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Dropping out of Oxford

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Reply 20
Original post by Mr Student
"Should have applied to Cambridge"


Should have read the thread
Original post by gtfo
Should have read the thread


Indeed.
Reply 22
I'm not defending Grout's lecturing skills - they're pretty poor. I was lucky insofar as we had a really awesome maths tutor.

Eight to ten hours of tutes per week? Seriously? Until things started getting heavy in third year when we had to start covering options as well, we only ever had one tute per week on average, but then I think we have slightly different definitions to John's chemists in what a 'tute' is. To us, a tutorial involves a maximum of three or four (more more often than not two) students. Anything with the whole college year is a class, which is (I believe) how John's works in chemistry.
Reply 23
Original post by cifes
I've just finished the first term of Chemistry.

Really really dislike the subject, (forced to apply under threat of being kicked out of the house :s-smilie:) and am not very good at it...I work at least 80 hours a week solid and am still behind. I have no enthusiasm for it at all, and don't want to work in the field after graduating.

You really have to have an enthusiasm for the subject here as the teaching is pretty bad, the maths lecturer gets all the letters in the wrong places and makes it a million times more confusing, labs are based on topics not covered yet and you're expected to know it all already :s

I have no problem with finding friends and stuff there (although had very little free time to go out...) The only reason I'm thinking of staying is I met a guy there, and obviously it's better not to be labelled as a uni drop out :/

Enquiries about transferring course or deferring for a year were met with a definite NO.

Any advice would be welcome :smile:


I'm in the same position as you but in Cambridge... I've managed to get into contact with both people who dropped out of Cambridge who were unhappy, and those who stayed on and tolerated the place until they graduated. From what i've found out, it seems to be the people who left who were happier in the end as they weren't stuck somewhere they didn't like and most of them went on to get degrees from other places they were happier at. Plus they didn't have to put anything on their CV about dropping out. I think in the end it's about whether you see it as 3 years of hell that you want to escape from, or just 3 years that need to be tolerated for the greater reward. - Personally, I'm going back next term and seeing if it's any better than the first, but reapplying through UCAS now anyway - as if i leave it till next year i'll have the higher fees to think about too!!
Original post by NGC773
I cant help but feel for the person that didnt get an in who would have relished the opportunity to study at Oxford


True, but since when was education fair?

Even though it gets harder after first term, if you keep applying yourself for 80 hours week you could get into the swing of it.

It's a grim time to be out in the real world though. Prospects are not so good.
Original post by cifes
I've just finished the first term of Chemistry.

Really really dislike the subject, (forced to apply under threat of being kicked out of the house :s-smilie:) and am not very good at it...I work at least 80 hours a week solid and am still behind. I have no enthusiasm for it at all, and don't want to work in the field after graduating.

You really have to have an enthusiasm for the subject here as the teaching is pretty bad, the maths lecturer gets all the letters in the wrong places and makes it a million times more confusing, labs are based on topics not covered yet and you're expected to know it all already :s

I have no problem with finding friends and stuff there (although had very little free time to go out...) The only reason I'm thinking of staying is I met a guy there, and obviously it's better not to be labelled as a uni drop out :/

Enquiries about transferring course or deferring for a year were met with a definite NO.

Any advice would be welcome :smile:


Just a question, what made you pick Chemistry in the first place and was it the case that if you didn't apply to Oxford you were going to get kicked out? :confused: And also, did you do much research about the course structure at Oxford before making the decision on whether to firm or not? I find it strange that you would suddenly lose all interests in Chemistry after being there for only one term.

When I read about what the course consisted of at Oxford, especially in the first year, I applied. It's a shame that you seem not to be getting any sort of enjoyment from them. How were the tutorials like at Oxford for Chemistry?
Reply 26
Yeah...3hrs Maths and 2hrs for both Inorganic and Physical each week, then 2hrs Organic on alternate weeks.

And NGC773 so do I :s Am not good enough to be here. Bleh. I'll get back to attempting work rather than whingeing about it though...

Edit:

Summerdays - I had an accounting job lined up already. If I didn't apply to Oxford would have been kicked out by my dad, for "being a total waster" and actually was for a short time (even with a job it was hard to find alternative accommodation due to being 17), so chose the subject because I was best at it at A level.
(edited 13 years ago)
Reply 27
apply to a different uni to for a different course?
Original post by cifes
And NGC773 so do I :s Am not good enough to be here. Bleh. I'll get back to attempting work rather than whingeing about it though...


I do get that you're in a different position than most in terms of doing a subject you had no personal interest in at all... but rest assured, almost everyone at Oxford feels like this at least once at some point during their course. If they don't, they're not human or a knob :yes:
Reply 29
I would never be able to spend three years of my life studying something I dislike. The whole idea of university is that you can finally study what you really love, and if you don't have the chance to do that, I'd say drop out and find something better.
Reply 30
Original post by NGC773
I cant help but feel for the person that didnt get an in who would have relished the opportunity to study at Oxford


This.

:console:

At the end of the day your happiness is more important, surely your parents should realise that.
It is probably better if you drop out and go for that job you wanted to do originally.

Good Luck x
(edited 13 years ago)
Reply 31
hope just airing your problems makes you feel better? only other thing that springs to mind is to contact other students either through your college, tutorials or this forum (start a more specific thread). Maybe you can work with someone in a similar situation - two heads etc.... Are other students on your course struggling? Sometimes the light goes on and things click into place.
Reply 32
just noticed the 'guy' bit. Maybe he's getting in the way of studies? Oxford terms are meant to be short and intensive and the long hols are for catch up too.
Original post by warrior-1
Yer, you should drop out if you don't like the course.

May be you could re- apply for a different course at Oxford for next year.

Good luck! :biggrin:


Yeah- drop out if you really dont like it and apply again for something else next for next year. If you get thrown out of the house then it just shows how selfish your parents are. You are an adult now anyway.
Reply 34
lol "80 hours a week"
Reply 35
asmjffdd - they say they're struggling but then do the work fast and get it all right...

Diaz89 - ? That's 11/12 hours a day, including lectures, tutorials and work in own time not including eating/sleeping/other necessary things yeah? :/

General conclusion - going to work like crazy and make the most of the rest of these hols, and stick it out for the first year at least :smile:
You might not be intrested in Chemistry per se, but graduating from Oxford in such a strong subject wont hurt. Even if you don't enjoy it, you can go into other areas afte you've graduated. I say you should keep going.
Reply 37
I would advise you stick with it until the year is out, you might actually start to enjoy some parts next term.
Reply 38
Original post by NGC773
I cant help but feel for the person that didnt get an in who would have relished the opportunity to study at Oxford


That's not the OP's fault - she shouldn't feel guilty for not enjoying it just because it's something not everyone could have.

OP I knew someone who dropped out of Chemistry at Oxford and went to do English at Birmingham - he's now doing a PhD in English (still at Birmingham) and has found his niche and his path in life. I also know of someone who dropped out of Classics at Cambridge but went on to do it at Leeds.

Oxbridge isn't for everyone. It's partly luck if you end up liking wherever you go, Oxbridge or otherwise. Ultimately if you're struggling in the first year it may be a sign that you're not going to settle; you need to ask yourself: a) are you doing the right course, and b) are you at the right university. If the answer to either or both of those questions is no, you could do with withdrawing and applying elsewhere sharpish - don't forget the UCAS deadline is 15th January. Nobody (sensible) will judge you for recognising it just wasn't working out and doing something about it.
Reply 39
I would stick with it. Your degree will take up three years of your life. Think of all that time you spent at school learning things you didn't necessarily find interesting. At worst, you'll end up after three years a belligerent soul who curses at chemistry and has an odium for Oxford. And, at best, you'll end up loving the subject because things can change.
But, whatever the outcome, you'll end up with a degree from one of the greatest institutions in the world and, with that, the key to do pretty much what you damn well like!

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