Should I change course?

I am currently studying Chemistry at university. I am retaking first year as I failed the core modules. As I come to the end of my second first year I am thinking about changing course to Biomedical sciences which I think I could pass quite well at. If I stick with chemistry I am terrified I will either fail again or pass only to fail later down the line. But I am also scared to change course in case I have to start from first year yet again or in case I manage to fail just like I did with chemistry. Should I change to Biomedical sciences or stick with chemistry?

Reply 1

hallamstudents

Official Rep

18

Original post by Anonymous

I am currently studying Chemistry at university. I am retaking first year as I failed the core modules. As I come to the end of my second first year I am thinking about changing course to Biomedical sciences which I think I could pass quite well at. If I stick with chemistry I am terrified I will either fail again or pass only to fail later down the line. But I am also scared to change course in case I have to start from first year yet again or in case I manage to fail just like I did with chemistry. Should I change to Biomedical sciences or stick with chemistry?

Hi there,

This is a tricky decision and it really comes down to what you would prefer to do, there is no right or wrong answer!

I would say that a good idea would be to set up a meeting with your personal tutor or academic advisor and discuss how you are feeling with them. You can explain the options and see if they have an opinion on what would be for the best. They should be able to look through your past assignment scores etc and exam results and then see how they think you are doing and would do on a different course.

It's also worth contacting the course leader on the biomedical science course and see if they can run through what the modules would be with you and you can see if this is something you would be interested in/ see if you think you would do well with these modules. If you can't do that then ask your academic advisor/tutor as they should also have access to this information.

It's also worth trying to contact people at your uni who do biomedical science as they may be able to tell you more about how they have found the course, what the assignments are like and just in general what it has been like which should give you some more information to help you make your decision.

Also, talking to family and friends usually helps when you are trying to make this kind of decision as they know you well and will want the best for you so may be able to help. It's also good to get an outsiders point of view as they don't do the course/ go to your uni so their opinion may be different to others so it's worth hearing it.

I think it comes down to whether you would need a specific chemistry degree for the job you are hoping to do after uni. If you do, it might be worth sticking it out but if you wouldn't then I think the priority would be getting a good grade and ensuring you definitely get your degree!

I hope some of this helps and good luck with the decision making!

Lucy-SHU student ambassador.

Reply 2

martin7

20

Original post by Anonymous

I am currently studying Chemistry at university. I am retaking first year as I failed the core modules. As I come to the end of my second first year I am thinking about changing course to Biomedical sciences which I think I could pass quite well at. If I stick with chemistry I am terrified I will either fail again or pass only to fail later down the line. But I am also scared to change course in case I have to start from first year yet again or in case I manage to fail just like I did with chemistry. Should I change to Biomedical sciences or stick with chemistry?

You need to look into the funding situation if you do change course. You've used up your "gift year" of student finance; so if you change to a new course and need to start from year 1 of that course, you'll need to fund that first year yourself. The tuition fee loan will then be made available for years 2 and 3 of the new course.

It would be worth checking the programme structure for the course you're considering doing to make sure it fits with your idea of what the course will be like.

As @hallamstudents suggests, talk to your personal tutor and to other students already doing that course.

Reply 3

University of Huddersfield

Official Rep

16

Original post by Anonymous

I am currently studying Chemistry at university. I am retaking first year as I failed the core modules. As I come to the end of my second first year I am thinking about changing course to Biomedical sciences which I think I could pass quite well at. If I stick with chemistry I am terrified I will either fail again or pass only to fail later down the line. But I am also scared to change course in case I have to start from first year yet again or in case I manage to fail just like I did with chemistry. Should I change to Biomedical sciences or stick with chemistry?

Anon,

Whichever subject you do there will be the risk of failing. At the moment, it sounds like this fear could be motivating your thinking. How do you feel this year has gone? Are you worried about not passing this year? It's difficult when you have failed once to not have a perpetual fear that it will happen again, but it's important that you let go of the past so that it does not affect your work going forward. If you don't believe you can do well, you'll likely put less effort in to your work and spend less time working.

If you pass this year, and if you pass well I think this will boost your confidence and most probably help you feel more confident about your degree. If you fail, it could be easy to think that you are meant to do another science related subject but it might be better to think about other options.

I think you should see how things go. If things go well, then you can think about what made the difference this year in comparison to last year. If things do not go well, you can think about whether biomedical sciences is for you or whether the degree is too similar to how chemistry is taught.

All the best!

Oluwatosin – 3rd year student – University of Huddersfield

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