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Thoughts of dropping out of University

Hi,

So i'm a first year computer science student and I have recently just started term 2. After having the 4 week break, i've had time to think about my course and how I actually feel about it.

I now have feelings of wanting to drop out before the end of this term, but i'm not too sure if I should or not. I do find coding and the maths hard, I had never coded before this course and the maths is nothing like A-Level maths, however I believe I will be able to get into second year and pass the exams. (40%)

The problem is here, I don't just want to get into second year and continue to struggle, i'm thinking maybe its time to leave and think about what degree I would be motivated to do and actively learn. I'm afraid of appearing as a failure and somewhat wasting 6 months worth of time and money to leave university with nothing.

Also, I wouldn't like to take a year out because I think leaving now would result in me not being able to get a place in a university by September.
Life is far too short to actively do something that is making you unhappy, if you have the power to change it. I don't think you will be doing yourself any favours by trying to scrape through the degree, professionally or personally.

You may still be able to secure a place somewhere for the coming September, but this will depend on a number of things; perhaps most importantly how competitive the course you hope to join is. It is obviously somewhat late though, so you may have to accept that you will take a year out. You can use this time to explore interests and make sure you are happy with your choices though. This in no way makes you a failure.

Do you have some idea of what you might like to do instead? If you are not sure, I would caution against rushing into a new application even more strongly and recommend you take some time out to assess your options.

It's a big decision, but you are fortunate enough to have options.
Reply 2
Original post by ByronicHero
Life is far too short to actively do something that is making you unhappy, if you have the power to change it. I don't think you will be doing yourself any favours by trying to scrape through the degree, professionally or personally.

You may still be able to secure a place somewhere for the coming September, but this will depend on a number of things; perhaps most importantly how competitive the course you hope to join is. It is obviously somewhat late though, so you may have to accept that you will take a year out. You can use this time to explore interests and make sure you are happy with your choices though. This in no way makes you a failure.

Do you have some idea of what you might like to do instead? If you are not sure, I would caution against rushing into a new application even more strongly and recommend you take some time out to assess your options.

It's a big decision, but you are fortunate enough to have options.


I think I might look into economics or perhaps some other "theory style"/real world choices because in computer science i'm finding it hard to actually look deeper and connect to it.

Also essay style degrees kind of appeal to me over the computer science style ones since compsci is either a straight right or wrong. If that makes any sense :wink:
Original post by fluxanda
I think I might look into economics or perhaps some other "theory style"/real world choices because in computer science i'm finding it hard to actually look deeper and connect to it.

Also essay style degrees kind of appeal to me over the computer science style ones since compsci is either a straight right or wrong. If that makes any sense :wink:


Sure, being able to have an ostensibly meaningful opinion can feel important. Economics is a sensible choice, though depending on the universities you are targeting you may struggle to secure a place for the coming year. I recommend making some calls, feeling out your options and, most importantly, not being afraid to pull the trigger. In the meantime you can read some Hazlitt and facepalm.

Good luck.
Reply 4
Original post by fluxanda
I think I might look into economics or perhaps some other "theory style"/real world choices because in computer science i'm finding it hard to actually look deeper and connect to it.

Make sure that you look into Economics degree content at module level - many will contain a significant proportion of maths. As that's part of your current problem, you don't want to end up in the same situation.

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