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University College London, University of London
University College London
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Can I switch degrees?

I've received an offer from UCL to study economics and I'm fairly confident that I will meet the conditions. I'm curious about whether I can change my course once I enter UCL.

A year ago, English and economics were my favorite subjects but I chose to apply for economics because I thought that it would be a more practical degree. No matter how much I loved English, I never dreamed of getting a degree in this subject because of all the negative stereotypes about it.

A year later, I think that economics was definitely not the right choice for me. I'm good at economics but I really don't have a passion for it like I do for English. To be honest, studying for my IB economics exam made me absolutely miserable. Conversely, I love writing English exams. Which is weird. My doubts have been growing for a really long time but I wasn't sure what to do at the time. Maybe I should have listened to my intuition.

I want to try out the economics course (maybe things will improve at uni), but would it be difficult to switch to English if I feel like economics is truly not right for me? I know that some degree switches are possible, but I would think that it's usually for similar subjects.

I don't want to contact the university outright and say that I don't like economics, but I need to know if I will have the option to switch my course. So maybe current students (not just at UCL) could give me some advice?
You have no chance. They may allow you to switch to another degree in the department, or a closely related one but certainly not English (it is one of the most competitive English programmes in the country).

Personally I feel that there is no point starting a degree which you already know isn't right for you. A good degree classification in English is going to be look better than a bad degree classification in Economics no matter who the employer is, and believe me - if you don't like the subject you probably will get a bad classification.

Why donā€™t you want to contact UCL? This isnā€™t school, theyā€™re not going to be angry at you for changing your mind - they will do whatever they can to help you.
University College London, University of London
University College London
London
Reply 2
Hi, StarSurvivor, sorry this is a bit late. Have you taken any action on this?

Speaking as someone who just transferred not only cross department but cross faculty (from engineering to social sciences) at UCL, I will say that it is definitely a possibility, provided you have the necessary subjects at A-level. And that if studying economics is going to make you miserable, you owe it to yourself to switch. I forced myself through two years of a degree I hated because I thought the one I was on originally was more socially acceptable and did a hell of a lot damage to my health in doing so.

That having been said, I would advise waiting until you get to UCL to make the switch. Once you get there, I would let them know as soon as possible (you mentioned you'd like to try economics in case you change your mind; not a bad idea, but listen to instinct, too. If you still think that English is what you want to do, let them know sooner rather than later.), but the process will go a bit more smoothly once you're officially a student. At that point they have your grades, there's no speculation, and you're already a student at UCL; they have less cause to doubt your capabilities and there are processes in place specifically to deal with people who change their mind about their course in their first few weeks.
Original post by Lucevar
Hi, StarSurvivor, sorry this is a bit late. Have you taken any action on this?

Speaking as someone who just transferred not only cross department but cross faculty (from engineering to social sciences) at UCL, I will say that it is definitely a possibility, provided you have the necessary subjects at A-level. And that if studying economics is going to make you miserable, you owe it to yourself to switch. I forced myself through two years of a degree I hated because I thought the one I was on originally was more socially acceptable and did a hell of a lot damage to my health in doing so.

That having been said, I would advise waiting until you get to UCL to make the switch. Once you get there, I would let them know as soon as possible (you mentioned you'd like to try economics in case you change your mind; not a bad idea, but listen to instinct, too. If you still think that English is what you want to do, let them know sooner rather than later.), but the process will go a bit more smoothly once you're officially a student. At that point they have your grades, there's no speculation, and you're already a student at UCL; they have less cause to doubt your capabilities and there are processes in place specifically to deal with people who change their mind about their course in their first few weeks.


This is a very risky strategy and frankly it not likely to succeed because as I say, UCL English is so oversubscribed. Assuming the OP took your advice, they could well find themselves in the position of being told no and having to pay for a degree they don't want to do. Are the possible benefits of waiting until after enrollment really worth it?
Reply 4
Original post by Samual
This is a very risky strategy and frankly it not likely to succeed because as I say, UCL English is so oversubscribed. Assuming the OP took your advice, they could well find themselves in the position of being told no and having to pay for a degree they don't want to do. Are the possible benefits of waiting until after enrollment really worth it?


I'm working on the assumption that if the OP dropped out within the first few weeks, having spoken to the English department and been turned down, they wouldn't be charged; at the very least they wouldn't be charged full fees. Contacting them at this point seems somewhat counter productive - if they're horrendously oversubscribed and OP doesn't have proven results, they have nearly no chance at all. Later on, with results out and already a part of the university, much better chances - not to mention that the OP might find another course in that time that suits them even better than English.

Edit: It's also possible that they might enjoy a university level economics course more than the A-level and decide to stay. Making a decision at this point seems very hasty.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Samual
...frankly it not likely to succeed because as I say, UCL English is so oversubscribed.


The extent to which a degree course is oversubscribed where by that is meant for UCAS entry is of little relevance here**: she is not looking to go back into the admissions process for September entry but to transfer across departments in October or at Christmas. There are few enough looking to do that and as much as would be needed is for one student in the sizeable English entry cohort to drop out, not turn up, or express a want to change courses and English notionally has a spot available.

**It is the case that universities are wary of allowing change where this looks like backdoor entry to a more popular course having higher entrance requirements. But no-one doing that as a plan uses Economics as the Trojan horse for it, or no-one in her right mind


Original post by StarSurvivor
I've received an offer from UCL to study economics and I'm fairly confident that I will meet the conditions. I'm curious about whether I can change my course once I enter UCL.


http://www.ucl.ac.uk/current-students/services_2/registration_status
Reply 6
OP, anything is possible. I've also applied to UCL and I'm hoping to go there in September, and I've changed my course from BSc Natural Sciences to BSc Statistics, but I had to beg them to change it. I literally had to beg them via email, I had to really put a lot of emotions into that email, explaining how much it would mean to me to go to UCL and study a course I really enjoyed, instead of studying Natural Sciences.

I would advise you to email them now, and asking them to change it, instead of waiting til September and see if you like Economics or not. Your passion will always be English, that won't ever change. So go with what you're passionate about.
Original post by cambio wechsel
The extent to which a degree course is oversubscribed where by that is meant for UCAS entry is of little relevance here**: she is not looking to go back into the admissions process for September entry but to transfer across departments in October or at Christmas. There are few enough looking to do that and as much as would be needed is for one student in the sizeable English entry cohort to drop out, not turn up, or express a want to change courses and English notionally has a spot available.

**It is the case that universities are wary of allowing change where this looks like backdoor entry to a more popular course having higher entrance requirements. But no-one doing that as a plan uses Economics as the Trojan horse for it, or no-one in her right mind


I think this is quite a naive view to take. Where are you getting your information from? UCL's English dept is actually rather small, they do not accept many applicants compared to most other universities. It is simply not true to say that all the OP needs is one person to not take up their place; the English dept is under no obligation to fill all their places. I wish the OP luck but I think they would be foolish to enrol at UCL before having spoken to the English dept and tested the waters.

I don't doubt that many people do change degrees once they get to UCL but I have never heard of anybody transferring into UCL English. The popularity of the degree you want to transfer out of is not at all relevant - I have no idea why you've brought that up.
Original post by Samual
Where are you getting your information from?


There's an inclination to ask "where are you?" and better call for that due diligence as you state as by fiat and in answer to an OP seeking serious advice that "you have no chance" and "certainly not English".

"Contact the department" was likely good advice but the rest of it looks like you're only making it up, and looked more like that when two students from UCL weighed in with their experiences.

Original post by Samual
It is simply not true to say that all the OP needs is one person to not take up their place; the English dept is under no obligation to fill all their places.


that's right and is why I said that under that circumstance English "notionally has a place available".

Original post by Samual
The popularity of the degree you want to transfer out of is not at all relevant - I have no idea why you've brought that up.


UCL is relatively unusual for the breadth of the offers made, and this is a function of the breadth of course-offerings and their relative popularities. Some will ask for A*A*A, others for AAB or even ABB. Where that is the case, a university has to be vigilant against the possibility that students game the system in seeking admission for a course with lighter requirements and less competition even to be made an offer and then quickly discover a passion for something higher up the hit-parade. Dutch to Law, STS to Economics. Deans of faculties will sensibly be wary of facilitating (and by extension encouraging) it even where the student has met what would have been the higher offer,... because would she have gotten that offer? But no-one would compete for Economics in order to switch to English.
Reply 9
From 2012, the tuition fee liability rule is 25% in term 1, 25% in term 2 and 50% in term 3. Any kind of attendance for the term, even a few days, incurs liability for the fees. Some universities will refund the fees anyway, but they are entitled to keep their 25% for term 1 if you start attending.


I went digging for actual rules regarding what the OP would be charged if they got to UCL and then decided to take a year out to reapply (eg if they decided to switch but didn't get into English). I was slightly naive in assuming that they wouldn't charge, but there is a precedent for it. Anecdotal evidence suggests that some universities will refund you the full amount if you only attended a few days and you're prepared to fight for it, but in most cases you would be liable for 2250.

That does give more weight to the idea that you should contact UCL English beforehand. Certainly no fun to pay that sum of money for a course you didn't actually end up taking. I still think being a current student is advantageous in terms of transfers, but as cambio wechsel says, the OP isn't exactly taking the easy entry route, so that will count in favour.
Original post by StarSurvivor
I've received an offer from UCL to study economics and I'm fairly confident that I will meet the conditions. I'm curious about whether I can change my course once I enter UCL.

A year ago, English and economics were my favorite subjects but I chose to apply for economics because I thought that it would be a more practical degree. No matter how much I loved English, I never dreamed of getting a degree in this subject because of all the negative stereotypes about it.

A year later, I think that economics was definitely not the right choice for me. I'm good at economics but I really don't have a passion for it like I do for English. To be honest, studying for my IB economics exam made me absolutely miserable. Conversely, I love writing English exams. Which is weird. My doubts have been growing for a really long time but I wasn't sure what to do at the time. Maybe I should have listened to my intuition.

I want to try out the economics course (maybe things will improve at uni), but would it be difficult to switch to English if I feel like economics is truly not right for me? I know that some degree switches are possible, but I would think that it's usually for similar subjects.

I don't want to contact the university outright and say that I don't like economics, but I need to know if I will have the option to switch my course. So maybe current students (not just at UCL) could give me some advice?

Economics at university is much different to IB/A level economics. At UCL it will be mathematically rigorous and heavily theoretical. But if this doesn't interest you, then by all means email them and ask.
Original post by cambio wechsel
There's an inclination to ask "where are you?" and better call for that due diligence as you state as by fiat and in answer to an OP seeking serious advice that "you have no chance" and "certainly not English".

"Contact the department" was likely good advice but the rest of it looks like you're only making it up, and looked more like that when two students from UCL weighed in with their experiences.



that's right and is why I said that under that circumstance English "notionally has a place available".



UCL is relatively unusual for the breadth of the offers made, and this is a function of the breadth of course-offerings and their relative popularities. Some will ask for A*A*A, others for AAB or even ABB. Where that is the case, a university has to be vigilant against the possibility that students game the system in seeking admission for a course with lighter requirements and less competition even to be made an offer and then quickly discover a passion for something higher up the hit-parade. Dutch to Law, STS to Economics. Deans of faculties will sensibly be wary of facilitating (and by extension encouraging) it even where the student has met what would have been the higher offer,... because would she have gotten that offer? But no-one would compete for Economics in order to switch to English.


Pretty words but you've not actually answered my question. My post was accurate, there's no point telling the OP they have a good chance when they don't.

I don't have the time or energy to keep contradicting you so I won't be replying to your posts again. That said, I will just say that a student of Dutch would probably have more chance of transferring to English, or at least to Dutch and English simply because they both involve the study of literature.
Original post by Lucevar

Speaking as someone who just transferred not only cross department but cross faculty (from engineering to social sciences) at UCL,


Hi, I have just changed from computer science and I start Classics in september, so kind of similar to you I think, what subjects did you change from? what made you change your mind? could you tell me what the swap is like?
Original post by Mike_123
Economics at university is much different to IB/A level economics. At UCL it will be mathematically rigorous and heavily theoretical. But if this doesn't interest you, then by all means email them and ask.


Are you a UCL student reading economics? If so, could you tell me more about the course?
I know that I'll do a lot more maths at uni but is it really all theoretical?
Thanks for the insight everyone.
For now, I've decided to stick with economics because I'm afraid that studying English will result in a higher chance of unemployment. But that's a another discussion altogether.
So I'm off to study econ...
It's a possibility, but no one can say for sure because these things work on a case-by-case basis.
I myself have switched departments at UCL, from BASc to SELCS (Languages and Cultures). I suppose I had an advantage as BASc was a very open degree and I was still allowed to transfer into SELCS.
As Economics and English are very different disciplines it may prove more difficult, as someone has already pointed out, English at UCL is highly competitive.
It might be a good idea to email the receiving department (English) and explain the situation to them and ask if they would consider you for a transfer, if they say yes you can get the ball moving and ask how to go about this, preferably before you arrive so it saves stress. If they say it's no way possible, you can start to plan your next move - whether to stay in a Economics or not. You could alternatively go through clearing, although if you want to keep your place at UCL it might be worth seeing if it's possible for the next academic year...
As you said you like both English and Economics maybe check out the BASc degree which would allow you to study both, and is really great in flexibility. I transferred out of this degree only because the specific modules I'd wanted were not available but were on the SELCS interdisciplinary degree.
My transfer was too late in the year, so I left after Term 1 and will return the next academic year. So don't worry about it too much, everything works out and I got an extra half a gap year to live in Madrid and do the Camino de Santiago!

Definitely do not stay in Economics if you don't enjoy it, the worst thing will be to spend your 4 years at uni studying something you are not passionate about. Life's too short.

If have any more questions message me. I studied IB Higher Economics and English and a Microeconomics module at UCL.

Good Luck!


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(edited 9 years ago)

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