Looking to change course within DIT

Tim C

Hey! I'm new to this, so don't judge if my query is slightly sloppy :P

I recently began attending DIT Bolton Street for my Mechanical Engineering course (DT006). I found, through even just my first few days, that the hours were really taking a toll on me and allowed me for absolutely no time for anything else, bar on one day a week during which I was practically incapacitated.

My course has me in at 9 a.m. six days a week - Monday to Saturday. From Monday to Thursday, I finish at 6 p.m. I finish at 1 p.m on Friday and Saturday.

I know that most people will say 'well, that's pretty reasonable for a reltively broad course.' The thing is, I live in Greystones, and no matter what way I choose to travel, be it via two buses or a bus and a Dart, I cannot make it there in much less than 2 hours.

I was, as with anybody else, shown the timetable during my induction days, and only then realised that it would not be possible for me to get through this course. I am in college 43 hours per week, and am on public transport for another 24. Given the layout of the times, I cannot find time to work and thus cannot pay for closer accommodation or even continue paying for transport and lunches every day. When applying for jobs, I am generally rejected due to the lack of hours which I can work, and to be brutally honest, I couldn't bare to use up any more of my time on anything.

Anyways, rant aside, I'm wondering if there is any possible way of changing courses within DIT? I was looking to change to DT228 (Computer Science) as I have plenty of experience in that field and would, all-in-all, be much happier to study that project. Pretty much anything to do with computers is a hobby of mine, anyways

Just to be clear; there really is no solution to my current set of issues. I can either switch my course or drop out entirely, leaving my grant to go to waste and making it very difficult to gain entry again from the financial side of things.

Thanks a million to anybody who can give feedback - it is greatly appreciated!

- Tim

TheAlkaline

Apply for S.A.F grant to pay your travel fees, and take 84x Bus. Where did you get these 2hour of travel from? I live in Kilcoole and it takes 1h 20minutes at the most.

ditchhurler

If you are a first year student, your chances to transfer are nil as CAO handle all first year applications and I assume you did not have the course you want to move to as a higher preference...for second and third years it's easier for colleges to transfer students

nicearbhaill

If you are in first year then yeah changing courses is a question for the CAO. Sometimes something can do done if the courses are within the same School and depending on places available and you meet all other criteria for the course. If you do give Admissions a call. If you do give Admissions a call also ask about Advanced Entry (i.e. staying doing what you do for a year and then changing)...http://www.dit.ie/study/undergraduate/advancedentry/. You mention you have plenty of experience in that field so maybe you applied for this already.

You mention dropping out and letting your grant go to waste. Dont do that. If you cant change course or if advanced entry is not an option for you please ensure that you withdraw or defer properly.

There are no financial implications if you defer/withdrew before October 31st ...see this link http://dit.ie/studentservices/registration/deferwithdraw/

Again as the previous poster said look into the other financial supports available from the college http://www.dit.ie/campuslife/studentsupport/studentfinancialsupport/

There is lots of info/supports available for you in DIT so please try and make sure you use them to find out all your options...dont just drop out.

kirving

Having done that course, and those hours, and then DT022 and even more hours, my advice would be to stick it out. It's a well regarded course in industry by all accounts, and many of my class started working in excellent jobs almost straight away.

Tim C

Thanks for the feedback all!

@TheAlkaline: Usually to walk to and wait for the bus, it'd be 15 minutes, then 25 on the bus, then 45 on the Dart, then another 15 - 20 minutes on foot to the college. In reality, it's usually around 1:40, but it has been hovering around the two hour mark some days, depening on traffic and crappy roadworks in Bray I had never actually thought of the 84X, although I get extremely motion sick which is a complete pain in the arse since longer bus journeys do me no good, especially in the mornings :P

To all others - I've spoken to a member of the Students' Union who gave me the details of somebody who handles these sorts of things. Apparently, as long as, like nicearbhaill said, I meet the course's requirements and there is a free place, then there should be no issues, especially since it's still within DIT. That means getting the whole thing done quickly enough though, of course :P

Engineering was something I had always enjoyed and taken well to, but computer science would definitely be more my thing. I didn't initially have it as my first choice as it was a level 8, and to be honest, I wasn't expecting to meet the requirements.

I think that I have all, if not most of the information I need for now - thanks all!