Thinking of dropping out

I'm doing Classics at Oxford and I'm thinking of dropping out. I don't like my subject anymore (and I'm not that good at at it) and although I've met some nice people, I feel like my social life is a bit boring- I've only been clubbing about three times since freshers, I think. We don't have any kind of kitchen and no-one hangs out in the common room ever, so we don't really socialise spontaneously, it's always planned in advance. I wish I could leave my room and see people but I don't unless I text them all and ask if they're busy first, and a lot of the time they're working. I'm planning on applying this cycle for Speech and Language Therapy at places like Reading and Newcastle- I wouldn't have to accept any offers until May so I can go do another term at Oxford in the meantime and see how it goes. My family were so incredibly pleased when I got in to Oxford, it feels like I'm going to be a massive disappointment to them if I leave. I had doubts about it before I went, but I kinda got swept along. What do you all think? Am I insane?

from the SLT thread.

Just thought I'd add my two cents: a point of view from someone studying SLT. If you really want to do SLT, you need to be prepared to not go out half as much as people on other courses, as you will have an intense amount of work to do which is really hard to convey, but if you do get a place on a course, you will understand what I mean!

What drew you to SLT? It's quite different from Classics, as it's vocational and has a lot less flexibility job-wise.

Hey

The social stuff is a side problem really, I don't mind not going out so long as I enjoy the course- which is the point of going to uni. I really love language, which is what drew me both to Classics and to SLT- and to the only other course I've ever seriously considered, which is English literature. It just turns out that I'm not really suited to studying a foreign language at a high level. The fact that SLT is vocational actually really appeals to me- I really want to feel like I'm working for something and towards something, more than just "a degree" but actually an opportunity to help people and to train for a specific profession. Plus the absolute highlight of my week at uni was always my time volunteering to do guided reading with local primary school children, which made me realise that I really want to do something with people.

It sounds like you might really like SLT. Do talk to your tutors about how you feel and say that you want to go elsewhere when term starts again. Hopefully they'll be understanding and helpful about it and make the transition easier for you

only you can decide what to do but you should definitely talk to your programme advisor or somebody. I was actually doing classics at manchester uni but dropped it and changed to a different course after two weeks. It wasn't what i expected at all :/ this new course was slow to begin with and i was also worried about the social aspect of things but the people on my course are nice, for some people it just takes longer to find the right group of people (me! haha) make sure you know this is what you absolutely want to do before you make any decisions & i'm sure your family will support you regardless, after all your the one doing the degree, you need to do something your passionate about good luck!

Thanks for all your advice I feel like I shouldn't entirely make a decision til I've given another term a fair go so I'll talk to my tutor about my difficulties in general but I don't want to start officially talking about leaving until I've fully made up my mind.

What's a timetable like for a Classics student out of sheer curiosity? Is it rather hectic?

If I were in your situation I'd do what I thought would be the most practical. I mean it would be much more beneficial to do a course you like more than remain doing a course you don't like or one which stresses you out.

The timetable isn't bad itself- we have an hour of language lessons every day, plus a few weekly lectures and a tutorial. Most of the work we have to do ourselves- essays for tutorials and language prep and exercises for each lesson.

I've also been thinking about trying to transfer universities to do classical studies at a different uni- more of the stuff I like but none of the tough Latin. I think I'd really like SLT, more than I like classical stuff, but at the same time it's a bit of a gamble and at least if I did classical studies I know I'd be ok with it, albeit not totally loving it.

Am I right in thinking you can do postgrad diplomas in SLT? That could be an option, if so?

Yeah, you can, it's just that they won't let you apply in your final year of uni and then it takes two years, so I'd be 24/25 before I got my first real job... if I did end up doing classical studies elsewhere though, that would definitely be an option.
Arg, I don't know what to do >.< I know I should just not think about and see how next term goes, but I'm one of those people that hates not having a real plan and knowing exactly what they're doing.

Do you think maybe it's your college? Everyone at mine seems to be having a good social life and going out 1/2 times a week. If you're at a really pressurised college this could be the problem?

If you don't like very reason you are at university for, i.e. studying a subject you're interested in at a high level, it's probably a good idea to high-tail it.

Also, I am going to be the subject of a LOT of hate but I think it has to be said: I have a feeling studying Classics, even at Oxford, is not exactly the gateway to success anyway, so you're probably not &quot;throwing away the chance of a lifetime&quot; or whatever snobbish people may think.

hang in there OP and stay at Oxford, financially its better rather than applying for the 9K cycle