dropping out of uni advice

[harmertrials]

Basically I'm in my first year of uni and am trying to work out the best way to go about dropping out. Just wondering if anyone else has ever been in a similar position and can offer some advice.

I live in a house and have signed a contract that runs up until the end of june. Is there any way out of this contract or is my only option to continue paying for my room.. or find someone to take it (mates wouldn't be best pleased with this)?

Also, I assume that as soon as you drop out you no longer receive anymore of your loan for the year?

[dann2707]

I dropped out of my foundation year in Sheffield literally weeks after getting my xmas loan and they hunted me for the money that they just gave me.

They kept ringing me up at really annoying times, threatened me with bailiffs etc. Just kept ignoring them until I finally spoke with them and arranged to pay it off like £30 a month for a year or something.

I'd plan the timing just right dude, before your xmas loan etc

[harmertrials]

Ah wow that's extreme. Well I did a foundation year last year at the uni so hopefully they won't chase me as much as that.

[Luke Rainbird]

You're pretty on the money with regards to your renting agreement. There can be slight tweaks from contract to contract but generally you'll be liable for payment until you can find someone to take over the contract from you.

Chat to your uni about the tuition fee scenario. Chances are you'll be able to leave at Christmas and not have to pay the next installment of your loan but check this with them (If you want to be extra safe confirm with Student Finance England too).

Definitely better to get it all sorted this side of the Christmas break though, so get on it asap. If you end up sticking around a little bit next year it's going to be much trickier to avoid having to pay at least a few hundred quid somewhere!

[harmertrials]

Thanks luke that's actually really helpful. Got so much going on that I hadn't even thought about contacting student finance. Will get a list together of stuff to get on with this week.

Really worried about the house situ. If I can't find someone to take the room and I'm not recieving any loan I don't know how on earth I'll be able to pay the rent. Having my dad as a gauranteur is a massive worry, he's not got the money to be paying my rent for me and even if he did it wouldn't be right.

Hmmmmmmmm

[Luke Rainbird]

Get in touch with your landlord/letting agent - you may be lucky enough to have a good one (they do exist, contrary to popular belief!) so have the chat. The sooner you get things underway the sooner you'll be able to get the ball rolling with a proper solution to each issue and the easier it'll be. Are you currently renting privately or are you in Uni owned halls?

If you need any more info regarding SFE/Student Finance in general drop me a message - I work with the system a fair bit so if you struggle to find the answers yourself I may be able to track them down

[manuel]

Why dropping out?

[harmertrials]

Perfect thanks buddy. I'm in a private house, although it's a student rental it's not actually linked with the uni. I'll ring the letting agents tomorrow (have already dropped them a brief email) and find out the score.

Why dropping out?

Many reasons. I need to be at home at the moment.

[BradJohnson]

I'm not sure on the circumstances, but i would definitely recommend sticking it out. In years to come you'll be beating yourself up over what could of been.

Do you not enjoy the course you're on?

[Willeyeam]

My landlord told me that I was supposed to find someone else to take on my contract if I decided to leave. However he also said that as a landlord he was obliged to help me find someone. If I were you I would contact your housing agency over whether they can help you find someone. Although from my experience agencies are much harder to work with than individual landlords.

[shercofray]

Put an advert on Spareroom. If it's a reasonable price you'll get someone.

[1a2bcio8]

If you need to be at home why not suspend your studies rather than giving up completely? I've suspended on two separate years now at uni due to medical reasons. I would have even been allowed a two year continuous suspension if I had needed it.

You did suggest there are other reasons but if it's predominantly the need to be at home it might not have to mean the end of university. Speak to your tutor if so.

[harmertrials]

I'm not sure on the circumstances, but i would definitely recommend sticking it out. In years to come you'll be beating yourself up over what could of been.

Do you not enjoy the course you're on?

I get what you're saying but I've already made my mind up on this one. I'm considering reapplying for a new course in Brighton as of september 2014 as the course I'm doing is not what I'd hoped for at all.

My landlord told me that I was supposed to find someone else to take on my contract if I decided to leave. However he also said that as a landlord he was obliged to help me find someone. If I were you I would contact your housing agency over whether they can help you find someone. Although from my experience agencies are much harder to work with than individual landlords.

Cheers, I'm going to contact them tomorrow. Yeah I'm sure I can't get out of the contract without finding someone to replace me.

Put an advert on Spareroom. If it's a reasonable price you'll get someone.

Done. Cheers. Know of any other similar sites?

If you need to be at home why not suspend your studies rather than giving up completely? I've suspended on two separate years now at uni due to medical reasons. I would have even been allowed a two year continuous suspension if I had needed it.

You did suggest there are other reasons but if it's predominantly the need to be at home it might not have to mean the end of university. Speak to your tutor if so.

Genuinely didn't know this was an option, have just emailed the uni asking for advice.

You're right though, there are several reasons and one is that I cannot get into this course, and I know I wont graduate doing something I dislike.

Thanks though, great advice from everyone so far.

[Otacon]

I'm not sure on the circumstances, but i would definitely recommend sticking it out. In years to come you'll be beating yourself up over what could of been.

Do you not enjoy the course you're on?

This is where i have to disagree and have had countless arguments with my girlfriends mum and dad about this. They live a "better" life style than my family as they seem to think, cause they have a bigger house, a few more holidays and a couple of nicer cars. But they drill into my girlfriends head that "If you don't go to university your a failure and you'll never amount to nothing in life". Im like f**k off, are you really that self richous ? Ill tell you my experience with "college" and "university". I've had 5 or so jobs since i've left school and i'll go with the NHS as one of my examples. I worked in the Admin/clerical side of it, I worked with guys and girls, with Law degree's, engineering degrees etc you name it, i've worked with them and out of a building of 35 staff, 18 had degree's or masters in something they did at university and where are they ? Doing the exact same job as me, getting payed the exact same amount as me, and i dont even have 5 GCSE's at A-C. My mum has worked with them too from time to time, some are moving trolleys at Tesco and its not just a "filler" job, some of these people have been left uni 5-7 years.

I'll tell you what i feel University is good for. Its good for people who still wanna feel young, You got out with your mates, get f**king pissed every weekend, and just plod through your work and then get your degree, come out of uni, even with a sandwich year, its not enough experience for these companys, so your f**ked and cant get a job.

I know, so many people are gonna jump down my throat for this and the reason i believe success can be achieved without this thing called University thats so highly looked upon is sickening. My uncle, Only went as far as college and didnt even complete it. Then went to work for a company, worked his way up to one of the directors or something, then took a course through the company do enable him do run certain elements of that business. He now has 2 business's , 3 houses and more money than anything and hasn't even got a degree.

So when, for example my girlfriends mum and dad turn round and say to me "You'll never amount to anything without going to university, what are you thinking?" I turn round and say "If you really believe, life is all about money, then your life is pretty f**king dull"

Thats my two cents.

If even on person agree's with me, Ill be amazed.

Peace.

[dngr2self]

This is where i have to disagree and have had countless arguments with my girlfriends mum and dad about this. They live a "better" life style than my family as they seem to think, cause they have a bigger house, a few more holidays and a couple of nicer cars. But they drill into my girlfriends head that "If you don't go to university your a failure and you'll never amount to nothing in life". Im like f**k off, are you really that self richous ? Ill tell you my experience with "college" and "university". I've had 5 or so jobs since i've left school and i'll go with the NHS as one of my examples. I worked in the Admin/clerical side of it, I worked with guys and girls, with Law degree's, engineering degrees etc you name it, i've worked with them and out of a building of 35 staff, 18 had degree's or masters in something they did at university and where are they ? Doing the exact same job as me, getting payed the exact same amount as me, and i dont even have 5 GCSE's at A-C. My mum has worked with them too from time to time, some are moving trolleys at Tesco and its not just a "filler" job, some of these people have been left uni 5-7 years.

I'll tell you what i feel University is good for. Its good for people who still wanna feel young, You got out with your mates, get f**king pissed every weekend, and just plod through your work and then get your degree, come out of uni, even with a sandwich year, its not enough experience for these companys, so your f**ked and cant get a job.

I know, so many people are gonna jump down my throat for this and the reason i believe success can be achieved without this thing called University thats so highly looked upon is sickening. My uncle, Only went as far as college and didnt even complete it. Then went to work for a company, worked his way up to one of the directors or something, then took a course through the company do enable him do run certain elements of that business. He now has 2 business's , 3 houses and more money than anything and hasn't even got a degree.

So when, for example my girlfriends mum and dad turn round and say to me "You'll never amount to anything without going to university, what are you thinking?" I turn round and say "If you really believe, life is all about money, then your life is pretty f**king dull"

Thats my two cents.

If even on person agree's with me, Ill be amazed.

Peace.

You're right, you don't need to go to uni to be a success. It does help though, imagine going for a job and being upagainst ssomeone that has a cv almost exactly like yours but they have a degree. Also the older you get the harder it is without formal qualifications.

[Luke Rainbird]

I know, so many people are gonna jump down my throat for this

Nope. I am, however, going to point out that should those people decide to change jobs, their going to have a considerably easier time of it that you might as they're opening up the wider job market.

There's considerably more to life that going to university and a considerable amount of people won't benefit in any way from going, however there are also those people that will MASSIVELY benefit from it. Not necessarily in terms of formal qualifications, but in terms of finding out a little more about themselves, coming out of their shells and building on their inter-personal skills, learning to work in/lead teams, presenting/writing skills, ability to think for themselves (debatable in a lot of cases...!) and so on.

University isn't just a way of picking up another certificate despite the fact that some people will choose to use it as one. In reality it's a way of subjecting yourself to a whole host of external opportunities that you will not find anywhere else.

I do not think that everybody should go to university, quite the opposite in fact, however that is far from saying that everybody will benefit from giving it a miss.

You're right, you don't need to go to uni to be a success. It does help though, imagine going for a job and being upagainst ssomeone that has a cv almost exactly like yours but they have a degree. Also the older you get the harder it is without formal qualifications.

To stray a little further from this; At present somewhere in the region of 50% of jobs advertised demand a graduate. That's not to say that the skill set required for the job in any way needs a degree itself nor that they should be doing so (I don't think most of them should, for the record).

There are two sides to the coin. On the one hand "everyone" is getting a degree these days so certain people feel that a degree is worthless. The other way of looking at it is that if everyone else has one and you don't, are you shooting yourself in the foot? Again, in many cases you won't be, but until you've at least considered the situation you can't say for sure. To make a sweeping blanket statement about uni being a waste of time etc is ridiculous, but to say that some will benefit whilst others won't is right on the money.

[Otacon]

Nope. I am, however, going to point out that should those people decide to change jobs, their going to have a considerably easier time of it that you might as they're opening up the wider job market.

There's considerably more to life that going to university and a considerable amount of people won't benefit in any way from going, however there are also those people that will MASSIVELY benefit from it. Not necessarily in terms of formal qualifications, but in terms of finding out a little more about themselves, coming out of their shells and building on their inter-personal skills, learning to work in/lead teams, presenting/writing skills, ability to think for themselves (debatable in a lot of cases...!) and so on.

University isn't just a way of picking up another certificate despite the fact that some people will choose to use it as one. In reality it's a way of subjecting yourself to a whole host of external opportunities that you will not find anywhere else.

I do not think that everybody should go to university, quite the opposite in fact, however that is far from saying that everybody will benefit from giving it a miss.

To stray a little further from this; At present somewhere in the region of 50% of jobs advertised demand a graduate. That's not to say that the skill set required for the job in any way needs a degree itself nor that they should be doing so (I don't think most of them should, for the record).

There are two sides to the coin. On the one hand "everyone" is getting a degree these days so certain people feel that a degree is worthless. The other way of looking at it is that if everyone else has one and you don't, are you shooting yourself in the foot? Again, in many cases you won't be, but until you've at least considered the situation you can't say for sure. To make a sweeping blanket statement about uni being a waste of time etc is ridiculous, but to say that some will benefit whilst others won't is right on the money.

Yano Luke, Alot of that i agree with. Just one point i wanna question about it. In terms of 50% of jobs requiring a graduate...That entirely depends on what your looking for to be honest. All of my jobs ive had, have payed decent. I was on Just shy of 18k at npower (required no qualifications or anything) and before everyone gets on a hype. In Stoke-On-Trent, to get a job, paying 18k, without any qualifications or form of education whatsoever is amazing. Its probably in the top 3 highest payed jobs. But it all depends what your looking for in life. Im happy with 18k a year, money causes to many problems if you ask me. If ive got enough to pay for my house, car, a holiday and hobby i enjoy. Im happy. Too much money makes people greedy and it still makes you no better off, because the more you earn, the more expensive house you have, the more expensive car and the more expensive holiday. So me personally i just dont see a point, i can have all that, might just take me a little longer to get it and i dont want one of these jobs where i have to come home every night and ive finished at 5pm, but work is still on my mind till i go to sleep or i still have work to do once i come home from work and im supposed to be having my time.

I wasnt particularly saying university is a complete waste of time. what enrages me, is alot of kids are under pressure these days from parents. I talk to one of xbox all the time. He despises university, but was petrified to drop out cause of what his family would think and call him a disgrace. After half an hour of talking to me, he dropped out. I feel so so sorry for all these kids pressured into this, you are far to young to be making these decsions, at 14 they ask you what options you wanna take at GCSE, then you have to pick what A levels you wanna do at 16, then at 18, your deciding what course you wanna do which basically deciphers what job your gonna do in the future of which your gonna study for 4/5 years and get in mountains of debt...All that at 18 ? Your still a f**king kid, they should come out of school, work for 2-3-4 years, gain some life experience etc.

I just think the age that parents force there kids into all this is too young. Back the f**k off and let them live there life.

Sorry if i offended you or anything Luke as i know you studied at uni. <3

[Luke Rainbird]

Yano Luke, Alot of that i agree with. Just one point i wanna question about it. In terms of 50% of jobs requiring a graduate...

Sorry if i offended you or anything Luke as i know you studied at uni. <3

Takes a lot more than that to offend

By 50% of jobs requiring a graduate that's a general stat for the UK at present (it's not bang on 50% but relatively close). It'll vary region to region and field to field, hence it being a worthwhile exercise to at least do your homework before making a decision. For someone wanting to become a surgeon it's obviously going to make sense to pick up the required degree/s, but for many other jobs there's often little to no benefit.

I would counter the point you made about:

Too much money makes people greedy and it still makes you no better off, because the more you earn, the more expensive house you have, the more expensive car and the more expensive holiday.

I don't think there's such a thing as "too much" money as such. Before you write that off as me being some evil capitalist b*****d with dreams of world domination let me explain briefly that I don't think it's so much about how much money you have as what you do with it.

You can certainly choose to buy a more expensive house, car etc but it's certainly not a necessity. You could just as easily live in the same house, take the same breaks, same purchases etc and save a load to allow you to retire 10 years earlier and sustain the same lifestyle.

To put it another way:

entirely depends on what your looking for to be honest.

[Otacon]

Me and Luke Rainbird agreeing. Miracles can happen ey pal

HOWEVER. One final point. In regards to living the same lifestyle. Generally, the more people earn, the more they want to have (not everyone, my lady works with a dentist who has a small flat and a ford fiesta and earns like 70k a year). I get your point Luke and i fully agree, thats what i'd do. But how many surgeons or structual engineers or lawyers, live in 3 bed semi detached houses and drive ford fiesta's. I dont see it that often to be honest haha.

And im not saying people with normal jobs should stick to ford fiesta's! By all means have a BMW if you can afford it haha.

[Luke Rainbird]

That entirely depends on what your looking for to be honest.

[BradJohnson]

This is where i have to disagree and have had countless arguments with my girlfriends mum and dad about this. They live a "better" life style than my family as they seem to think, cause they have a bigger house, a few more holidays and a couple of nicer cars. But they drill into my girlfriends head that "If you don't go to university your a failure and you'll never amount to nothing in life". Im like f**k off, are you really that self richous ? Ill tell you my experience with "college" and "university". I've had 5 or so jobs since i've left school and i'll go with the NHS as one of my examples. I worked in the Admin/clerical side of it, I worked with guys and girls, with Law degree's, engineering degrees etc you name it, i've worked with them and out of a building of 35 staff, 18 had degree's or masters in something they did at university and where are they ? Doing the exact same job as me, getting payed the exact same amount as me, and i dont even have 5 GCSE's at A-C. My mum has worked with them too from time to time, some are moving trolleys at Tesco and its not just a "filler" job, some of these people have been left uni 5-7 years.

I'll tell you what i feel University is good for. Its good for people who still wanna feel young, You got out with your mates, get f**king pissed every weekend, and just plod through your work and then get your degree, come out of uni, even with a sandwich year, its not enough experience for these companys, so your f**ked and cant get a job.

I know, so many people are gonna jump down my throat for this and the reason i believe success can be achieved without this thing called University thats so highly looked upon is sickening. My uncle, Only went as far as college and didnt even complete it. Then went to work for a company, worked his way up to one of the directors or something, then took a course through the company do enable him do run certain elements of that business. He now has 2 business's , 3 houses and more money than anything and hasn't even got a degree.

So when, for example my girlfriends mum and dad turn round and say to me "You'll never amount to anything without going to university, what are you thinking?" I turn round and say "If you really believe, life is all about money, then your life is pretty f**king dull"

Thats my two cents.

If even on person agree's with me, Ill be amazed.

Peace.

You've got the wrong end of the stick. I wasn't saying to Jack that he need's university as that isn't true. I have never even been to college and only got 10 GCSE's at grade A-C.

The only further education i have had, is a P.P.L Training course for a week, now I'm a qualified DEA with letters after my name earning £500 < a week.

What i was trying to say, is don't make any sudden decisions, think about why you choose university in the first place, and don't let anything get in the way, if you work hard, you'll be rewarded.

Edited November 20, 2013 by BradJohnson

[manuel]

just as a side point, in some places in the country 18k a year will not allow you to live.

I also agree that not everyone should go to uni, but in this case It seemed like the reason for dropping out was nothing to do with actually being at uni - something I would say that most people would regret, not just financially either.

Im one of those people that have a shit job and went to uni. I earn around 19-20k a year as a postman, in an area of the country that is fairly expensive to live in. I have little money most of the time. I have a masters degree in Electrical/Electronic engineering from a good uni. I couldn't give a crap if I could get a job earning 2 or 3 times as much, I enjoy my life, I have good friends, I work hard. To most people this is unacceptable and think its a waste, but going to uni was one of the most important periods of my life. Even if someone said you are destined to be a low earning manual labourer for the rest of your life and uni will put you 16k in debt - I would still go.

on the other hand I am looking for a new job

[Simpson]

I get what you're saying but I've already made my mind up on this one. I'm considering reapplying for a new course in Brighton as of september 2014 as the course I'm doing is not what I'd hoped for at all.

You can change courses relatively easily within your first term have you spoken to anyone about your options at your uni? Because if not you should. You will already owe £6k from what you have done to date and would be a waste of money throwing that away to go home and get a crappy job to just pay for your housing your not living in.

[craigjames]

I dropped out of Uni in the February of my first year and everything has worked out pretty well. I got chased a little by student finance, but that was swiftly sorted; the rental situation isn't something you can really get away from, how much longer do you have one the lease? You can't think too much about the debt, because if you were worried about that you wouldn't have gone to uni in the first place.

If you aren't happy there and you haven't been happy there for a while, then leave. It was definitely the best thing I have done and I certainly don't regret it.

But as Luke has said, speak to the right people as soon as possible and try and get things sorted; at least to the point you know exactly where you will stand if you do decide to leave.