talk me through the repercussions of dropping out and applying to another university

i've had reams of health problems and finally succumbed to the university itch. i'll be studying at my local friendly russell group university, liverpool. philosophy, it looks like.

i'm pre-empting that this is going to be a horrible move, i'm hesitant about the course and i don't want to be living so close to home. but i'm willing to give it a chance. it might just turn out to be the makings of me and another year sat around picking hair out of my belly button may well tip me over the edge so hey let's do something.

i want a backup scheme, however.

IF i should happen to drop out at various points in the year, would i be able to apply to other universities under the reasoning of 'this was a stupid idea, i wanted to give it a try, failed experiment, please let me start afresh on a different course at your wonderful institution'?

say if i dropped out after 6 weeks, at christmas, before the exams or after the exams would it make a difference to my applications to other places?

i'd be applying to english with ucl/kcl/durham/camb/etc as my top choices and probably leeds/cardiff as backups.

bulletpointed series of events:

-enter liv philosophy in 2010
-if it turns out to be a mistake, drop out whenever seems the best time
-reapply in whichever cycle i happen to leave in time for
-enter somewhere else in 2011/2012

less bothered about student finance, more bothered about if it's frowned upon by admissions boards. don't want to drop out of course i hate just to be automatically blacklisted for it. but i want to give it a chance.

Reply 1

aerob89

Is it just me or does OP lack of capital letters make the post incredibly annoying to read.

Reply 2

Zebrastripes

You will need to reapply through UCAS, so you have to meet their deadlines, especially if you are wanting to do English at top unis, these probably won't be available at very late points in the year. I dropped out, and moved to King's. I did contact the course first and asked them about transferring, as it was very early on, but I wouldn't have got halls, so I reapplied through UCAS for the next year. Hope that helps :smile:

Reply 3

riotgrrl

As someone else said, you'll need to wait until the application process starts all over again, so you'll have to find something to do with your half a gap year. I don't think it'll affect your application too badly, cos my boyfriend dropped out of uni and reapplied, and got in everywhere he applied to- he's at Exeter now. Then again, his subject isn't anywhere near as competitive as English.

Can't you consider just changing courses, btw, instead of dropping out? That solves half your worries. I don't know why people are so against being close to home- unless you have a really suffocating family, it's not like they're going to be dropping in every weekend.

Reply 4

Apocalypti

What if you don't get into uni the 2nd time round? You'd need to wait again and would've wasted 2 years...

Reply 5

TheSownRose

aerob89

Is it just me or does OP lack of capital letters make the post incredibly annoying to read.

It's just you being pedantic.

Reply 6

doddle

If you want to do english why didn't you apply to do it in the first place? I'm not sure but do any of the places you want to go accept applicants through clearing, that way you could just take entry this year, and not bother wasting time.

Reply 7

liftupyourwearyhead!

Zebrastripes

so dropping out and applying didn't hamper you in any way? that's kind of re-assuring, thank you. i'd be applying at the nearest new cycle anyway instead of jumping in on the current one unless i really did only last until about october.

aerob89

Is it just me or does OP lack of capital letters make the post incredibly annoying to read.

funny that, i didn't ask for a comment on capital letters but if we're going to be picky then indicate a possessive and add a question mark to your retarded rhetorical question.

doddle

i did. i had to reject my places due to ill health. i was accepted by leeds, cardiff, sussex, st andrews and goldsmiths which is a fairly solid record given most people seem to have got at least one rejection but moving away is a bit too much of a strain. the english course at liverpool is horrible, imo.

riotgrrl

if i'm at liverpool (which i will be) then the english course there does nothing for me. it's not even family for the initial motivation, i'm giving liverpool a chance but i've been fairly set on moving away for a year or two now. many, many personal reasons.

Apocalypti

What if you don't get into uni the 2nd time round? You'd need to wait again and would've wasted 2 years...

what if, what if, what if. life's about gambles.

Reply 8

Apocalypti

liftupyourwearyhead!

what if, what if, what if. life's about gambles.

If you know you would rather do English somewhere else, why are you still planning on going to uni with a half-arsed attitude, and expecting to drop out? Seems like a rather big waste of time and money.