The Student Room Group

Did you drop out of uni? If so, what are you doing now?

If you dropped out of uni, and decided to get a job/something else productive, would you be so kind as to post about it?

Thank you lots!

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Well, as much as i'd like to say 'do it before tis too late', I really wouldn't drop out until you've secured a place in something else. That said, many wealthy individuals who we see on TV dropped out, didn't go to university, and were self made. if you've got the mindset to see opportunities where others dont, then by all means do what you think is right.

Wasting the next 3 or 4 years of your life doing something you have little interest in is far worse than seeing what you can do with the next 3 or 4 years of your life from near-scratch. You'll be able to go out every day and make opportnities for yourself knowing you dont have the weight of the world on your shoulders.

A degree on the otherhand, is handy. Im doing my degree next year simply as a fallback on something else I have in mind. I do however aim for a 1st.
Reply 2
I dropped out and I'm training as an accountant now.

Didn't find my course that interesting and didn't bother sitting my exams (parents didn't take it to well when they said "When are your exams?" to which I replied, "I haven't done them" !).

Part of me wishes I was back at uni as full time work routine sucks but then you have to do essays and stuff :/ Both just as bad as each other imo and I can't be arsed with either! :smile:
Reply 3
Hey!

I dropped out of Bangor uni after the second year. I hated the place that we lived in, I found the course (Ocean Science) boring and ended up getting quite depressed about the whole thing, so I dropped out. Mum n dad were not happy at all, much less than I told them I'd been offered a job in Llandudno in a hotel so I moved to a funky little octagon-shaped flat, worked loads as an assistant manager to this hotel and pub, bought a nice car, spent loads of money, had the time of my life and then got offered another job with the same company up in York. So I went, had a really great year, I met a load of new friends, had a nice flat, could come and go as I please, no constraints, but I ended up working like 70 hours some weeks, and I eventually got bored (was about this time last year), and having not spoken to my parents properly since I left uni, I was offered another job nearer home, which was better paid and would after 6 months, lead to me being a general manager and get my own hotel, so I took it. Moved back into my mum and dads last April, and really worked to show them that I could do it on my own, and that I could get somewhere. The boredom never went away though, it was the same old same old, the hours weren't too bad, but the commuting got on my nerves, and after a series of rows with the bitch of a boss I had, I quit, and on the last day of the UCAS cycle, I applied to go back to uni, doing just biology, and managed to get into the second year and start in September, so here I am.

I guess you have your own reasons for not liking it, and I don't think uni is actually as it's expected. I'd seriously consider changing courses though, instead of dropping out, or changing uni completely. Maybe take a year out or two like I did to take time to "find" yourself. The two years I had were enjoyable looking back, but I realised that uni is the way forward unless I wanted get stuck in a boring job that I'm not overtly keen on. I'd much prefer doing something constructive. And I think I grew up a bit too.

I'm glad I came back and so are my parents, they said I'd never go back once I dropped out, and although it's a step down from earning 20k a year, it feels the right thing to do, and no more getting up at 5am for a while lol

Sorry for the long post!

Jay x
I wouldn't leave unless you had something else secured properly first.

Are you sure there is nothing else you could change to make the experience better? The job market is tough and even with your degree you may struggle so do you really want to leave without one (and it might look bad on your C.V no matter how bad your situation was) - however as people like Cortez have demonstrated you can still get a job and a career.

As bad as Uni might seem I bet full time work is much worse in terms of effort and hours etc.
Reply 5
Might be worth checking out some of the information in here: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=63131 Lots of useful stuff there!

I dropped out and had a year out to think about what I wanted to do, did an AS level in a completely different subject, and am now back at a different university doing a different subject. I would say the best thing to do is talk to everyone you can get your hands on about it. Talk to your tutor and uni mates, and possibly the welfare officer at uni. You don't have to say anything final, just say stuff like 'Lately, I've been thinking about dropping out but I'm not sure', and then just talk it over. I promise you it feels so much better to get it out in the open and just chat about it with people.

The disadvantage of dropping out of uni and going straight into full time work is that it excludes quite a few possible careers for you, as a lot of them require a degree. Having said that, one of my friends never went to uni, trained as an accountant, and now has loads of experience on top of other graduates. I also have another friend who is working full time in a care home whilst doing a degree with the OU. There's loads of options available to you, you just need to think through what exactly you are going to do if you do drop out.

You could try and stick it out to the end of the year - you might be able to get some kind of qualification (like a diploma) for your one years worth of uni, though you would obviously have to talk to them about it if that applies to you. In the end, you've just got to do what feels right really. Dropping out does not mean failing, it means that you've got the guts to change your mind and do something you really want to do.
Reply 6
I dropped out and I'm now a trainee accountant though following the graduate route - if I were you I'd think long and hard about what you want to do as far as jobs/careers go and then what you need to get there before deciding to drop out.
Reply 7
I dropped out of Nursing at Kings College. I work in Starbucks now, aint a high up job but I like it. I'll probably head back to Uni this year but maybe Retail Management. I think some time out helped.
Reply 8
I have little interest in physics,

but im now a term and a half away from finishing the degree


hopefully ill some how get a 2:1
Reply 9
I dropped out of an architecture degree after realising it just wasn't me.

Got a job in a crappy restaurant kitchen, 6 nights a week for 6 months. I don't know how i got through that thoroughly depressing experience, but it did give me plenty of time to think about whether i wanted to continue HE and what to study.

In hindsight, it was a something i'm glad i did, as I got to see what crappy jobs are out there for those not lucky enough to have a degree, and I worked harder at uni as a result.
I went to uni and didn't really like it so I dropped out in November. It's given me a chance to think about what I actually want to do, since I went to university just for the hell of it. I want to take an extra A-level in the next couple of years, get a job and finish learning to drive.

There's nothing wrong with trying uni and then dropping out if you don't like it, I think it's a good idea to have the experience to determine what you actually want from life. I went to a large city university and was living in halls and I hated both of these things, I really needed my own space and fresh air. I will get back to university eventually and hopefully if I get that A-level I will have the grades to do what I want to do, plus the money to have my own place.

I must say, it is really difficult trying to find a decent job unless you want to be a shop assistant or something. I'm going to try to be an office junior, which is absolutely rubbish pay but with little experience it's difficult to get any admin work. I will be pleased to have the experience though because no doubt it will benefit me in the future.
Reply 11
i am exactly in your position, i am kinda dropping ou tof UCL Math, but luckily i have secured a place at another university, so im kinda still attending for the sake of it as i have paid the fees. but i will restart in Oct 2007 and hopefully it has been a great career move, thing with maths i think i cant handle it nor am i motivated to do it as its just too hard and incredibly BOOOORING
ive just dropped out of uni...did 5 months at nottingham trent, can some one tell me how it works with what i have im to pay back?

x
Reply 13
i was thinking about this, would i have to pay all the fees and will i have to give my grants all back? best thing is to call up the students loan company. i think il call them on Monday also!
Reply 14
Death Eater, can I just ask as to why you're dropping out of UCL? I'll be attending UCL come September to read Maths with Economics and am just wondering as to why someone would drop as it's "incredibly hard and boring". Is that an overstatement or...? Cheers.
Reply 15
That about sums up Maths...though I didn't go to UCL.
Dimez
Death Eater, can I just ask as to why you're dropping out of UCL? I'll be attending UCL come September to read Maths with Economics and am just wondering as to why someone would drop as it's "incredibly hard and boring". Is that an overstatement or...? Cheers.

I changed my course from maths - I'd definitely agree with the "incredibly hard", though I can see that, for those people who really get to grips with it, it's anything but a "boring" subject. You just need to be completely dedicated to it (which I wasn't either :wink:)
Reply 17
Dimez
Death Eater, can I just ask as to why you're dropping out of UCL? I'll be attending UCL come September to read Maths with Economics and am just wondering as to why someone would drop as it's "incredibly hard and boring". Is that an overstatement or...? Cheers.


Hey, since i am bored i will answer to the fullest. :wink:
ok firstly i chose maths and at UCL because i stereotypically wanted a career in IB and though UCL's reputation and a maths course will be the obvious answer. when i attended the bridging course 2 weeks prior to the start of university i knew that Maths was no "maths" and i was out of my league, and having not done further maths i felt and think i was at a huge disadvantage, thats not to say that there are people who succeed without Further maths, but one of the modules (1401) is purely Further maths and at the pace you go at there you wont be able to fully understand it as many people would be doing it the "second time round".
after the formalities etc (such as paying fees etc or basically fresher week) i though it was going to get better. Analysis and Algebra were a shock to me and with it being so different i didnt understand it. and basically it got more and more abstract and i didnt really follow the notes purely because they were not really written in "English" but rather written in Algebra.
as i got further into the course i go tmroe and more lazy in that i knew i couldnt do this for 3 years, and in november i reapplied via UCAS. Luckily i think a lot ahead and am so glad i did this. i reapplied for Business/AccFin degrees. in addition, the UCL maths department is so tacky looking and doesnt give you the feeling of a place of study, although UCL has a good rep, the place in general doesnt appeal to me. having seen some of next years people (they came to interviews) the course is full of chinese people who are somewhat anti-social in that they tend to stick with themselves.
but since i have an offer from LSE now there isnt any reason for me to stay although i have to query about my grants/loans etc.

if youhave nay more questions jsut ask :smile: and all i can say is GOOD LUCK, no one on the course is saying its easy and it sounds obvious you have to really want to do it, dont do it for the same reasons as me!
Reply 18
You are definitely right about the tacky looking building and the seemingly anti-social plethora of Chinese students. 4 out of the 5 students helping out on my interview day were Chinese and they all pretty much seemed like International students. Mind you, I haven't got anything againts International students (the greater diversity the better) but the people I met on the day of my interview at the maths dept didn't really seem like the type I would "roll with", so to speak.

I haven't got any F.maths background either as my school didn't offer and, even worse, I'm on a gap year... :eek: One would expect one's mathematical ability to greatly deteriorate without having done maths for such a long time but lucky me the gap year scheme I'm with offers an online maths course which covers f.maths stuff and sometimes strays onto undergrad level, here's the link if you're interested.

I just really hope I enjoy my course. If the course doesn't do it for me, I've always heard that UCL's social side is second to none. :wink: :biggrin:
Reply 19
Thanks guys, especially Death Eater, for your kind inputs. :smile:

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