[millzparisable]

Hi, I am accepted to Media and English Literature at University of Brighton and it is now the end of July 2012. I would like to change to Media Studies. I have thought a long time about my decision and I want to change.

I am not sure how to do this. I have researched and it seems I am not eligible for either Clearing or Adjustment. Even on my track on UCAS I have no option for either which clearly states that I am not eligible for Clearing or Adjustment. I have a firm acceptance, I am not waiting for any exam results, I have not declined any place, etc.

I did email the admissions for the Media Department and they say so far they have no space but I can ask again in August when they do the Clearing.

I do not mind wait a semester or even a year to change course. But I am worried that if I go to do Media and English Lit. and after several tries they don't let me change, I just wasted a year of time and money on a course I do not like.

How can I change course the earliest possible? If I apply early, will the chances be higher? Can I get guaranteed a space if I apply now for changing in the next semester?

It is so complicated. The only way I can do clearing is if I decline my Media and Lit. offer. Then if I still don't get into the other course, I have nowhere to go.

I can't do adjustment because it is for those who are getting A level results. I have been doing a GAP year, my results are done. But is there some way I can get around and still use Adjustment to get what I want?

Thanks for your replies! :>

[Potally_Tissed]

(Original post by millzparisable)
Hi, I am accepted to Media and English Literature at University of Brighton and it is now the end of July 2012. I would like to change to Media Studies. I have thought a long time about my decision and I want to change.

I am not sure how to do this. I have researched and it seems I am not eligible for either Clearing or Adjustment. Even on my track on UCAS I have no option for either which clearly states that I am not eligible for Clearing or Adjustment. I have a firm acceptance, I am not waiting for any exam results, I have not declined any place, etc.

You're not eligible for Clearing because you have a firm choice. You can only use Clearing if you have no offers.

You're not eligible for Adjustment because it hasn't started yet. It starts on August 16th, and if you've met and exceeded your firm offer you'll be eligible for it then (but the button to register for Adjustment will show automatically if/when your firm choice becomes unconditional, but this doesn't necessarily mean you're eligible to use Adjustment as you might not have exceeded the conditions of your offer).

How can I change course the earliest possible? If I apply early, will the chances be higher? Can I get guaranteed a space if I apply now for changing in the next semester?

At this point, Clearing and Adjustment are your only options for 2012 entry. To use Clearing you need to have no offers, so you would either have to miss your offers or ask them to reject you (preferably before results day to avoid delay) so you have no offers on results day and go straight into Clearing.

Applying earlier is always better (and you can always ask the uni again later if they don't have any spaces now) but there's never a guarantee of a place.

It is so complicated. The only way I can do clearing is if I decline my Media and Lit. offer. Then if I still don't get into the other course, I have nowhere to go.

Yep, that's the risk you'd have to take unfortunately

I can't do adjustment because it is for those who are getting A level results. I have been doing a GAP year, my results are done. But is there some way I can get around and still use Adjustment to get what I want?

That kind of changes things... I assume your offer is unconditional? If so, no, there's no way to use Adjustment.

[millzparisable]

Thanks for your answer. It really helped to get a clear answer, even though it's not a very positive answer haha.

In any case, where can I get information about the number of students in each media course, and how many change course per year. I've tried websites but I cannot find statistics on this.

With this information, I could see what the chances are of successfully changing my course during the year.

An admissions guy told me that for the past 2 years, media studies has been full, which is not very good news

But I hope to try and succeed, I'm not giving up. The last thing I need is to have one more GAP year!

Thanks !

[Potally_Tissed]

(Original post by millzparisable)
Thanks for your answer. It really helped to get a clear answer, even though it's not a very positive answer haha.

In any case, where can I get information about the number of students in each media course, and how many change course per year. I've tried websites but I cannot find statistics on this.

With this information, I could see what the chances are of successfully changing my course during the year.

An admissions guy told me that for the past 2 years, media studies has been full, which is not very good news

But I hope to try and succeed, I'm not giving up. The last thing I need is to have one more GAP year!

Thanks !

You probably won't find the numbers you want, they're the sort of thing universities wouldn't generally publish. Even if you could find them, what's happened in previous years isn't necessarily a good indicator of the situation this year.

Would you be happy to study English and Media? As as joint honours course it may be possible to change during or after your first year as people drop out and spaces open up, but it's certainly not guaranteed and depending on the two courses that switch might not be possible at all. It's something to look at though, if you would be happy on the course you've already got as your firm choice.

A second gap year might not be ideal but it's better than the expensive mistake of going onto a course that isn't the one you want to do.

[colef001]

Could you start your Media/English Lit course and see if you can change in the first few weeks of term? There are always a few people who don't turn up at the start of the year or who drop out because they don't like it.

Alternatively is there any way you could do a year of your Media/English course then transfer for second year entry onto the Media studies course? (I don't know how much crossover and common material there is between what your offered course is and Media on it's own.)

Good luck though!

[Potally_Tissed]

(Original post by colef001)
Could you start your Media/English Lit course and see if you can change in the first few weeks of term? There are always a few people who don't turn up at the start of the year or who drop out because they don't like it.

Alternatively is there any way you could do a year of your Media/English course then transfer for second year entry onto the Media studies course? (I don't know how much crossover and common material there is between what your offered course is and Media on it's own.)

Good luck though!

These are both options to look at but you can never assume you'll be able to switch course, so it's not a good idea to go down this route unless you'd be happy on your original course

[Clare~Bear]

Why would you want to?

What do you want to do after uni? I'm sure almost anything you'll say will be benefited more by lit + media than just media.

[millzparisable]

I would be okay to do 1 year of Media and Literature because there is quite a bit of media in it. But in the 2nd and 3rd year, it is too focused on literature so I definitely want to change before that time comes.

Yes it's true 1 extra year of re-applying is better than 3 expensive years doing a course that doesn't fit me.

Right now it is a difficult decision: 1) go to Brighton and hope for the best to change course or 2) wait one year and re-apply so that I am guaranteed the Media Course.

I need to discuss this with parents etc but since you have a lot of good feedback, based on your instinct, should I choose number 1 or 2?

Even more pressure is confirming accommodation and buying airplane tickets so I cannot wait too long to decide

Thanks!

[millzparisable]

I am hoping some lazy dude drops out or doesn't like the course. That is my only hope! But what if everyone loves the course and stay. Then I'm screwed

Both courses have very common media subjects in them so crossing over is not an issue. The issue is if there is space.

[Potally_Tissed]

(Original post by millzparisable)
Right now it is a difficult decision: 1) go to Brighton and hope for the best to change course or 2) wait one year and re-apply so that I am guaranteed the Media Course.

There's no guarantee you'll be able to change to the media course after your first year. Starting the course when you would not be happy to do all three years of that course is not a good idea. Also, there's no guarantee you would get an offer for the media course next year.

[millzparisable]

Thanks everyone for their feedback! Final decision: will go to Brighton University and with all my will, skill, and work hope to god that I can switch courses by the end of the first year or the first semesters.

Who would've known university choices can be so damn complicated..

Cheers!

[TheSownRose]

(Original post by millzparisable)
Thanks everyone for their feedback! Final decision: will go to Brighton University and with all my will, skill, and work hope to god that I can switch courses by the end of the first year or the first semesters.

Who would've known university choices can be so damn complicated..

Cheers!

If you aren't interested in changing university, you don't need to use Clearing to get it sorted before you go. If Brighton are in Clearing for media studies, you can phone them up and ask them again to change your course.