The Student Room Group

Dropping out and returning to home country?

Hey! I know my situation is quite personal and I don’t know if anybody here can help me but I need some extra opinions. I come from Poland and I study at a university in the UK. I am going into my 2nd year of undergraduate degree. The uni is placed around 20 in league tables and it’s a member of RG, the course is business related. However, I didn’t really enjoy my first year as I get a feeling I could do so much better. The course is not very demanding and I feel like it won’t live up to my expectations, especially since I need to pay 27k for it. That’s why I reapplied to a university in Poland, the best business school in the country. The course is similar, however more related to economics. The thing is, I don’t feel like Polish universities have much of an international reputation. On the other hand, a diploma from the UK is probably going to be seen as an advantage amongst Polish employers. I’d like to do a master’s degree preferably somewhere in Western Europe, work there for a while and come back to Poland. I am so confused as to what I should do... Drop out of the UK uni or stay. I am so mad at myself that due to personal circumnstances I didn’t research UK universities better and now as I look at it I could be accepted into say Warwick. Academically I don’t think my current uni is worth the fees, and I’d learn much more at the uni in Poland for free, but what about the job market? Is dropping out after a year even worth it?

Pros for Poland:
- no tuition fees
- a more challenging course with academically better students (I easily got into that uni in the UK, but didn’t get into the business school in Warsaw last year, first one didn’t require advanced maths, the latter did )
- free accommodation
- can do an erasmus that will count towards my degree
- in person classes confirmed

Cons:
- already spent huge money for accommodation and fees last year
- an extra year
- no international experience
Reply 1
I would move back to Poland. Going to a Polish uni will not stop you from getting a job in Poland. You can always do a masters abroad if you want.
Original post by volka
I would move back to Poland. Going to a Polish uni will not stop you from getting a job in Poland. You can always do a masters abroad if you want.

thanks for replying!
Reply 3
Rule of thumb is to study where you want to work and if you want to work in Poland I would recommend moving back to Poland as well.
Original post by SyedN
Rule of thumb is to study where you want to work and if you want to work in Poland I would recommend moving back to Poland as well.

Yeah I get your point. Although from what I heard employers value international experience and a diploma from the UK would possibly make me stand out from others :/
Reply 5
Original post by usernameee123
Yeah I get your point. Although from what I heard employers value international experience and a diploma from the UK would possibly make me stand out from others :/

I would say contact the companies you're interested in directly and ask them what they would prefer if they say a UK degree, well then you'll have to either stick it out or look at other companies; if they say they don't mind or Polish degrees then you can just move back as you will be saving a lot of money as well.
Reply 6
Hey, my mum told me that it’s not longer free to study in Poland (we’re both Polish but I have been in Uk for ages). I totally get our snobbery re foreign (western) universities which doesn’t exist here. Ultimately it’s up to you- I would never ever want to go back to a country which has LGBTQ free zones, blatant lack of any diversity and as of this week, no free media. But each to their own :wink:
Original post by usernameee123
Hey! I know my situation is quite personal and I don’t know if anybody here can help me but I need some extra opinions. I come from Poland and I study at a university in the UK. I am going into my 2nd year of undergraduate degree. The uni is placed around 20 in league tables and it’s a member of RG, the course is business related. However, I didn’t really enjoy my first year as I get a feeling I could do so much better. The course is not very demanding and I feel like it won’t live up to my expectations, especially since I need to pay 27k for it. That’s why I reapplied to a university in Poland, the best business school in the country. The course is similar, however more related to economics. The thing is, I don’t feel like Polish universities have much of an international reputation. On the other hand, a diploma from the UK is probably going to be seen as an advantage amongst Polish employers. I’d like to do a master’s degree preferably somewhere in Western Europe, work there for a while and come back to Poland. I am so confused as to what I should do... Drop out of the UK uni or stay. I am so mad at myself that due to personal circumnstances I didn’t research UK universities better and now as I look at it I could be accepted into say Warwick. Academically I don’t think my current uni is worth the fees, and I’d learn much more at the uni in Poland for free, but what about the job market? Is dropping out after a year even worth it?

Pros for Poland:
- no tuition fees
- a more challenging course with academically better students (I easily got into that uni in the UK, but didn’t get into the business school in Warsaw last year, first one didn’t require advanced maths, the latter did )
- free accommodation
- can do an erasmus that will count towards my degree
- in person classes confirmed

Cons:
- already spent huge money for accommodation and fees last year
- an extra year
- no international experience

Which uni is it that you're thinking of dropping out of?
Original post by Evaaeri
Hey, my mum told me that it’s not longer free to study in Poland (we’re both Polish but I have been in Uk for ages). I totally get our snobbery re foreign (western) universities which doesn’t exist here. Ultimately it’s up to you- I would never ever want to go back to a country which has LGBTQ free zones, blatant lack of any diversity and as of this week, no free media. But each to their own :wink:

Public universities are still free. I get your point about Poland but if all well-educated and tolerant people move abroad, who will stay and fight with the current government? :smile: Also, I know that the political scene in Poland is *****y, but I wouldn’t want to grow old anywhere else. As for me it’s a safe and beautiful country, and on top of that cheap. If you land a good job the quality of life is same if not better as in any other Western country. I might be biased but I used to envy everybody who lived abroad. Then I went to the US, travelled around Europe and I find Poland so underrated. All of my friends who study in the UK want to come back at some point of their lives (even Oxbridge, LSE and UCL students who clearly have better career prospects abroad)
Reply 9
Original post by Anonymous
Public universities are still free. I get your point about Poland but if all well-educated and tolerant people move abroad, who will stay and fight with the current government? :smile: Also, I know that the political scene in Poland is *****y, but I wouldn’t want to grow old anywhere else. As for me it’s a safe and beautiful country, and on top of that cheap. If you land a good job the quality of life is same if not better as in any other Western country. I might be biased but I used to envy everybody who lived abroad. Then I went to the US, travelled around Europe and I find Poland so underrated. All of my friends who study in the UK want to come back at some point of their lives (even Oxbridge, LSE and UCL students who clearly have better career prospects abroad)


It’s great that it’s still free- I love it about most EU unis. I was a bit disappointed when mum told me about the fees (it was this week so I kind of took it for granted !)
I totally agree about it being hard to be open minded if most open minded people move away,
don’t vote etc- I think about it a lot, and wonder about my own role in all this. But this said, personally it’s just not for me. I’m a teacher and I love the way approach the curriculum here- I live discussions,
projects, creative writing, world poetry, critical analysis etc. I remember reading lots at school and never having time to properly digest it - I like the curriculum here a lot.

Also, we’re a mixed race family, and I know for a fact that my husband would struggle to be seen as a specialist in his field in Poland (he’s in project management/engineering) - we get stared at like crazy every time we go there and some men ask me openly why I couldn’t find a white proper Polish man. I’d so miss feeling normal about my relationship choices :wink:
There are may things I miss, I miss our beautiful concrete-free, sandy beaches, our architecture, our comedies (especially the silly ones with Pazura). I totally agree that the country is beautiful and underrated in many aspects, but many others make it unliveable for anyone who looks/ acts/ feels differently. Before you move, have a good think about some potential thing which might limit you/about you back home
xx

and to answer your question. Are you getting a Stident finance loan? If so, would you be able to stick it out and maybe do a year ‘abroad’ in Poland, at one of our unis to have UK and Polish credentials?

whatever you decide, powodzenia :smile:

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