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Should I change my degree from history to geography before starting uni

Hey! This is my first time on here, and any insight would be appreciated. I'm in year 13 rn and do the following A level: geography, English lit, and history,I've always thought that I'd do a history degree and that is what subject I chose to do at unis. However, I am really conflicted because I don't really like history that much and I've found that I like geography a lot more.I never did geography at GCSE so I wasn't really familiar with the subject until I took it for A levels. My grades for geo are also better than history and I find that even though there's no requirement for us to do school work anymore (because exams are cancelled), I still find myself doing geo notes and reading around the subject whilst I am low-key repelled at the thought of doing anything history related. Now I don't hate history, but I'm not really passionate about it, and I fear it will progress into hate if I do it at uni, and I will be miserable. I want to avoid all that. I guess what I'm trying to ask is:1. Should I even change my degree? (it would be helpful if anyone doing geo or history at uni could reply with their respective experiences).2. How would I go about changing my degree before I even go to uni? and is this a wise thing to do?I'm not sure if anyone will even see this, but if anyone does and you reply, thanks in advance :smile:
I think you should pick geography for sure. You clearly prefer geography to history and you seem to be better at the subject aswell so why not! Don’t forget you can always go back and do history afterwards if you really wanted to. But go with your gut, you know yourself you’d prefer geography so i say go for it! :smile:
Reply 2
Original post by floralpancakes
Hey! This is my first time on here, and any insight would be appreciated. I'm in year 13 rn and do the following A level: geography, English lit, and history,I've always thought that I'd do a history degree and that is what subject I chose to do at unis. However, I am really conflicted because I don't really like history that much and I've found that I like geography a lot more.I never did geography at GCSE so I wasn't really familiar with the subject until I took it for A levels. My grades for geo are also better than history and I find that even though there's no requirement for us to do school work anymore (because exams are cancelled), I still find myself doing geo notes and reading around the subject whilst I am low-key repelled at the thought of doing anything history related. Now I don't hate history, but I'm not really passionate about it, and I fear it will progress into hate if I do it at uni, and I will be miserable. I want to avoid all that. I guess what I'm trying to ask is:1. Should I even change my degree? (it would be helpful if anyone doing geo or history at uni could reply with their respective experiences).2. How would I go about changing my degree before I even go to uni? and is this a wise thing to do?I'm not sure if anyone will even see this, but if anyone does and you reply, thanks in advance :smile:


Thats not something you should ask us. What you should be asking yourself is which if the subject do you enjoy the most; which of the subject are you the most passionate about; which of the subject aligns with your career objectives (if you have one); which do you feel will equip you with the necessary skills.

If you're not passionate or like history that much, why did you choose it? You would be absolutely hating your degree and be unmotivated for the next 3/4yrs if you decide to do a subject you're not really that interested.
Original post by lalalalala321111
I think you should pick geography for sure. You clearly prefer geography to history and you seem to be better at the subject aswell so why not! Don’t forget you can always go back and do history afterwards if you really wanted to. But go with your gut, you know yourself you’d prefer geography so i say go for it! :smile:

thanks for the reply!

not sure if you'd know (so leaving this question open to anyone) but how would i change my subject as i've already applied to all my unis for history?
Original post by kkboyk
Thats not something you should ask us. What you should be asking yourself is which if the subject do you enjoy the most; which of the subject are you the most passionate about; which of the subject aligns with your career objectives (if you have one); which do you feel will equip you with the necessary skills.

If you're not passionate or like history that much, why did you choose it? You would be absolutely hating your degree and be unmotivated for the next 3/4yrs if you decide to do a subject you're not really that interested.

i used to like history but have increasingly lost interest in it during year 13 and by that point i'd already applied to my unis.

thanks for the advice tho
Original post by floralpancakes
thanks for the reply!

not sure if you'd know (so leaving this question open to anyone) but how would i change my subject as i've already applied to all my unis for history?


Contact the universities and ask them if they would let you switch. Anecdotal evidence is never the best source of evidence, but I have a friend who was able to switch from Nottingham medicine to maths without having done further maths
(edited 4 years ago)
Original post by floralpancakes
thanks for the reply!

not sure if you'd know (so leaving this question open to anyone) but how would i change my subject as i've already applied to all my unis for history?


you could speak to your guidance counselor in school who could help you out with that, see i live in ireland so it’s a little different here but what we do is we apply for a lot of colleges and then whatever we get in our leaving cert we get points and the amount of points we get determine which course we can go into, but can you not apply for a geography course in uni or is it too late ? You could always take a year out and go to uni next year
Original post by SkyRunner61
Contact the universities and ask them if they would let you switch. Anecdotal evidence is never the best source of evidence, but I have a friend who was able to switch from Nottingham medicine to maths without having done further maths

thanks for the reply!
Original post by lalalalala321111
you could speak to your guidance counselor in school who could help you out with that, see i live in ireland so it’s a little different here but what we do is we apply for a lot of colleges and then whatever we get in our leaving cert we get points and the amount of points we get determine which course we can go into, but can you not apply for a geography course in uni or is it too late ? You could always take a year out and go to uni next year

ye I'll prob send an email to my guidance counsellor. thanks for the reply.
Original post by floralpancakes
thanks for the reply!

not sure if you'd know (so leaving this question open to anyone) but how would i change my subject as i've already applied to all my unis for history?


You would need to contact individual universities you applied to and ask if they can instead consider your for geography; bear in mind that they have no obligation to consider such a chance, and in the current circumstances it will likely take a while for them to get back to you no matter what. If they aren't able to make any arrangements in that vein, you can self-release into clearing when it opens and apply via clearing. Alternately as noted above you can take a gap year and reapply.

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