I got into Oxford but I am not sure I want to go; what should I do?

I got into Oxford to read Chemistry after getting A*AA in Chemistry, Physics and Maths respectively. However, I only applied to university because people said I should and it seemed like a sensible option. As a result, not much thought went into what course to choose and, to be honest, I only applied to Oxford as a bit of a joke because my predicted grades were just about good enough. I am very apprehensive about the workload and the inevitable difficulty of the content of the course. I would not call myself an academic - I am just a normal person who is blessed with an inordinate amount of intelligence. At the start of A-levels I couldn't wait to leave; I hate having to learn and be examined on stuff that I am not particularly interested in. I somehow managed to get the A*AA offer Oxford gave me and now it would probably be stupid to go off and do something else that I would rather do. I fear that I will lose motivation and interest and as a result, come out with a 2:2 (perhaps worse) and a crippling student debt. Any advice would be much appreciated.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 1

BJack

Original post by sytner9

The Oxford chemistry course is intense and there's a fair risk of underperforming if you're not sufficiently interested in the course. On the other hand, some people glide through with very little effort and get comfortable 2.1s, so it's hardly guaranteed that you'll do badly. If you find the Oxford course is too much and your first year goes badly, it's often possible to transfer to a different good university and carry on with chemistry there instead (e.g. Warwick, Southampton), where it's easier to end up with a satisfactory degree classification.

Reply 2

sytner9

Original post by BJack

It's often possible to transfer to a different good university and carry on with chemistry there instead (e.g. Warwick, Southampton), where it's easier to end up with a satisfactory degree classification.

Thanks for the reply. Do you know how easy it is to change university? That sounds like a comforting idea.

Reply 3

natninja

Original post by sytner9

Thanks for the reply. Do you know how easy it is to change university? That sounds like a comforting idea.

Not that hard - at my college 2 people failed the first years of their courses (maths and medicine) and both started the at other good universities (Nottingham and Birmingham) in the second year and are consistently getting high 2.1s and 1sts.

Reply 4

Nymthae

Chemistry as a course is intense even not at Oxford, but the lab work is engaging. It's a big change from sat in lectures or class, revising for exams. The whole exam side it there, and still sucks, but really the labs are excellent.

If you do transfer - i'd possibly look at doing an industrial placement. It's a year away from doing exams, actually in a job, using your chemistry. It's helped break things up for me, as i'm not sure I could have taken four straight years at university doing this.

Chemistry is a good course if you're intelligent, because it's logical and based off a lot of understanding. I don't think you'll completely bomb out of it. Some people suit Oxford and some don't, so don't feel obliged to stick at it if it's not for you - they saw something in you though!

Reply 5

SLT15

Hehe reject them like a BOSS.
No seriously of your not happy and are worried go with your gut instinct.

Reply 6

LtCommanderData

Original post by BJack

(e.g. Warwick, Southampton)

Sorry for being off-topic, but I was in the last year of intake with the lower fees, so my year group had an unusual disincentive for changing unis (because we'd had to pay the higher fees). It's really not that rare for people to transfer elsewhere from Oxford (several people I know did so, despite the higher fees), and in maths (I do maths + CS) a common place to go is Warwick, which is one of the best places for maths in the UK but maybe a bit less demanding than Oxford.

Anyway in my first year my main tutor was really frustrated with my year as a group (there were a couple of people doing especially badly, one of whom did transfer at the end of that year) and he got the impression that we weren't trying hard enough or something. I just remember him shouting at us about how we have to give it a serious try, and he repeatedly shouted "You can't just leave and go to Warwick! You'll have to pay the higher fees! You can't just go to Warwick!". At the time it was terrifying but it's a funny memory now... I guess a lot of his students had previously transferred to Warwick? :tongue:

Anyway to address the thread... yeah there are good points here: you *can* transfer if you hate it, but also if you're not really motivated you might have quite a hard time. At the end of the day, I think that if you decide *not* to come, you are much less likely to have this opportunity again if you change your mind down the line. On the other hand, you can come and do a year and decide you hate it and you're going to go to Warwick, or skip uni and do something else entirely. I think it's worth giving it a sincere try but being open to the idea that you might not pursue the degree to its completion.