changing course before uni starts

Do it now.

about a month ago i emailed the uni of bath to switch from biochemistry to chemistry and they replied a few days later, told me i could easily switch, and changed my offer on ucas the same day! i definitely recommend you do it now, before unis close for summer and before you start the course as it’ll be a lot simpler than switching a few weeks into your course in september/october

thiss sounds stupid but i wouldn't be at risk with losing my offer right..?

No. It'll either be possible or not. Your current offer is not at risk if they say no.

hiya, I received an email back and they said that it's not possible to change prior enrolment. But i can do the UCAS extra, but after doing some research it does seem really risky considering that I would need to reject my current offer.
Any advice whether I should keep my offer then switch in the academic year or sort it now?

You need to sort it out now rather than enrolling on a course that you immediately want to try and switch from.

Whilst you might be able to swap once enrolled, there is no guarantee in which case you are completing the first course and have burnt through a year of funding at the least.

I'm a bit befuddled by their comment about having to apply via Extra. Most unis wouldn't make you jump through that hoop. But if you no longer want to do the first course then you are not really risking much. If you're unsuccessful via Extra I would take a gap year and reapply.

thank you for this, I do appreciate it.
I had a look at the prospectus for the degree and there really was not enough information for me to reconsider. I don't want to risk losing my current offer since I really want to go to that uni. I understand that it would be wise to change it now but I really do not want to take a gap year and reapply since I don't think there would be any use with a year off. I'm in the midst of exams and reapplying via extra seems so stressful rn :/
I had a talk with others and they do agree with your comment about taking a gap year and reapplying, but considering i'm not completely set on the decision, it would really risky to reject the offer now.
Does that make sense? please humble me if I sound crazy :,)

Ultimately there is no risk free way to do what you want to do so it is your decisions to make. Many students swap after enrolling but there is a risk that the uni just turns around and says no, in which case you've wasted a huge amount of money for nothing.

Personally I would go back to them and say you're conscious that you may lose your offer if you go via Extra and are looking for some guidance as to whether you're likely to be successful, or whether they might reconsider their advice to go via Extra and just consider you for the other course now.

If the course is open now I don't see any reason why they won't reconsider you. That course is still recruiting after all.

thank you sm! I'll send an email to the admissions again, but if they reject then I'll have to consider my options after results day :/

Thanks for the help again