Dropping Out?

123 LC

I am attending UCC and don't think the course I have chosen is the right one for me, I would like to reapply for a course next year, not necessarily in UCC, what are my options? Would there be a lot of financial implications in doing this??

Anita Blow

If you drop out before Christmas, you would be liable for fees for the first half the first year of your next course.
If the tuition fees for your next course are €6000 for example, you'd be liable to pay €3000+the registration fee of €2500 so €5500 in total

123 LC

thanks, I'm not sure what i'll do yet

Lump

Moved at request of OP

calnand

I'm pretty sure its before January 31st and not Christmas that you would have to decide beforehand. This page should be helpful for you. http://www.ucc.ie/en/study/undergrad/faqs/

CatEyed92

Leave right now!

I was in the wrong course last year, knew it in October but continued on regardless thinking I would grow into it or cop on.

I left in August finally and am repeating the Leaving Cert for my first choice. Best decision I made- only sorry I didn't do it sooner as I will face double fee's when I return!

Basically, if your doubtful, it's a sure good sign it's not for you!

G'luck OP

eternal

It depends who is going to pay for it? Think very carefully before you leave. If you have no incentive to study and truly detest the content then you are left with no choice but to leave. But if there is any glimmer of hope there then stick with it. Plus you might drop out and get a dead end job and become used to money and never go back. Whatever job you may think you like now most probobly will not what you end up with. It is better to have a degree than no degree. And finally, look at your results. If you are doing dismally, then maybe it is better to change.

123 LC

I'm doing commerce, and finding it quite boring, I'm really annoyed I never knew I could have transferred before October I got 550 so I could have done most courses I guess. I think I'm going to stick with it, I don't think I'll be allowed drop out by my parents. I also have no clue of what i'd do next year and more then likely end up not liking that course too.

LostCorkGuy

123 LC wrote: »

I'm doing commerce, and finding it quite boring, I'm really annoyed I never knew I could have transferred before October I got 550 so I could have done most courses I guess. I think I'm going to stick with it, I don't think I'll be allowed drop out by my parents. I also have no clue of what i'd do next year and more then likely end up not liking that course too.

I'm in commerce too and to be honest the business subjects are woeful apart from Law which is grand , Government just does my head in, however I'm also studying chinese , there is an option that you ask to be transferred to Commerce + a language , much better job prospects , you spend a year in the country of the language you're studying and you're already familiar with your commerce modules

As for dropping out ? My friend did that after 1st year, worked for the year and has come back doing a different degree after paying 6k , she said it was a great move

Eliot Rosewater

I started a course and dropped out after 6 weeks, and that was undoubtedly the best life decision I've ever made. The only thing is that I had a clear plan for what to do when I dropped out (in particular, I had a course in mind I was planning to study the following September). If you drop out and just blindly enter another third level course it probably won't turn out to be enjoyable, and so you won't have improved you situation. It's a serious decision, but it if works out it can be excellent, like for me and LostCorkGuy's friend.

shane9689

123 LC wrote: »

I'm doing commerce, and finding it quite boring, I'm really annoyed I never knew I could have transferred before October I got 550 so I could have done most courses I guess. I think I'm going to stick with it, I don't think I'll be allowed drop out by my parents. I also have no clue of what i'd do next year and more then likely end up not liking that course too.

this should be your decision not your parents, if they are really their to support you, then theyll let you make your own decision regardless of the financing. id personally prefer to try make my own way in life than have something decided for me just because someone else was paying.

coffeelover

Just wondering could you wait and see how the christmas exams go before dropping out?

CatEyed92

Seem's to me from my experience with UCC - great college but there's alot of smoke and mirrors where side effects of a course/first years are concerned.
No one actually stands up to say during orientation and says "if it's not for you....1,2,3" I only found out all the consequences towards the end.

LostCorkGuy

coffeelover wrote: »

Just wondering could you wait and see how the christmas exams go before dropping out?

You pay half the fees , and then you're liable for half the fees for your next course

Basically the government pays for you bar the (2-3k student contrubition ) once for each year , so they pay for your first time in 1st year and your first time in 2nd year ect ect
Basically If you fail first year you've to pay for that year in full (6k for 60 credits roughly) , but once you get into second year the government pays again

coffeelover

LostCorkGuy wrote: »

You pay half the fees , and then you're liable for half the fees for your next course

Basically the government pays for you bar the (2-3k student contrubition ) once for each year , so they pay for your first time in 1st year and your first time in 2nd year ect ect
Basically If you fail first year you've to pay for that year in full (6k for 60 credits roughly) , but once you get into second year the government pays again

Ok thanks a million Still not a 100% sure what im gonna do

tammyme

You could go talk to Noirin Deady? She's the coordinator for first year experience (or something like that) Its basically her job to help u figure out whether you should stay in course or not, what other options are open to you ( maybe u could transfer to another course without paying extra) and what the financial implications of starting all over again are etc. it'd be worth doing it soon- heard of someone transferring to another course only 2 weeks ago! Google her name and her details should come up! Best of luck!

confusticated

CatEyed92 wrote: »

Seem's to me from my experience with UCC - great college but there's alot of smoke and mirrors where side effects of a course/first years are concerned.
No one actually stands up to say during orientation and says "if it's not for you....1,2,3" I only found out all the consequences towards the end.

Doesn't Noirin Deady talk to all the first years and say to come to her if they're having difficulties? There's only so much "minding" of students they can do imo.

prettygurrly

Anita Blow wrote: »

If you drop out before Christmas, you would be liable for fees for the first half the first year of your next course.
If the tuition fees for your next course are €6000 for example, you'd be liable to pay €3000+the registration fee of €2500 so €5500 in total

don't think this is completely correct. If you're repeating the year your reg charge is included in the full fee...can't see how they'd penalise you for dropping out half way through by making you pay a full year reg charge the following year...that norin woman seems to be the person to be asking these questions.

4 years is a loooong time..i've met plenty of people that have changed course, as drastic as theoretical physics to politics/history...you're only young, i think people who chose the right course for them when they're 18 are very lucky..thankfully i'm one of those!

CatEyed92

confusticated wrote: »

Doesn't Noirin Deady talk to all the first years and say to come to her if they're having difficulties? There's only so much "minding" of students they can do imo.

Does she?

Obviously, if I am saying what I am saying, she didn't come to our group. I am not stupid. And was not in need of "minding" as you put it.

I was offering my own experience with my course to the OP.

I'm sure I clearly stated somewhere IN MY EXPERIENCE.



Hope the OP sorted themselves!

confusticated

CatEyed92 wrote: »

Does she?

Obviously, if I am saying what I am saying, she didn't come to our group. I am not stupid. And was not in need of "minding" as you put it.

I was offering my own experience with my course to the OP.

I'm sure I clearly stated somewhere IN MY EXPERIENCE.



Hope the OP sorted themselves!

Jeepers, didn't mean to offend you! Never said you were stupid, please don't put words in my mouth. You were not in need of "minding", it seems to me that some students feel they are and have no idea of where to go when trouble strikes, but I don't understand how they don't.

I remember starting and we had talks from the SU, Noirin Deady and during Freshers Fest about if we were thinking of dropping out, as well as our course coordinator person mentioning it. That could've changed since, but my brother started last year and he knew the options of who to talk to.

MaggieNF

I'm actually a UCC dropout, so I know a bit about all of this, I finished 1st year in 2010, then after I failed some exams because I couldn't attend with a family funeral and that in May, and failed 3 in August because I just was not happy at all. So I ended up taking a year out and am currently in DIT, doing a course that I absolutely love.

When I left i had to contact them and formally de-register myself, whenever you drop out or if you do, make sure you do that straight away, otherwise there is no record of when you left.

I would have had to pay roughly 5000 to repeat the modules in UCC, but this figure varies between colleges, as a general rule of what I know, a year in an IT or repeating a year there is much cheaper than a University. It is going to cost me 1659 euro for the first year, and the registration fees on top of that but no contribution fee so it helps. The college assesses how much you pay, so if you drop out now, you would pay half, so it would be half of whatever cost it is to repeat in the college of your choice, or if you stay for 3/4 of the year, then the same applies.

The only other thing I can say, is if you are having doubts or unhappy with the course. Drop out, if you don't like it now it will only get worse in the following years, and it would be worse to drop out 2 or 3 years in because you just can't handle it anymore. I feel that leaving UCC, was for me the right choice, I'm much happier where I am now, the system of christmas and then summer exams works better, the general attitude is different, you need to decide if you are happy or not and are you willing to spend the next 3 years in that module, and if you still aren't sure, then apply for the CAO and if you decide to stick with the course you can turn down the offer. Don't make the same mistake I did and realise a month too late and take a year out, good luck

CaoimheCweeva

Does anyone know if withdrawing before exams counts as NOT completing first year? ?

shane9689

its counted as completed

fluffysierra

That's my understanding also. Completing the exams makes no difference.

MaggieNF

Yup, the two posters above me are correct.

you completed first year because you were registered as a student for the whole year, you'll be paying the same to repeat regardless of if you sat the exams or not.