The Student Room Group

Head Vs Heart uni choice

Hi everyone,

So as a bit of background, I received the equivalent of A*A*A* in my BTEC last year. This BTEC was in business, and as I was unsure what I wanted to do and was offered several scholarships, I decided to attend my local university to study Management, which was similar to my previous studies so I hoped it would put me in good steed. I chose this as I knew business degrees had a good return on investment generally and wanted financial stability for my future.

However- while I had a small interest in some aspects of business, I soon realised I did not have the passion and motivation to study it at degree level. I generally achieve very well academically, but really need that interest to remain motivated, which I realised after several months of not enjoying my course.

After taking advice from family, friends, and staff, I decided to stick it out until Christmas and at that point made the choice to suspend my studies. I also put in a course change request to a degree at the same uni that covered much more of my true (poorer return on investment) interest- Ecology and Conservation.

It has now been several months since I left uni and I have idea whether I want to return to my uni to study this topic, study a similar course through the open university, or try and seek an apprenticeship that feels fulfilling.

I have a lovely job as student ambassador that I could return too, plus my scholarships to take into consideration. However the course is not accredited and the uni seems to be facing much financial strife and course cuts to the conservation department so it is risky to return.

I just feel really stuck. I don't want to waste my potential, but also don't want to be in another course that drains all energy and motivation from me. I worry that the lower standing of the course compared to other unis will mean a poor investment.

The university in question is the University of Kent.

Any advice would be gratefully received, as would any insight from current Kent Conservation/Environment/Ecology students on how their course has been, especially with all the restructuring that has gone on.

As an aside, I am an autistic student with anxiety. I was in receipt of DSA but unfortunately the support received from my supplier was poor and badly executed. This has made it extra hard to make my decision.
Original post by ErinS42
Hi everyone,
So as a bit of background, I received the equivalent of A*A*A* in my BTEC last year. This BTEC was in business, and as I was unsure what I wanted to do and was offered several scholarships, I decided to attend my local university to study Management, which was similar to my previous studies so I hoped it would put me in good steed. I chose this as I knew business degrees had a good return on investment generally and wanted financial stability for my future.
However- while I had a small interest in some aspects of business, I soon realised I did not have the passion and motivation to study it at degree level. I generally achieve very well academically, but really need that interest to remain motivated, which I realised after several months of not enjoying my course.
After taking advice from family, friends, and staff, I decided to stick it out until Christmas and at that point made the choice to suspend my studies. I also put in a course change request to a degree at the same uni that covered much more of my true (poorer return on investment) interest- Ecology and Conservation.
It has now been several months since I left uni and I have idea whether I want to return to my uni to study this topic, study a similar course through the open university, or try and seek an apprenticeship that feels fulfilling.
I have a lovely job as student ambassador that I could return too, plus my scholarships to take into consideration. However the course is not accredited and the uni seems to be facing much financial strife and course cuts to the conservation department so it is risky to return.
I just feel really stuck. I don't want to waste my potential, but also don't want to be in another course that drains all energy and motivation from me. I worry that the lower standing of the course compared to other unis will mean a poor investment.
The university in question is the University of Kent.
Any advice would be gratefully received, as would any insight from current Kent Conservation/Environment/Ecology students on how their course has been, especially with all the restructuring that has gone on.
As an aside, I am an autistic student with anxiety. I was in receipt of DSA but unfortunately the support received from my supplier was poor and badly executed. This has made it extra hard to make my decision.
Hi there

It is great to hear that you are considering your University options in depth- doing this early stages in your career can definitely be useful. I'm sorry to hear that the support you have been receiving has not been good. I understand that it is a really difficult decision to make, and you are not alone in making a choice between high investment or better enjoyment and fulfilment in terms of courses.

(Unfortunately, I have not studied neither of those degrees, and cannot give specific advice- however,) I think there are several things which you can consider:

Modules: for the business degree- was it the modules you were studying at the time that were uninteresting to you? Have you had a look at the entire degree, and all the modules which are covered? I presume that there will be optional modules which you can choose from- do any of these interest you at all?

Financial Stability: whilst income and employability are really important in the future- how much will the difference be? You could look into different statistics and data before committing to any choices.

Enjoyment: not only is it important to enter a degree that you will enjoy, it is more so to enter a career that you will enjoy- perhaps the Conservation/ Ecology course will be something which you are more passionate about. Same with University- passion in a career/ specific job industry will be important too. 🙂


I would recommend doing some research into the different types of jobs out their- contrasting the working/ job industry in terms of salary, environments, opportunities, graduate employability etc. These could assist you in making your decisions.

If you need further help from Kent University, you could always reach out for Career or Wellbeing support through these links:
I have used both of these services and have found them really useful. So do feel free to contact them for guidance and advice if needed 🙂

I hope this helps.
Chloe
University of Kent Student Rep

Reply 2

Original post by ErinS42
Hi everyone,
So as a bit of background, I received the equivalent of A*A*A* in my BTEC last year. This BTEC was in business, and as I was unsure what I wanted to do and was offered several scholarships, I decided to attend my local university to study Management, which was similar to my previous studies so I hoped it would put me in good steed. I chose this as I knew business degrees had a good return on investment generally and wanted financial stability for my future.
However- while I had a small interest in some aspects of business, I soon realised I did not have the passion and motivation to study it at degree level. I generally achieve very well academically, but really need that interest to remain motivated, which I realised after several months of not enjoying my course.
After taking advice from family, friends, and staff, I decided to stick it out until Christmas and at that point made the choice to suspend my studies. I also put in a course change request to a degree at the same uni that covered much more of my true (poorer return on investment) interest- Ecology and Conservation.
It has now been several months since I left uni and I have idea whether I want to return to my uni to study this topic, study a similar course through the open university, or try and seek an apprenticeship that feels fulfilling.
I have a lovely job as student ambassador that I could return too, plus my scholarships to take into consideration. However the course is not accredited and the uni seems to be facing much financial strife and course cuts to the conservation department so it is risky to return.
I just feel really stuck. I don't want to waste my potential, but also don't want to be in another course that drains all energy and motivation from me. I worry that the lower standing of the course compared to other unis will mean a poor investment.
The university in question is the University of Kent.
Any advice would be gratefully received, as would any insight from current Kent Conservation/Environment/Ecology students on how their course has been, especially with all the restructuring that has gone on.
As an aside, I am an autistic student with anxiety. I was in receipt of DSA but unfortunately the support received from my supplier was poor and badly executed. This has made it extra hard to make my decision.

Hi there,

While I am not from the University of Kent, nor do I study a course in your desired area, I thought I could still share a bit of my advice.

In general, I always think that it I best to study a course at university that you enjoy and are interested in as this is the way that you will get the best grades because you will be more motivated. Three (or more) years is a long time to study something that you are not interested in and your motivation to do the work will likely drop off even more than it already had for you so I think it is the best decision to think about doing another course that you will prefer.

I would also recommend to have a look into the specific jobs you could do in the future with either degree. If you don't enjoy the business course, would you enjoy a job in this area? Have a look what jobs you could do with an ecology and conservation degree and have a look at things like the pay and see if there are any jobs you would want to do. There may well be jobs available that you like and would make doing the course at university worth it. I agree that you should look into speaking to the University of Kent's employability services and if you do decide to go back to university there, make sure you are making use of these services as they are there to help you.

It's good that you would have a job to go back to that you enjoyed and also that you get some funding as these are good reasons to go back as you know you have some things sorted out. However, if you did decide that uni is not for you, that's okay too! Have a look into degree apprenticeships or other jobs that you could do instead as this will help make up your mind on what you want to do.

I hope this helps,

Lucy -SHU student ambassador :smile:

Reply 3

Hello, I agree with the previous opinion. I think that over three years you might become even more disappointed with something that you don't like. After all, you'll have to work with it for a year, three years, ten years. And if it constantly depresses you, then why do you need such a job?

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