain advice on how to improve your work. Rather than only meeting up with friends to go out drinking why not set up a regular study group? This will create a support system that you can fall back on when the going gets tough.

“I don’t think this will benefit my career.”

So this was the course you envisaged would lead you into your chosen career but it has turned out to be not what you had expected. However, in the end will your career really benefit from using your time and money in changing courses?

Experience can be gained in your chosen career outside of your degree by doing work experience or an internship. This will add value to your CV and it will give you a real insight into the job you wish to pursue.

Problems you will face in changing your course

If it is early on in the first year when you realise the course is not for you then it may be that you can switch courses without having to restart the first year.

Make sure you are aware of what is needed to get onto the other course. If you do not have enough UCAS points to get onto a specific course the application could be rejected and the choice of possible courses to switch to will not be as varied.

The worst scenario would be to move to a course because it is the best choice out of a bad bunch.

Changing course: how to do it

If you are truly unhappy with the course it is best to act quickly so you will face fewer problems which may arise. Also, other students may be going through the same scenario at the start of the semester and will be leaving courses that you may want to get onto.

The first port of call would be your personal tutor who will be able to advise you on the best route to take.

Be ready to defend the decision to move to the desired course to your lecturer and tutors. An interest and knowledge of the course you want to join will also need to be evident.

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