Considering Dropping Out

You don't even hint at what your 'course choice' was - making it hard to advise you. Before i started my uni degree [aeons ago], i considered 6 or 7 careers. I then contacted the local professional societies, and asked them to refer me to 5 or 6 credentialed professionals that would be willing to talk to me about a career in their specialty. I subsequently contacted each of them, and went out to talk with them separately. I made up a list of questions before hand, and asked them each the same questions in turn. Among the questions were: "How much do you make?, where do you see yourself in 5 years, 10 years, what about your education would you have done differently - if you had it to do over, how hard would it be to get another job in your profession, at the same or higher salary, if you decided you wanted to change employers, do you think your profession will 'outlive' you - i.e. will you be able to get another job in your field for as long as you want to?

As i look at it, if you want to "study" Elizabethan poetry, or underwater basket weaving, you can easily buy several books on the subject & read them. You don't need a 'certificate' or 'diploma' that says that on it. This is the way education used to be done. It is only recently that 'diplomas' have been issued by institutes of higher learning. I feel that the only reason to do the substantial work required to get one of these diplomas, and pay the sizable fees involved, is if doing so will increase your earning ability and quality of life. To do so, in a field where you may or may not be able to 'sell' your services, after you obtain the degree is silly, if not stupid. If you took the money you would spend on the degree, and invested it in tools and/or equipment, you could start a small business, and earn your livelihood from it, perhaps earning more than you could get from a degree in 'underwater basket weaving'.

There are areas where degrees ARE required. They are mainly in the "STEM" area - science, technology, engineering, and medicine. I initially earned a Bachelor's in electrical engineering [BSEE], and used it to get a job with the US Federal Government. After 10 years or so, i noticed that more and more fresh graduates were walking in the door with Master's degrees. Wanting to keep my 'employability' up, i got myself into a master's program, and - whilst working full time, and travelling about 30% of the time, earned a MSEE. This equipped me to teach uni courses [if i chose to do so], but was also becoming necessary - if you wanted to run a project of any size [say $3 to $5 million - which isn't all that big]. Nobody would trust you to run anything without the master's. The interesting thing about this is that - those people who make the 'yea, nay' decision on whether or not to employ you as a program manager, nearly always do NOT have master's degrees themselves. Not only do they not have a master's in an appropriate specialty - such as electrical engineering - they do NOT have a master's in ANYTHING!! I find this baffling.

I find that many people [young ones particularly], are obsessed with making decisions on what they think (without more than a second's consideration) they would "like". Believe me, if you are just starting uni, you cannot possibly know anything about 99% of the fields that are available to you. There are hundreds of thousands of different careers in (for example) engineering. From gaming, to scientific computing, to medical research engineering, to ..... the list is limitless. I have spent years designing communications systems - from mountain top microwave systems to satellite systems. I have lived in 14 countries [and enjoyed all of them], as well as all the US states, and many provinces in Canada [it's just next door after all].

As part of your 'career survey' - consider that, being from the Uk, you may well have to work overseas as part of your career in order to make a decent salary. The entire Uk, both Irelands, Scotland, Wales, England, Shetland, Isle of Man, channel islands, etc - the entire lot, is about 10% smaller than Nevada. If i were job hunting, i would NEVER consider restricting myself to job searching in only one state. By doing this, you would foreclose many lucrative and interesting opportunities. Speaking english, you are in the catbird's seat - if you want to study engineering, medicine or programming, the first thing you need to do is to learn english - because nearly all the latest and most up to date information appears first in that language. This is because the people doing the 'cutting edge' work in those fields, have that as a first language.

Best of luck!!

I think clearing's still open? It might be worth checking and seeing if you can get a place at another uni through there before you start.
Don't go into uni thinking 'I'm going to drop out' it's a waste of time and money. If you drop out, you lose your retake year (so if you fail a year, and you have to retake, you have to fund it yourself), plus you might have to pay back your maintenance starting basically immediately (I started on a pound a month then they took what was left out my loan for this year).
If you are sure you won't like this uni and/or the course, you should not go this year. You will be FAR better off taking a gap year and doing something you actually want to do next year.
Does the uni offer the course you do want to do? Do you like the uni enough to stay and do a different course? If you ask soon and they have spaces, they might let you switch.

Definitely like the uni and would ideally transfer to another course at the same uni, but I’m prepared if thats not possible and have a back list of courses/university’s.

Okay, tomorrow, phone the universities admissions and explain you have an offer for *course*, but you would actually prefer to do *new course*. Ask if you meet the entry requirements and if they have space. If not you can either try clearing of take a gap year but if you really don't like this course, don't go, because dropping out isn't something you should be going in planning to do.

Thanks for the help!! I’ve already started drafting my email. Also admissions are kind of a b*tch, I was planning on emailing my personal tutor?

I start my uni course soon and I'm already feeling regretful of my course choice and considering either dropping out, transferring or completing the first year then transferring. PS. Dropping out would be my last resort I just know I would rather drop out than continue with my course.

In regards with the student loan aspect would I have to pay for the time I was at University A and with the maintenance loan would I have to pay that back as soon as I drop out, even if I plan on taking a break from my studies as I will probably apply again through UCAS this year, if I end up dropping out. Thanks in advance