Changing course after second year - help appreciated!

Hi there! I'd like to ask a question on behalf of my younger brother: He started doing a degree in Computer Science, which he'd previously done at A-Level, but realised over the course of the first year that it was something he really didn't enjoy. He's actually really quite good at it, and finished his first year with a distinction! Sadly, the work is making him miserable, though he's very stoic and is still keeping at it.

We only recently found out he was unhappy, as he was keeping it a secret due to worrying we'd be disappointed in him. We've let him know that that's not the case, his happiness is the most important thing to us and that we're fully behind him if he wants to change. Unfortunately, when he spoke to his university's student advice department asking for advice on changing, they told him that he'd have some difficulties finding student finance support as each individual is only entitled to four years of loans. Unless he could find a way of moving into the second year of a new course that only lasted three years, I'm guessing this means he'd have to spend at least one year of a new course without student loans.

I'm certain that his situation is not unique - how do people in his circumstances normally find a way to fund years that fall outside of Student Finance's regular allowance? Sorry if I've explained the situation poorly (or gone on too long), and thanks in advance for any help with this question.

tl;dr - How do people who end up studying more than 4 years of undergraduate education find funding?

Reply 1

Mark Lee - SFE Official Adviser

Official Rep

Hi there.

There isn't a set amount of years someone can get for funding, it's entirely dependent on the course which they choose to study, so the fact you've been told it's limited to 4 years is incorrect.

We award students funding for every year of their course and then add on an additional year to make up for an repeats, so this would mean for a 2 year course students actually have 3 years, or for a 3 year course they would actually have 4 and so on.

We then deduct any previous study from courses they may have began beforehand.

If a student has only began one year of another course then this effectively cancels out the extra year we award meaning they would still have full funding for every year of the course but would not be entitled to any repeats.

Thanks.

Reply 2

sophiegayton

Hi Mark,

I'm currently a second year student on a three year course & I really dislike my course and want to start a new course at a different uni.. Would I still get funding for this?

If not, how would I go about funding this and are there any other options available?

Thanks

Reply 3

Sahar Roy

Hey iam in first year and doing fybscit but I am not enjoying it how can I change the course without losing my year can I directly apply for BA course

Changing course after second year - help appreciated!

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