Features : Changing already

Arriving at university for the first time can be an overwhelming experience. While most students will agree that they felt a bit disorientated for a few weeks, in other cases there may be a more serious problem. Surveys show that 1 in 5 students don’t finish their courses. For many, the reason is that they chose the wrong one.  If this is the case, you’re not alone.

'When I see students who want to change their degree there’s a range of emotions,' explains Katrina Castle, a student adviser at Napier University and the person responsible for dealing with such situations. ‘In some cases they’re very emotional and quite upset, in other cases we see students and they’re just relieved and happy that they’re doing something about the situation.’

If you decide to change course then there are several places you can go for support. In the first instance discussing the situation with your tutors can be a good way of starting the ball rolling but you should also find that the student support services can provide assistance. As there is so much support on hand, the best advice is to contact these services as soon as you have doubts about your course. ’We send an email out to people in the first week of the year,’ says Katrina, ‘as most people tend to find out that their course isn’t right quite quickly and if we can get them changed soon enough then there’s likely to be no real impact on their studies.’

What next

The first step is to identify exactly what you don’t like about the course - that way you can make sure you don’t end up choosing a replacement with the same problematic elements. It may be that your issues can be resolved without having to change. Katrina says that a ’healthy percentage’ of the cases she sees are cleared up easily. For instance, many advisers say that if you’re worried that you might fail a particular module then they can liaise with your tutors to see if you can get extra help, or if you feel that the course is different than you expected (one of the biggest reasons people change) then advisers can provide guidance and support.

'Changing course is a practical decision,' says Katrina. ’Students often love the university but want to do a slightly different course. We help them look at changing course internally, which is a relatively easy process. Others might want to switch universities, and in that case it’s about making sure they speak to the right people at the other institution to get the right information. We like to act as an advocate, rather than doing the administrative work for them, because it’s important that the student is in control of the process.’

Your loan

One of the biggest complications if you decide to change course is that you’ll probably already have had your tuition fees, loans and grants paid out and this is where complications can arise. ‘If a student has withdrawn or changed their course it can have implications on their finances,’ explains Lindsey Hobbs, Student Money Adviser at the University of Bath. ‘If your student loan has already been paid out for your tuition and your maintenance then you can find yourself in an over-payment situation. You might withdraw from the course in December and not start again until the following academic year, so you’ll have four years of funding rather than three. In theory, the Student Loans Company can reclaim any grants and loans that have been paid out.”

While some students find themselves in a sticky financial situation, in most cases if you get good advice early enough, and make a decision, then you should find that the financial organisations can be sympathetic. Also, built into the student financing system is a fail-safe that you can use: ‘The plus one year is there really if you need to repeat a year for example due to academic failure or ill-health,’ explains Lindsey. ’However, it would include changing course, so if you’ve done six months of maths and then re-start a Physics course in the next October you should still get funding but that’s your plus one year taken up.’

Panic over

Regardless of why you’re deciding to change course, the best strategy is to get proper advice from your academic department and university services, research your next move carefully and keep the important people aware of  choices. If you can do this, you should avoid a lot of stress. ‘One of the things I impress upon people most,’ Katrina sums up, ‘is that it’s not failing if you change your course. It’s actually quite a courageous thing to do because you’re not wasting their time and money by doing something that you don’t enjoy, you’re taking action and that’s really what’s important.’