Leave a top 10 uni for Open University??

Regardless of rankings, based on reputation and isn't and never has been a top 10. A good University nonetheless but not a top 10. Btw I'm not trying to be rude

Language-wise I'm looking at Chinese or Japanese or Korean. Would I still be able to get full funding for my entire course even though I've already used a terms money? Especially if it was a 4 year course? I don't really understand the funding part and it's my main worry about dropping out.

Again I'm sorry for not replying earlier but I'm having issues with using TSR on my phone, I appreciate your response.

Yes, you would still get funding for another degree as long as you drop-out before the second year starts. Everyone is entitled to a loan which covers the full length of their degree plus one extra 'gift year' (the gift year is intended to help people who drop-out and then re-apply, or people who fail an exam and need to re-sit a year). Have you looked at SOAS? They have a really good linguistics degree that you can study on its own or in combination with many different Asian languages. Are you going to do an Access to HE course?

What unis would you say are in the top 10?

I've just taken a quick look at SOAS I'd never come across it before but it looks very good so I'll look into it more in a second.
Okay that's a relief I was worried about the funding, would my first term count towards part of my gift year do you know?
I haven't looked into Access to Higher Education yet but it is something I'm considering if I can go straight into another degree that would be preferable though.

The undisputed top 5:
Oxford and Cambridge
LSE and Imperial
UCL

The next 5 could be any combination of:
Durham
KCL
Warwick
St. Andrews
Edinburgh
Bristol.

Yeah I agree, all the ones I've bolded would be the undisputed top 8 in my opinion, and I think KCL should follow close after UCL, it's making alot of progress year after year (then again I may be a little biased )

This is something I am now considering, particularly the foundation year course but I'm not sure how funding would work

I would be inclined to agree. KCL is higher than Durham and Warwick since it is known far more internationally. Although that name chance to King's London is a pretty stupid thing to do.

Yeah, it's a waste of 300 million pounds, but we all petitioned and they're going to reconsider it. I really hope they don't go through with it, I like our name how it is

300k wasn't it? 300 million would be most of their research funding haha. Considering they have been developing this new 'brand' for some time now, its unlikely they will completely u-turn on it.

You could always re-brand as the 'Strand Polytechnic'

would my first term count towards part of my gift year do you know?

SOAS is a good choice. One of the best in the world for what it does.

Awesome!

The way student finance works is you're allowed one year + one full course.

If it's an integrated degree (e.g. four year course with a foundation year) think you're covered. Ask student finance for more info, but I think a course including a foundation year is a university course not two courses.

If it's stand alone, 1 year course, you will probably have to pay it.

I would urge OP not to get caught up in the *snobbery of TSR when it comes to universities. **There is nothing wrong with leaving a top 10 uni and going to a 'lesser' one if you are unhappy in your current situation. There may be some advantage to university A over university B, but in reality employers will be just as (or more) interested in real world experience; voluntary, internships, work experience, etc.

I left a top 15 university (at the time no 1 for my department as well) and switched to an ex-poly. Can't say I noticed any difference in quality as both were pretty mediocre experiences. I think whether the experience is good or not can be decided by one or two great/awful tutors in the department.

*The OU would definitely not make the 'standard' a lot of people on TSR set, that doesn't make it a bad way to study.
**I might exclude oxbridge from this argument because they are so elite just having that on your CV is nice, plus the networking opportunities may open doors.

No idea, you'd have to ask student finance. Does it make a difference though?

No not really it's just one of the courses I looked at was 5 years including a foundation year and I was wondering if I'd have to pay for a certain amount of it myself. I'll phone SFE tomorrow and find out what's what. Thanks for all the help.

No, you wouldn't have to pay. The calculation student finance use is this:

Length of degree (let's assume 5 years) + 1 gift year - previous years of university study (in your case 1) = 5 years of loan entitlement left.

Regardless of rankings, based on reputation and isn't and never has been a top 10. A good University nonetheless but not a top 10. Btw I'm not trying to be rude