uni options..

im currently doing my alevels and im pretty sure that im gonna miss the entry requirements for my firm choice, which is A*A*A.

my insurance choice is ABB, but i'm not really interested in going there anymore.
would it be possible to still attend my insurance choice for the first few months, see if i like it, and if not, drop out and reapply next year to other universities with a different course? has anyone had any experience with doing this?

Reply 1

Euapp

21

Original post by poppjngcandy

im currently doing my alevels and im pretty sure that im gonna miss the entry requirements for my firm choice, which is A*A*A.
my insurance choice is ABB, but i'm not really interested in going there anymore.
would it be possible to still attend my insurance choice for the first few months, see if i like it, and if not, drop out and reapply next year to other universities with a different course? has anyone had any experience with doing this?

It is possible, but once you do that you accumulate a year’s more debt and you lose the opportunity to redo a year if ever you fail your exams as SFE will only finance N+1 years where N is the length of your degree course. If you don’t require student finance to pay for the course and your parents don’t mind forking out another £9K plus the cost of accommodation, then why not? In all other circumstances the reasonable thing to do would be to take a gap year and think things through. Loads of students do, so you wouldn’t be different to many others.

Reply 2

poppjngcandy

OP

6

Original post by euapp

It is possible, but once you do that you accumulate a year’s more debt and you lose the opportunity to redo a year if ever you fail your exams as SFE will only finance N+1 years where N is the length of your degree course. If you don’t require student finance to pay for the course and your parents don’t mind forking out another £9K plus the cost of accommodation, then why not? In all other circumstances the reasonable thing to do would be to take a gap year and think things through. Loads of students do, so you wouldn’t be different to many others.

we would still have to pay the 9k for the first year, even if i drop out that early?
we can't really afford that at all, on ucas it says "if you withdrew in your first year, you should be able to get full funding to study another course." does that mean even though you can be funded for a different course, the 9k for the drop-out uni still has to be paid regardless?
i would be open to a gap year, but my parents are 100% against it, saying that its basically useless. i really do want to try my insurance, but if that 9k has to be paid im not sure its worth it :/

thank you for responding btw

(edited 12 months ago)

Reply 3

Euapp

21

Original post by poppjngcandy

we would still have to pay the 9k for the first year, even if i drop out that early?
we can't really afford that at all, on ucas it says "if you withdrew in your first year, you should be able to get full funding to study another course." does that mean even though you can be funded for a different course, the 9k for the drop-out uni still has to be paid regardless?
i would be open to a gap year, but my parents are 100% against it, saying that its basically useless. i really do want to try my insurance, but if that 9k has to be paid im not sure its worth it :/
thank you for responding btw

Yes you would be liable for the year. You will have taken a place that could have been given to someone else. Because of the n+1 funding rule you should be able to get full funding for another course, but you wouldn’t be able to fail any year on that course as you would have used all of your funding possibilities. So for example a standard undergraduate course is 3 years and you would be allowed 4 years of funding ( 5 if you had an integrated masters) but in dropping out of your first course you will have used the +1 year and you will only have 3 left. If you then fail a module in your second year and have to redo the year, even though you would still have one year of funding left, SFE wouldn’t give it to you until you started the third year and you would have to auto finance your retake year, whereas if you hadn’t dropped out of your first course they would finance this retake year.
You would also be liable for the price of the halls for the year, so potentially another 9K depending on the university. You sign a contract for a year and there is very little wriggle room.

(edited 12 months ago)

Reply 4

McGinger

20

Not a great idea.
If you dont want to go there, then decline that offer now and just stick with your Firm choice.
'Try it and see' is a) expensive and b) demoralising when you decide to drop out.

If you do get rejected from your Firm in August, you would have the immediate option of Clearing, or reapplying next year to Unis you actually want to go to and have the right grades for.

Reply 5

normaw

Volunteer Section Leader, Clearing and Applications Advisor

19

Original post by poppjngcandy

we would still have to pay the 9k for the first year, even if i drop out that early?

Original post by Euapp

Yes you would be liable for the year.

You wouldn't be liable for whole year's tuition fee if you dropped out early. If you leave in the first term, you’ll be liable for 25% of the tuition fee, 50% if you withdraw in term 2 and 100% if you leave in term 3. It would be added to your loan total and be repayable under the standard terms of your loan plan.

But as the other posters have said, it really isn't a good idea to start a course you're not sure about.

Reply 6

Euapp

21

Original post by normaw

You wouldn't be liable for whole year's tuition fee if you dropped out early. If you leave in the first term, you’ll be liable for 25% of the tuition fee, 50% if you withdraw in term 2 and 100% if you leave in term 3. It would be added to your loan total and be repayable under the standard terms of your loan plan.
But as the other posters have said, it really isn't a good idea to start a course you're not sure about.

True, but many will still be tied into a year’s worth of accommodation depending on the uni and the contract signed. Without SFE many can’t pay for this so end up doing the whole year just to have access to their finances to be able to pay the costs.
It’s most definitely NOT advisable to go somewhere if the course and city don’t inspire you. Far better to wait for results day, either go to choice number one because the grades have been achieved, or find a course through clearing or alternatively reapply with acquired grades only to places that actually appeal.

Reply 7

poppjngcandy

OP

6

Original post by McGinger

Not a great idea.
If you dont want to go there, then decline that offer now and just stick with your Firm choice.
'Try it and see' is a) expensive and b) demoralising when you decide to drop out.
If you do get rejected from your Firm in August, you would have the immediate option of Clearing, or reapplying next year to Unis you actually want to go to and have the right grades for.

thank you, i'll consider this over summer.

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