The Student Room Group

I want to drop out of uni

I'm 19, and am in my first year at Exeter uni after taking a year out. I did a ski season and travelled so was away from home a lot, and thought going to uni would be so much easier than it is. Im so so homesick which I wasnt prepared for after being away from home for 8 months last year, I hate my course, I hate Exeter.
My family will be so disappointed if i drop out, but theres no way of me changing my course here, and Im so unmotivated and depressed all the time...I miss being happy.
Im planning on interrupting my studies so that I still have a place to go back to if I dont get in anywhere else and reapplying through UCAS to some unis closer to home (and a course I actually want to do) and starting again in Oct 2011. But Im terrified of not getting into another uni, and of how bad dropping out before the end of my first term will look. Ive spoken to lots of people about it and most people say it wont look bad, just honest.
Should I stay? Should I wait for offers before I drop out? Does anyone know people who ahve dropped out and gone back? Does anyone know how Uni's view people who have dropped out??
Any advice would be much appreciated!!
Reply 1
Dropping out and starting again was the best thing I ever did. If you're not happy with your course or the university, and there's no possibility of changing, then don't stay. It's absolutely not a failure. You've given it a go, and you've stuck it out for a good two months before deciding it's not for you. I know people who dropped out after two weeks. You sound really unhappy, and I'm sure your family (whilst possibly feeling disappointed for you that it didn't work out, not at you) would much rather you were happy with what you are doing than continuing with something that makes you more and more unhappy.

I left and then applied for courses straight away. Mind you, I knew I was definitely not staying there. I can't imagine ever going back to my old uni be honest. It would probably work out to be cheaper and more convenient for you to leave, and I presume your university would want you to leave your accommodation if you no longer required it, though I'm not entirely sure of the ins and outs of policies concerning that sort of stuff.

For what it's worth, I sent in my application just before Christmas last year (I left at the end of November, and I redid my UCAS as soon as I was sure I was leaving), and got 5 unconditional offers. I mentioned in my personal statement that I'd been to another university studying a different course, and explained the skills I'd picked up from there that would benefit my studies, and that doing something different had made me even more definite that the course I wanted to study this time was for me. I definitely don't think being a drop-out damaged my applications for this year.

Good luck, I hope it goes well. I survived the rest of the year (and have decided once and for all that I am never, ever working in retail again... until Christmas that is, but that's only a couple of weeks, haha), and am now a million times happier at the place I'm at, studying the course I really wanted to do in the first place.
Reply 2
I'm sure your happiness is very important to your parents, it's not as if you're dropping out and not wanting to go back to uni at all. I think my parents would be disappointed if I were to drop out of uni having no plans to go back or reapply somewhere else, however if I was deeply unhappy at my current university and dropped out planning to reapply somewhere else they would completely support it.

It's easy to feel homesick when you aren't happy with what you're doing. This probably explains why you didn't feel homesick whilst on your gap year, you were enjoying yourself.

Life is too short to be doing things that make you miserable. I have 2 friends who were in the same situation as you, and they are so much happier now that they dropped out and applied elsewhere.
Reply 3
Original post by Jess P
I'm 19, and am in my first year at Exeter uni after taking a year out. I did a ski season and travelled so was away from home a lot, and thought going to uni would be so much easier than it is. Im so so homesick which I wasnt prepared for after being away from home for 8 months last year, I hate my course, I hate Exeter.
My family will be so disappointed if i drop out, but theres no way of me changing my course here, and Im so unmotivated and depressed all the time...I miss being happy.
Im planning on interrupting my studies so that I still have a place to go back to if I dont get in anywhere else and reapplying through UCAS to some unis closer to home (and a course I actually want to do) and starting again in Oct 2011. But Im terrified of not getting into another uni, and of how bad dropping out before the end of my first term will look. Ive spoken to lots of people about it and most people say it wont look bad, just honest.
Should I stay? Should I wait for offers before I drop out? Does anyone know people who ahve dropped out and gone back? Does anyone know how Uni's view people who have dropped out??
Any advice would be much appreciated!!


I think you should drop out and re apply.

I'm in the second year now of a course that I don't particularly enjoy at all and am not looking forward to the next 18 months :frown:

If you're not happy atm then theres a good chance your not going to be for the next few years which is a long time!!

Will likely get better marks if you change course to something you enjoy doing too. :smile:

Hope things work out for you. :smile:
Reply 4
Thanks very much guys...was good to get some support in what Im doing! I've literally just handed in my withdrawal form and feel so much happier :-D Thanks again xx
Reply 5
Oh....Pigwigeon...who did you use as your UCAS referee?? I was going to use one of my teachers from college because he taught me two subjects for two years so knows me pretty well. Although I read somewhere that I should use a tutor from the uni, but theres no one here that really knows anything about me! Did any of your unis request a reference from a uni tutor? x
Reply 6
If you want to drop out of university, its up to you, at the end of the day your an adult and can make your own decisions.

If you unmotivated and depressed and you think university is the problem, then its best to go with your feelings and instincts.

I know its hard trying to identify what you can change to make yourself happy again, maybe moving closer to home will be the best option for you and a course you want to do, but it could be that you still like the subject, but because of the homesickness and demotivation that you temporarily lost interest in the subject.

A lot of people on here have dropped out, all it takes is a simple search, or a google search and you will find a wealth of information. You shouldn't be scared about not getting into another university as you have been accepted before, and nothing in your ability has changed to cope with university work.

The hardest step is doing the dropping out or suspending, then after that you can think about moving home, maybe getting a part time job or volunteering to occupy your time until you want to go back. You could even do some study with the open university if you wanted to maintain focus on studying.

If you feel university isn't going to be right for you next september, don't worry, there is no rush to get a degree at 18/19/20, loads of people do it past this age.
23...30..40..even older.

At the end of the day,
-you could apply for next year's entry
-you could take a few years out to decide and make sure you are happy before you start again :smile:
-you could maintain focus by reading and distance learning
-you could work and volunteer to occupy your time
-you could study via distance learning




Original post by Jess P
I'm 19, and am in my first year at Exeter uni after taking a year out. I did a ski season and travelled so was away from home a lot, and thought going to uni would be so much easier than it is. Im so so homesick which I wasnt prepared for after being away from home for 8 months last year, I hate my course, I hate Exeter.
My family will be so disappointed if i drop out, but theres no way of me changing my course here, and Im so unmotivated and depressed all the time...I miss being happy.
Im planning on interrupting my studies so that I still have a place to go back to if I dont get in anywhere else and reapplying through UCAS to some unis closer to home (and a course I actually want to do) and starting again in Oct 2011. But Im terrified of not getting into another uni, and of how bad dropping out before the end of my first term will look. Ive spoken to lots of people about it and most people say it wont look bad, just honest.
Should I stay? Should I wait for offers before I drop out? Does anyone know people who ahve dropped out and gone back? Does anyone know how Uni's view people who have dropped out??
Any advice would be much appreciated!!
Reply 7
Original post by Jess P
Oh....Pigwigeon...who did you use as your UCAS referee?? I was going to use one of my teachers from college because he taught me two subjects for two years so knows me pretty well. Although I read somewhere that I should use a tutor from the uni, but theres no one here that really knows anything about me! Did any of your unis request a reference from a uni tutor? x


I contacted my old head of sixth form who let me apply with that year's upper sixth. I think they just edited my old reference and sent it in again. I have a friend who applied a couple of years later after dropping out, and he went through as an individual candidate. He contacted one of his old teachers for a reference, and they were happy to do it. Nope, they didn't ask for anything to do with university at all. I think because you (and I) were there for a short amount of time, they would probably assume no one from uni could really say much about you.

Glad you made the decision and it's a weight off your mind :smile: I know the feeling!
i'm so glad i read this thread
i really hate my university at the moment - the course is good, but i know i want a change. my heart's really not in it.

however, i've been advised that if i can't get a second year transfer to another university, then i should wait until i've finished this semester and then apply for september/october 2011 start. this way i'll have assessments on my record. but the results come through in february - the ucas deadline is january 15th though.

is it worth staying and working for my exams/coursework? or would i save time, money and effort by withdrawing now?
Original post by krishanchauhan
i'm so glad i read this thread
i really hate my university at the moment - the course is good, but i know i want a change. my heart's really not in it.

however, i've been advised that if i can't get a second year transfer to another university, then i should wait until i've finished this semester and then apply for september/october 2011 start. this way i'll have assessments on my record. but the results come through in february - the ucas deadline is january 15th though.

is it worth staying and working for my exams/coursework? or would i save time, money and effort by withdrawing now?


IMO, if you're not going to be doing a whole year either way and you're unhappy there, you're probably better off dropping out now and forgetting about first semester exams - you're not going to get a qualification, so those assessments won't mean anything.

Better to save the effort and money, and leave now.
Reply 10
Original post by Jess P
I'm 19, and am in my first year at Exeter uni after taking a year out. I did a ski season and travelled so was away from home a lot, and thought going to uni would be so much easier than it is. Im so so homesick which I wasnt prepared for after being away from home for 8 months last year, I hate my course, I hate Exeter.
My family will be so disappointed if i drop out, but theres no way of me changing my course here, and Im so unmotivated and depressed all the time...I miss being happy.
Im planning on interrupting my studies so that I still have a place to go back to if I dont get in anywhere else and reapplying through UCAS to some unis closer to home (and a course I actually want to do) and starting again in Oct 2011. But Im terrified of not getting into another uni, and of how bad dropping out before the end of my first term will look. Ive spoken to lots of people about it and most people say it wont look bad, just honest.
Should I stay? Should I wait for offers before I drop out? Does anyone know people who ahve dropped out and gone back? Does anyone know how Uni's view people who have dropped out??
Any advice would be much appreciated!!



I kinda already did that.. Its only coz i wasnt happy with the course instead but i've reapplied.. for September
Reply 11
Original post by AX21
If you want to drop out of university, its up to you, at the end of the day your an adult and can make your own decisions.

If you unmotivated and depressed and you think university is the problem, then its best to go with your feelings and instincts.

I know its hard trying to identify what you can change to make yourself happy again, maybe moving closer to home will be the best option for you and a course you want to do, but it could be that you still like the subject, but because of the homesickness and demotivation that you temporarily lost interest in the subject.

A lot of people on here have dropped out, all it takes is a simple search, or a google search and you will find a wealth of information. You shouldn't be scared about not getting into another university as you have been accepted before, and nothing in your ability has changed to cope with university work.

The hardest step is doing the dropping out or suspending, then after that you can think about moving home, maybe getting a part time job or volunteering to occupy your time until you want to go back. You could even do some study with the open university if you wanted to maintain focus on studying.

If you feel university isn't going to be right for you next september, don't worry, there is no rush to get a degree at 18/19/20, loads of people do it past this age.
23...30..40..even older.

At the end of the day,
-you could apply for next year's entry
-you could take a few years out to decide and make sure you are happy before you start again :smile:
-you could maintain focus by reading and distance learning
-you could work and volunteer to occupy your time
-you could study via distance learning

Thank so much I've been in uni for nearly 2 months and I know it's so so early but very unhappy. I still miss home dearly but I'm not homesick I really get on with my flatmates and have adjusted to city life. I'm really unhappy in my course and I'm going through the process of withdrawing. I'm so scarfed to go back home but you've made me realise there are many things I can do while I really search for something I'll be passionate for studying in university. :smile:
Original post by Jess P
Thanks very much guys...was good to get some support in what Im doing! I've literally just handed in my withdrawal form and feel so much happier :-D Thanks again xx


I know it has been a while since you posted this, but was the decision worth it? I too am considering dropping out and applying again but I feel so overwhelmed by everything, it really is psychologically exhausting.
Original post by magicaltreehouse
I know it has been a while since you posted this, but was the decision worth it? I too am considering dropping out and applying again but I feel so overwhelmed by everything, it really is psychologically exhausting.


Hello! I'm also thinking of dropping out this year and reapplying for next year at another uni.
I hate this university, the campus, the life here and I just feel so emotionally drained I can't concentrate.
I applied to universities based on how good their course was, rather than looking at the life and opportunities the uni offered... Bad move :frown:
I'm sticking it out until december (the week before we are supposed to leave for the xmas break) and then am going to drop out. I figured I can use this time to write a CV, a personal statement, research some uni's and also use the university resources that I have paid for! I do hate it here, and would love to go home right now, but without a CV going home doesn't seem like a good option at the moment.

I know this doesn't seem particularly relevant to your post, but I was just glad to see I wasn't the only one!
Original post by ColourDog
Hello! I'm also thinking of dropping out this year and reapplying for next year at another uni.
I hate this university, the campus, the life here and I just feel so emotionally drained I can't concentrate.
I applied to universities based on how good their course was, rather than looking at the life and opportunities the uni offered... Bad move :frown:
I'm sticking it out until december (the week before we are supposed to leave for the xmas break) and then am going to drop out. I figured I can use this time to write a CV, a personal statement, research some uni's and also use the university resources that I have paid for! I do hate it here, and would love to go home right now, but without a CV going home doesn't seem like a good option at the moment.

I know this doesn't seem particularly relevant to your post, but I was just glad to see I wasn't the only one!


Hey! :smile: I am so sorry to hear that :frown: I know exactly how you feel though! My time has been so up and down here... I think you're being incredibly smart by thinking ahead though, I've been applying for jobs too! The thing is.. I have already taken a gap year before uni because I had no idea about what I wanted to study... so I'm scared about everyone's thoughts about entering uni at 20/ taking two gap years. 99% of everyone I know has taken 1 gap year though so 2 gap years probably doesn't sound too bad in comparison..
Original post by magicaltreehouse
Hey! :smile: I am so sorry to hear that :frown: I know exactly how you feel though! My time has been so up and down here... I think you're being incredibly smart by thinking ahead though, I've been applying for jobs too! The thing is.. I have already taken a gap year before uni because I had no idea about what I wanted to study... so I'm scared about everyone's thoughts about entering uni at 20/ taking two gap years. 99% of everyone I know has taken 1 gap year though so 2 gap years probably doesn't sound too bad in comparison..


It's really crap feeling so... crap all the time :/ One of my flat mates currently hate me too, which isn't exactly helping!

Re being 20 and starting uni: there are 2 people in my flat that are 21/20 :smile: So 2 years, I am sure, will be fine! It's better to be happy than unhappy! Plus you are spending a lot of money... And uni is meant to be the best 3 years of your life! :smile:

I just have no idea how you literally drop out of uni aha
Original post by Jess P
I'm 19, and am in my first year at Exeter uni after taking a year out. I did a ski season and travelled so was away from home a lot, and thought going to uni would be so much easier than it is. Im so so homesick which I wasnt prepared for after being away from home for 8 months last year, I hate my course, I hate Exeter.
My family will be so disappointed if i drop out, but theres no way of me changing my course here, and Im so unmotivated and depressed all the time...I miss being happy.
Im planning on interrupting my studies so that I still have a place to go back to if I dont get in anywhere else and reapplying through UCAS to some unis closer to home (and a course I actually want to do) and starting again in Oct 2011. But Im terrified of not getting into another uni, and of how bad dropping out before the end of my first term will look. Ive spoken to lots of people about it and most people say it wont look bad, just honest.
Should I stay? Should I wait for offers before I drop out? Does anyone know people who ahve dropped out and gone back? Does anyone know how Uni's view people who have dropped out??
Any advice would be much appreciated!!



Have you considered finishing the year off, so you at least have something to show for it and then taking another year or a few years out before going back?

I was in the same situation as you, I didn't like the degree, wasn't a massive fan of the university etc. and decided around January that I needed to consider other options. I could have dropped out right then and there and saved myself some money and time. Then I realised, if I drop out, not only will the last semester and the money I spend on it have been a total waste, but I'll be going home to work in my ****ty part-time job until I get enough money saved up for the summer to head away somewhere.

So, I decided to stay put, finish out the semester and pass the year. It looks better on your UCAS form if you pass (universities may ask for the modules/grades you had at Exeter as well as references from Exeter as well), plus, there is the opportunity of credit transfer, ie you could start in 2nd year at another university instead of having to repeat the first year and spend an extra £9k. If not, you might at least get exemption from a modules or two saving you something.

I would suggest that you take next year out, go travelling again, or maybe get some work experience (degree related) that might help you decide on what it is you want to do. You can apply for ucas for 2015 entry. Starting at age 21 or around that age is becoming much more the norm, it seems that the days of heading to university aged 18 are basically finished.

When I emailed my university to drop out, they offered me a postponement of studies for a year. So I postponed for the year and applied for UCAS late in the summer, got my offer and deferred it. Then I had a full year to decided whether I would return to my old university or start another course.

Just grit your teeth and try take something from your time there. Join more societies or competitions such as entrepreneurial related ones or something like that to boost your CV and make the personal statement better for next time, plus it will get you more things to do that will help the year go in quicker. Who knows, you might even end up loving it and finishing the whole degree.

You only have what, like 3 weeks left after this week, and then a week for exams and after that you'll be home for a month. Then its only 5 weeks after that and you should get a reading week (maybe?) and you'll get home again for a week. After that you'll only be in for another 5 weeks after that and you'll be off for Easter. The year will go in quicker than you think it will.


Either way the choice is yours. Personally, I think you'll have more options if you stay and finish the year and take a year out. But that's just me.

Quick Reply

Latest