Should I withdraw now (2nd semester) or after the year? Watch

Didn't really know which forum to post this to...

I wish to switch uni and course but I don't know when I should.

My situation:

Lost interest in course and now have absolutely no motivation to study for it or put in work.

Rent is higher than maintenance loan so mum had to lend me money, I work part time at McDonald's (6.50/hr) on the 3 days I have off so mum doesn't have to lend me more money (she doesn't even have much to begin with).

If I cease to be a student at this uni, the owner of the accommodation has the right to evict me immediately and I still have to pay for the next semester (rent was ~7900 for the year) - and I wouldn't get the next maintenance loan so I'd have to work 9-5 5 days a week to pay for the next installment and will work until I start next academic year. Will only have to pay half of tuition fee if I drop out now.

My dad said he spoke to some people at his work and they said that it will look good that I finished the year and will look bad if I drop out after a semester - I think this is BS and I might even fail the year because of no motivation.

I think I should drop out before the third semester so I don't have to pay for the other half of tuition fee.

The only things holding me back is because I don't know if unis take into account of me dropping out, if I even have much chance going to a uni since I will be applying late and working 9-5 5 days a week at McDonald's until next academic year

Questions:

Do unis take into account the fact that you dropped out?

Is there much chance joining a uni since it is past the UCAS deadline?

Who do I reference for UCAS?

Does it actually 'look better' if you finish the year (which I would be dreading)?

What do you think I should do?

Hi! Sorry to hear you're not liking your course. I dropped out after the first semester in academic year of 2017/18 so I understand! I'd say in your circumstance, if you've lost all motivation to study then carrying on would be a waste of time and money. After all, university is a product, and if you're not using it then why spend money on it!

I didn't switch courses myself, but I have re-applied for 2019/20 entry and in my application I did not once mention about dropping out. Not in my personal statement or in any references etc. As far as I'm aware, the uni's I've applied to (and got offers from!) have no idea I even went to uni in the first place. To them, it looks like I've taken 2 years off before going to uni. The difficulty arises in writing your personal statement, if you don't mention going to uni, how do you account for your time spent there? Or anything you've learnt there?

I'm not sure about joining past the deadline. I did start an application to do so last year for 2018/19 entry, I would have carried on with it if I felt prepared enough to go back to uni so soon. From now until September is not a long time, ask yourself, do you feel you will be able to go back in September and do it again? Will you feel motivated enough by then? If so, then go for it! There's nothing to lose (except from the application fee).

In terms of references, I used my mentor for where I volunteer. This was fine for all except one uni who wanted specifically an academic reference. I asked my old head of sixth form in that case, and she was more than happy to help. You could probably use your boss as a reference, though you might have one or two annoying unis asking specifically for an academic ref, like I did! In any case, cross that bridge when you come to it.

Does it look better? Perhaps. Depending on your course, you may get a qualification for completing one year. In that sense, your time spent there wouldn't be a "waste". But will you be able to complete the year to a standard you would feel happy with if you have no motivation? If you think you'll fail, then I don't really see the point.

The other big problem is accommodation. I was lucky in that my accommodation was organised through the uni and they terminated my contract the day I moved out. It sounds like it'd be a lot of hard work for you to pay off your rent. Are you able to get another student to take over the contract? If that's the case, you might be able to say 'I'll carry on at uni until someone takes on my contract'. If they don't, then that's your decision made for you! Will you have a place to move back to if you leave? I'm back living with my parents but they do struggle to cover the costs.

Ultimately, it's your own choice. I'm bias because I think if you're not happy doing something, don't do it. And dropping out has worked out well for me. It's meant I've have time to work, save up some money, volunteer, see my friends etc without suffering the effects too much. I am currently 8k in debt with nothing to show for it, and when I return to uni, I'll have amassed a greater debt than other students because of this. But I didn't let this stop me from making the best choice for myself, and I'm happier for it.

I know our situations are different but I hope some of what I've said is helpful. Feel free to ask any questions I'm more than happy to help!

I think you have already posted some of these questions in another forum and got some of the answers. To recap, it's not too late to apply to other Unis (although you are applying late) and most of them will still have vacancies and won't mind the fact that you have dropped off another course. You can ask either your Personal tutor or old school for the reference, it's up to you.

I'm not the person to advise you on the financial side (hopefully someone else can) but it seems like common sense that you shouldn't stay so long at your current Uni that they can charge you for the second half of the tuition fees. You need to speak to the people at student finance and formally withdraw from your Uni before this happens.

With regard to your accomodation, it is unlikely that they would bother to evict you as long as you continue paying the rent. I understand that this will be difficult for you, but I'm not sure what you can do about that as you signed a contract to pay it for the next few months. If you could find someone to take over your tenancy, that would probably be acceptable to your landlord but you would need to check with them. It seems like the worst case scenario might be that you have to increase your hours at work in order to pay the rest of the rent due (but this still seems better than also racking up thousands more pounds in pointless tuition fees).

Sorry everything seems so difficult at the moment but you can still start fresh somewhere else, as long as you have a good plan for what you want to do next.

So on ucas should I apply as an individual or through my school/college

You can apply as an individual but will need to contact your old school to ask them to write you a reference.