Dropped Out of University

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I'm so glad I found this thread and people in the same situation! I'm currently at uni in my first year, and hating it. I don't like the course, the tutors or the people, due to a mess up on the universities part, I'm in accommodation far away from the university. I'm in a massive city (London, over 5 hours on the train from home) and have had the worst few months that have really affected my mental and physical health and my coursework has been terrible, not like me at all, so I think I'm going to withdraw this week, and apply for another uni to start again in September! My family are keen for me to do it because I'm so unhappy but I guess I'm just kinda worried about going home and having to tell everyone that I dropped out and also being a year older than everyone when I start again.

I was at my dream uni, a top business school, but I hated the city, I was to far away from family.
I dropped out, and have a place a my local uni which is also good. But the second I dropped out I felt happy again.

Reply 81

username418231

Original post by Add!ction

Took me a while to sort student finance but I believe they're just letting me keep the first instalment, so I'll just keep it by for next year.

I think people underestimate how big a step going to uni is. You have to be 100% happy with the decisions you make, as long as you have no regrets then all is good.

This. I always believed it was a massive decision for one to make, hence why I took my time with my decisions and did a lot of research. Then again, I had known for a long time that I wanted (and might need) to go to university.

I think a lot of people are pushed to much to go to any university and just do any course as long as it is a course you love. I remember being constantly pushed into going to any university with places to fill, despite having poor grades. I tried Clearing, and that didn't work out. Yet I was expected to try again yet when I tried to get support from they school (about taking a year out/retaking the year) they completely ignored me and refused to help me. Luckily the deputy head of sixth form, and the careers adviser all gave me great advice on what to do and alternatives to university. Eventually I withdrew my application and reapplied during my gap year.

I managed to pick the right course, at the right university (having done a foundation year at the same university) and I feel as though I made the right decision. :smile:

I'm glad I didn't settle for any uni doing a random course I hadn't researched.

I think people shouldn't rush into university - if you are unsure then take a year out and figure out what you want to do. It's wrong for teachers and the government to push people into making massive decisions at the age of 18.

Reply 82

Failure

Gosh. I'm thinking about dropping out too. I feel like I'm probably a bit late to say that though with most people now talking about it from different perspectives!
I'm doing chemistry and am in the first year but I'm not really enjoying it or doing well at all. I think I might need some time to mature a bit more and also to learn how not to start four consecutive sentences with I. Like someone else's said, all of you who feel the same way coming out and saying that is very comforting. It can be quite lonely having this feeling when everyone else seems to be having so much fun! So thanks everyone for the advice and for sharing what really is quite a personal experience.
I think from here I need to ask a few people some things to determine if I can leave without messing up the housing for next year. Then see how it goes I think. Sorry if maybe I've been a bit too open here. I think I needed to type this out to get the ball rolling for me.

Also, katesx, I found this thread about loans and things that I found quite helpful.

Reply 83

Linelli

Don't regret dropping out at all :smile:

i started an english literature and history course, it sucked all the fun out of things i enjoyed. i didn't like the uni, i didn't like the organisation of the course so i left. i ended up working in a paintballing centre for 9 months until i came across a job as a healthcare assistant on a medical ward. after working there for a year i decided i was going to give uni another go and here i am now studying towards becoming a registered mental health nurse; aiming to go into the area of substance misuse, and i am loving every single second of it :smile:

the best decision i ever made.

Reply 84

nmr1991

I've now made the decision of leaving university having failed one year of a course that was right up my alley, but ended up being a waste of time, I should have got a diagnosis of depression and anxiety but it was too late into the year and I chose a different course that I thought would benefit me. This year I started computer science more or less which just like the previous course was unexpectedly challenging, but it wasn't the workload that alot of people would question, but it was the way it was being taught and the way I had to demonstrate my understanding of the subject.

I have depression some of the time, but only when I think there is nothing I can do anymore like right now when I have no chance of passing any of the units so really I won't make it to second year anyway. I was advised to take a retake year but that would mean I would have to face the same difficulties I had this year i.e. forming a group, communicating with others, making friends and that sort of thing which I was really bad at and it just made my confidence drop. So I won't be taking a retake year like so many i've taken in the past. All my peers have already graduated, at least the ones who weren't retaking anything.

I will be finishing off this year just to see how far I get, but I will just be delaying the inevitable, I will need a job to get my overdraft back onto an acceptable balance which will be difficult so I might have to get JSA, but it won't be as much as a job.

I think the alternative would be to either look really hard for a job or find an apprenticeship to occupy my time and get good experience from it. I can't really look right now since i'm still at university, but when I leave, that is the first thing I will do, I can't shy away from any of these things anymore.

On another note, my family thinks i'm doing very well, what a shock to their system it will be when they find out I will drop out once I finish.

Reply 85

jonathanemptage

Original post by Nfergs

I started my first semester of first year in September and only managed to last until November. I was studying French/Spanish with German as my elective at Heriot-Watt University.

One reason why I dropped out was because of the workload, I was constantly stressed and had no social life whatsoever. Because I lived at home all I ever did was go to university everyday, go to classes, do homework during breaks and then come back home to do more homework. I had so much homework that I never had the time to do any self-study which piled up and got ignored. It felt like no matter how much work I did, I was making no progress at all. Not living in halls made me feel like I was missing out on all of the 'fun' aspects of university. There wasn't really anything I actually enjoyed during the whole two months I was there. I was constantly miserable and I eventually had enough.

I'm not saying this to put anyone off, I know people that have had the complete opposite experience!

I would say one of the mistakes you made was commuting from home may I ask how long your journey was each day?

I dropped out in my first year too I reapplied to a different uni on a different course. The nice thing about uni is that you can always go back or even go somewhere new if you want to I would say if you do go back make sure it's something you like and also live in halls it's a much better experience

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Reply 86

Nfergs

Original post by jonathanemptage

In the morning the journey could vary from 20 minutes to 45 minutes whereas it would take much longer to get home because of traffic.

I can assure anyone that I won't be going back to uni as I hated it from day one. The commuting didn't bother me too much and I felt staying in halls was a waste of money as I already lived in the same city and had everything I needed at home.

Reply 87

Nfergs

I didn't want to tell anyone at first as I thought people would look down on me but now I don't really care. The only time I don't mention it is during job interviews as some employers may see it as a negative thing.

Reply 88

Welshrobbo93

I am nearing the end of my second year of University. I have struggled greatly this year, not through being unable to grasp the work, but through having no interest in the modules any more. I feel like my passion for logistics has dried up. I have also developed a mild social anxiety order, which makes university that little bit less thrilling for me. I really don't want to stay, but I feel as though I would have wasted two years of my life. University isn't for everyone, I know that now, it has broken me, I sometimes forget how it feels to smile haha.

Reply 89

Georgie_M

I dropped out back in 2009 because I didn't live in halls and became seriously ill at the beginning of the year, I didn't have the confidence or social network to get back in to it. I did regret it a bit at the time but looking back I think i wasn't confident enough in general and had social anxiety issues that would of prevented me ever finishing. I moved to Spain for a year to build my confidence up but then when I came back the job market was dire, I could only find low paid work and the realisation that this might be for the rest of my life spurred me on to go back to uni.
I don't regret dropping out now (although I regret the 8k in loans) because it wasn't the right time and I wasn't in the right head space, now I'm even going on to do a masters so I must like it!

I haven't read all the posts so am unaware of your specific situation but some degrees aren't much use and if you're not happy and don't think you'll ever be happy on that path, what's the point? However if you don't have an alternative idea of how to be happy it might be tricky, good luck!

Reply 90

Welshrobbo93

Original post by Georgie_M

Thank-you for the response. My problem is that I never share my problems, I feel like I am weak if I do so, I usually just deal with it and try and fix it myself. I need to have a long hard think. Just wish I did a slightly less complex course (logistics and supply chain management). Similarly to what you said about going to Spain, I was thinking of going away for a bit in summer on my own, in the hope that I can build some self confidence, and hopefully learn more about who I am. Ultimately I need to get my priorities right, and work out what I want in life/ a career.
Thank-you for the good luck wishes, all the best to yourself, too. :smile:

Reply 91

Georgie_M

Original post by Welshrobbo93

I think travelling is a great idea, I had to step outside of my comfort zone in a massive way and force myself to do it but it does help your confidence to grow immeasurably when you do that so I would says it is totally worth it for self-development.

Reply 92

hass147

I'm 21 now and I'm still in my first year of a Computer Science degree at the University of Sussex. The story so far still baffles me.

When I was 18 in September 2010, I knew my AS results were so bad that there's no way I'm getting A's and B's or even C's to get into good Universities. I eventually applied for a foundation year instead, my only route to University and to avoid £9K fees. A huge problem of mine has always been that I don't have much interest in many academic fields and have never been prolific at studying.

When I turned 19 in September 2011, after an awful set of A-Level results, I took up a Computing and Mathematical Foundation year at Kingston Uni (officially leaving me one year behind my former classmates). While "studying" for this foundation year (can't even believe they can call that course a qualification), I applied via UCAS to Sussex and Oxford Brookes to study Computer Science. I got offers from both. Getting into a top ten Uni was beyond my wildest imaginations with the way A-Levels panned out.

In September 2012, aged 20, I moved out of East London to live in the residences of Sussex to study Computer Science. I flopped my first year hard, didn't even have excuses like going out too much, I just couldn't keep up and couldn't understand things fast enough.

I decided in summer 2013 that I want to invoke my repeat year clause. I wanted to change degrees to something I'm passionate about, but because I only had a Computing and Maths foundation year I couldn't do so. So I stuck to this course and tried to take a much bigger interest in it. I sat all my resits, didn't pass enough modules (even if I did I would have repeated), then requested an automatic repeat year.

I go into the repeat year with an aim of becoming a solid Computer Science university student, attend lectures, pass all my modules, become fully prepared for second year and live the social life I know I'm capable of living.

January 2014, I pass 3/4 module exams. At this point it's been successful. Now however, I have four courseworks due by the 17th of April, I will probably only manage to do 1/2 of them. My academic aims for the year don't feel satisfied, I feel as if the end of my pursuit for some tangible success is almost over.

I can survive this first year, which will probably be shamefully via retakes. But it's inevitable that I'm not going to survive this difficult a degree much less get a 2:1 or a first. I am looking for a life after University now. Just don't know where to look.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 93

yeahImAustralian

I'm about to drop out, in my second year at the Australian National University (the top in my country). Honestly, I just lost all passion for university life, theres nothing interesting and I want to leave and come back in a year or two, otherwise a different university. It's really stressful but I just told my parents about it, one was happy, the other is angry about it.

It makes me feel better that there are other people in the same situations in "prestigious" universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, because honestly all the pressure that built up on such things has been my downfall. I just want to take a year off, get my head straight, and re-enrol in a more local university, where it's not so academically focused. I just don't click with the teaching style, or the lifestyle, it's totally foreign to me. I was raised in a country town, and now I live on campus with the "elite", I just honestly don't like the stress and lifestlyle.

So yeah, It's going to be stressful as all hell, but good luck to those who dropped out :smile:

We can always go back in the future

Reply 94

Danny the Geezer

I dropped out for health reasons several times and am seriously thinking of going back, a good education system shouldn't be taken for granted and if you can go back, you should.

Reply 95

mollyhodgen

Here's my advice for drop-outs!

http://mollyhodgen.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/a-few-basic-pointers-for-university.html

Reply 96

a729

Original post by IAmAStegosaurus

Hey, I dropped out of university last year after just 2 months. I was studying English and Philosophy at Nottingham Uni and was absolutely hating it! I had a few 'friends' but we didn't really click and the course had the most ridiculously enormous workload imaginable. I was also 4 1/2 hours from home which was awful because I couldn't pop home for a break when I needed to. The campus was pleasant but soooo dull... it was so vast that I didn't feel that exciting student buzz I thought I would. There was just this cold and empty atmosphere. I knew it was all wrong and decided to drop out. I spent the year working briefly as a waitress (that also failed horribly!) and then in a wildlife park, which was much better suited to me! I also went to Italy for a week with a friend which was great.

I've started again this year at a different uni, much closer to home, doing just Philosophy, and it's a city uni rather than a campus uni. I am having a MUCH better experience. The workload is far more manageable and I have plenty of time for extracurricular activities and exploring the city (London). My family are an hour away by train which is heaps better, I have some pretty good friends (though I got very unlucky with an extremely unsociable flat!) and I'm enjoying the course. The uni has a great student atmosphere and feels much better suited to me. Don't regret your decision; I spent every day in a state of despair at Nottingham and life's too short to be lived like that. I think it's great you've taken action rather than just suffered through it.