The Student Room Group

Can I get a fresh start at a different university?

Hi everyone.

Okay, so I've basically messed everything up and I'm wondering if there's a way to fix it.

Let me fill you in on what's happened:
I had one of the worst years of my life during my first year at university. It wasn't the uni experience I was hoping for as I experienced severe personal issues, nothing to do with uni itself, although I wasn't really enjoying the course at the time. I ended up with really long extensions at the end of my first year due to how bad my mitigating circumstances were. I got pretty decent grades overall despite everything going on. I've always questioned whether it is the right course for me as I've not been able to enjoy the course as much as I would have hoped. I considered changing course but didn't have the confidence to at the time, so I went back in September and tried to fix things in terms of having made no friends and lacking attendance. I ended up in financial difficulties which, in turn, added to my already severe mental health issues. From January 2016 it became very hard to go to lectures and submit assignments. Now I have missed deadlines, despite getting more extensions due to how severe my mental health problems have become. I am worried that I will fail as I'm not sure I will be able to get extensions.

My questions are: If I don't get the extensions and I do fail the modules, can I withdraw and apply to another university for a fresh start? If I do get the extensions and do pass my modules, can I still withdraw and apply to another university?

As far as student finance is concerned, I have contacted them and they have said they would consider paying for 3 years of tuition if I have to withdraw from my current course for severe health issues.
Original post by CosplayingWriter
Hi everyone.

Okay, so I've basically messed everything up and I'm wondering if there's a way to fix it.

Let me fill you in on what's happened:
I had one of the worst years of my life during my first year at university. It wasn't the uni experience I was hoping for as I experienced severe personal issues, nothing to do with uni itself, although I wasn't really enjoying the course at the time. I ended up with really long extensions at the end of my first year due to how bad my mitigating circumstances were. I got pretty decent grades overall despite everything going on. I've always questioned whether it is the right course for me as I've not been able to enjoy the course as much as I would have hoped. I considered changing course but didn't have the confidence to at the time, so I went back in September and tried to fix things in terms of having made no friends and lacking attendance. I ended up in financial difficulties which, in turn, added to my already severe mental health issues. From January 2016 it became very hard to go to lectures and submit assignments. Now I have missed deadlines, despite getting more extensions due to how severe my mental health problems have become. I am worried that I will fail as I'm not sure I will be able to get extensions.

My questions are: If I don't get the extensions and I do fail the modules, can I withdraw and apply to another university for a fresh start? If I do get the extensions and do pass my modules, can I still withdraw and apply to another university?

As far as student finance is concerned, I have contacted them and they have said they would consider paying for 3 years of tuition if I have to withdraw from my current course for severe health issues.


If your student finance situation is fine, then you can withdraw and have a fresh start in either situation.
.

Yes, you can re-start a totally fresh at another Uni - but you MUST declare your previous Uni study and briefly explain why you want to restart in your PS. Not declaring this is regarded as fraud by UCAS.

Just be aware that if you have problems now, they will not instantly go away when you change to another Uni. Think carefully about what 'went wrong' at the current Uni, think carefully about any MH issues and if it would be better to take a total break from Uni for a year, and in particular think about 'boredom' - you have already done two years of this course, and repeating it at another Uni could mean you loose interest completely. And many Unis won't be interested in you for this reason.

Suggestion - go and look at your proposed new Uni asap, and do some hard thinking about the reality of being at that Uni, in that city. And btw, you need to apply asap - 30 June is the deadline for main applications. After that its Clearing - and your preferred Uni/course may not have any places......
Reply 3
Original post by CosplayingWriter
Hi everyone.

Okay, so I've basically messed everything up and I'm wondering if there's a way to fix it.

Let me fill you in on what's happened:
I had one of the worst years of my life during my first year at university. It wasn't the uni experience I was hoping for as I experienced severe personal issues, nothing to do with uni itself, although I wasn't really enjoying the course at the time. I ended up with really long extensions at the end of my first year due to how bad my mitigating circumstances were. I got pretty decent grades overall despite everything going on. I've always questioned whether it is the right course for me as I've not been able to enjoy the course as much as I would have hoped. I considered changing course but didn't have the confidence to at the time, so I went back in September and tried to fix things in terms of having made no friends and lacking attendance. I ended up in financial difficulties which, in turn, added to my already severe mental health issues. From January 2016 it became very hard to go to lectures and submit assignments. Now I have missed deadlines, despite getting more extensions due to how severe my mental health problems have become. I am worried that I will fail as I'm not sure I will be able to get extensions.

My questions are: If I don't get the extensions and I do fail the modules, can I withdraw and apply to another university for a fresh start? If I do get the extensions and do pass my modules, can I still withdraw and apply to another university?

As far as student finance is concerned, I have contacted them and they have said they would consider paying for 3 years of tuition if I have to withdraw from my current course for severe health issues.
I think you should consider whether to take some time out altogether, and it would be a good idea to discuss your situation with the people at the uni you are currently attending. To apply elsewhere, you will need a current reference, and if you haven't been keeping people informed about your situation that could be tricky. In any event, you need to tackle the underlying mental health issues; moving to another uni won't automatically solve them.

There is no rule anywhere that states that you have to have completed your uni educaiton by your early twenties. Many people do not, and their careers and lives are none the worse for it. You really don't want to end up in the situation where you transfer somewhere else but find that doesn't work out either. Apart from the impact on your self-confidence and everything else, you could find that you have reduced the amount of loan support that could be available to you when you really are ready to start again.

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