The Student Room Group

Should I take some time off at university?

I started university this year September and I am doing Law. My decision behind choosing law was purely my love for the field and my ambition to pursue a criminal law career in the future. However, this has been tainted by my first six week experience at university. I am struggling immensely with my course and cannot seem to get to grips with the issues and application of all four areas of law that I am studying (particularly Land Law). Although, I have a basic understanding I lack the knowledge when it comes to tackling simple problem questions or answering tutorial (seminar) questions in depth. I go to a Russel Group university due to my grades at A-level and so I am expected to do well. I hate university I feel completely inept and I am way behind in my reading. For me coming from a place where I was the top student to where I am probably at the lower end of the intelligent spectrum makes me insecure and stressed. I missed a total of four lectures due to the fact that I had no motivation to go to university as the sheer embarrassment of not understanding law whilst everyone else does fuels my hatred for learning the subject and ultimately demotivates me. On top of that I have to work 7 hours to 9 hours a day every weekends which takes away the time I need to catch up with any work that I fallen behind with. Taken this into consideration has made me contemplate whether I should take a leave of absence and start again in September. However, the idea that I would have to continue paying my loan during this intermission is what is making feel like I should stick through it. In December we have our mid-sessional exams and I can assure you that I would not know what to write. I feel like I rushed into going into university and that I was not prepared for it contrary to what I assumed to believe before. I come home crying daily and have isolated myself from my friends. I have become a shy, timid, introvert and have lost my confidence and my ability to connect with other people. Everyone has noticed this change in me and seems to remind me frequently. If someone could advise me or shed some light on their personal experience I would be very grateful.
uni does get hard and everything but i guess you could take, maybe, a weekend off and then come back to studying and maybe make a small timetable to help you catch up with things... since you say you were interested in this field maybe it's just the work load putting you off and give it a try right now and then maybe at the end of the semester, decide if you want to take some time off or continue...
and maybe you could reduce the number of hours you work for now.
Hope this helps..:smile:
Reply 2
Original post by parishah
uni does get hard and everything but i guess you could take, maybe, a weekend off and then come back to studying and maybe make a small timetable to help you catch up with things... since you say you were interested in this field maybe it's just the work load putting you off and give it a try right now and then maybe at the end of the semester, decide if you want to take some time off or continue...
and maybe you could reduce the number of hours you work for now.
Hope this helps..:smile:


Thank you for your reply I have taken one weekend off but even then I still felt that I needed to catch up with my work. What makes the situation worse is the fact that once I covered one topic I get given assignments or additional reading (which is expected) that delay my attempts of catching up effectively.
Original post by StudentSDN
Thank you for your reply I have taken one weekend off but even then I still felt that I needed to catch up with my work. What makes the situation worse is the fact that once I covered one topic I get given assignments or additional reading (which is expected) that delay my attempts of catching up effectively.


i guess what you could do is like maybe 2 half hour sessions everyday to study effectively and the other time to do all the remaining work you need to do.
It might take longer to catch up but i guess if you study it well at the end you will just have to read through it during exams which will save you a lot of time then..
Original post by StudentSDN
I started university this year September and I am doing Law. My decision behind choosing law was purely my love for the field and my ambition to pursue a criminal law career in the future. However, this has been tainted by my first six week experience at university. I am struggling immensely with my course and cannot seem to get to grips with the issues and application of all four areas of law that I am studying (particularly Land Law). Although, I have a basic understanding I lack the knowledge when it comes to tackling simple problem questions or answering tutorial (seminar) questions in depth. I go to a Russel Group university due to my grades at A-level and so I am expected to do well. I hate university I feel completely inept and I am way behind in my reading. For me coming from a place where I was the top student to where I am probably at the lower end of the intelligent spectrum makes me insecure and stressed. I missed a total of four lectures due to the fact that I had no motivation to go to university as the sheer embarrassment of not understanding law whilst everyone else does fuels my hatred for learning the subject and ultimately demotivates me. On top of that I have to work 7 hours to 9 hours a day every weekends which takes away the time I need to catch up with any work that I fallen behind with. Taken this into consideration has made me contemplate whether I should take a leave of absence and start again in September. However, the idea that I would have to continue paying my loan during this intermission is what is making feel like I should stick through it. In December we have our mid-sessional exams and I can assure you that I would not know what to write. I feel like I rushed into going into university and that I was not prepared for it contrary to what I assumed to believe before. I come home crying daily and have isolated myself from my friends. I have become a shy, timid, introvert and have lost my confidence and my ability to connect with other people. Everyone has noticed this change in me and seems to remind me frequently. If someone could advise me or shed some light on their personal experience I would be very grateful.


I can see from your post that you just want someone to say "leave uni". It is obvious that you are not happy so leave.

Why don't you take a year out and then reapply to do another course - say English or even better a science course and then do the GDL - if you still want to pursue a career in law.

ALthough my partner is a solicitor - there are increasingly fewer jobs going and since legal aid went……

At the rate you are going you are going to fail the exams. You will just have to take the loan loss on the chin.
Reply 5
Original post by parishah
i guess what you could do is like maybe 2 half hour sessions everyday to study effectively and the other time to do all the remaining work you need to do.
It might take longer to catch up but i guess if you study it well at the end you will just have to read through it during exams which will save you a lot of time then..


You make a very valid point I will take this idea on board thank you very much.
Reply 6
Original post by squeakysquirrel
I can see from your post that you just want someone to say "leave uni". It is obvious that you are not happy so leave.

Why don't you take a year out and then reapply to do another course - say English or even better a science course and then do the GDL - if you still want to pursue a career in law.

ALthough my partner is a solicitor - there are increasingly fewer jobs going and since legal aid went……

At the rate you are going you are going to fail the exams. You will just have to take the loan loss on the chin.


I can reassure you that was not my intention. But I do agree with you that I am not happy. Your last comment however, has given me a kick in the backside because I refuse to fail so maybe I should change my perspective. Thank you for your response.
Original post by StudentSDN
You make a very valid point I will take this idea on board thank you very much.


glad i could help :smile:
Reply 8
If you can afford it financially I would knock the pt job on the head so you can devote more time to your studies.
You are NOT at the lower end of the intelligence spectrum on the course - you care about doing well so have lost confidence now you are studying something genuinely challenging (A levels are a cakewalk compared to some degrees!) You might think others are coping better but many people outwardly put on a bravado face!

If you can afford it financially, can't you move in to Uni? (you say you live at home.) A few nights out with flatmates might take your mind off it, sometimes its about studying smart not hard!
Reply 9
Original post by Wimbs
If you can afford it financially I would knock the pt job on the head so you can devote more time to your studies.
You are NOT at the lower end of the intelligence spectrum on the course - you care about doing well so have lost confidence now you are studying something genuinely challenging (A levels are a cakewalk compared to some degrees!) You might think others are coping better but many people outwardly put on a bravado face!

If you can afford it financially, can't you move in to Uni? (you say you live at home.) A few nights out with flatmates might take your mind off it, sometimes its about studying smart not hard!


Yes you have summed up my feelings in just a few sentences, I do care about doing well alot (sometimes that can be my downfall). Looking at your comment it seems that I should eliminate the stressors in my life which are affecting my grasp at uni which includes quitting my job. Thanks so much for your comment :smile:

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