After going through the application process for university through UCAS, prior to acceptance, you may begin to have doubts about the course choice or subject that you want to study. This is the case for many students, and whilst cancelling and changing courses can seem stressful, it’s important to keep in mind that hundreds of students go through the same process every year.
In short, yes, it is possible to change university course if it’s before the application deadline. You would do this through UCAS, however after the deadline a change in university course will have to be done through the university directly, rather than on a UCAS site. This depends on the university and course it may not be possible to change course.
If you’re in need of guidance on the whole course transfer process, this article is guaranteed to deliver you some insight.
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Is It Possible to Change Courses Even After Accepting?
No matter whether you’ve accepted, changing course or subject is possible to some degree. For the majority of students that are falling out of interest in the course they’ve applied for, or just wishing for a change. They may hold the belief that there is no way out of it. To some, applying and accepting a course means you are finalising your decision, however, this isn’t how it has to be.
You are able to change course within a certain deadline through UCAS, if you still have choices. However, if it is after the deadline and you want a new course in the same university, it lies in the university’s hands.
The majority of universities try to be flexible with the amount of time you have to change courses, as they are well aware of the tense atmosphere surrounding applications. Despite the understanding from universities, keep in mind that it is significantly more difficult to change courses in higher ranked universities as opposed to lower-level institutions.
As well as this, trying to transfer into a popular course will prove more difficult than those that are under-subscribed. Whilst a transfer is possible in most cases, just bear in mind the conditions of the transfer, depending on the popularity of the university and course you’d rather be enrolled in.
Despite this being based around lower-level qualifications, this article on how to decide on GCSE options could help decide on how to select a new course right for you.
How Would You Go About Changing Course Options After Accepting?
Depending on the ranking and popularity of your university and course, the process for changing into a different subject can vary. For lower ranked and less popular subjects, it should be fairly straight forward. But for high ranked universities and popular subjects, it may be more difficult. For any university, a course change will need to be discussed through the institution themselves.
The first thing that is necessary is to contact and speak to the head of department in the course you have already enrolled in. In this conversation you will need to provide information on why you want to change courses. If your reasoning is valid, and the course managers are able to see genuine interest in a different area, you will then be able to progress further into getting into a new course.
Applying for a new course will be significantly easier if they are in the same department. However, applying for a new course in a completely different subject area, for example going from English to Medicine, may prove very difficult.
If you’re still considering which course to switch to, this article offers some of the easiest degrees for you to enrol on.
After Deciding Your New Course
Once you’ve decided the course you want to transfer to, you will then have to discuss with the new courses manager and head of department to show your interest in the subject. You must provide proof that you meet the entry requirements.
This discussion can be seen somewhat as an interview to see if it is suitable for your needs. Keep in mind that there will also be some forms to fill in and applications to send when transferring course. Whether you are accepted completely relies on the head of departments decision on your suitability, and if there are enough places spare.
This article on ‘Declining UCAS Offers After Accepting’ can provide a little bit of insight on how acceptances and reapplications work within universities as a whole and could also be used to help your course transfer.
How Will Changing Courses Affect Your Student Finance and Tuition Fees?
The extent to which a change in course will affect your fees paid to the institution, relies completely on the time in which you’re transferring. If you are reading this article however, typically you won’t have begun your course yet, or you will be in the very early stages, meaning fees and costs will be minimal. However, for the select few that are mid-way through a course or later into the term, different rules apply.
Tuition Fees
If you have not yet started your course, you will obviously not have to pay any of the tuition, as most tuition fees and student finance begin as soon as you begin attending the university.
However, if you are mid-way through the first term, you will have to pay up to 25 percent of the fees owed for that year. This increases each term. For leaving in the second term, you would pay 50 percent, and leaving in the third term you would pay the full tuition. This is why, when considering changing courses, the enrolment should be done as quickly as possible.
Funding for Your New Course
Once you transfer course, in most cases you are still eligible for the funding of the new course. However, this is dependent on who your funding is provided by.
Contact will have to be made to highlight and changes made to your tuition of fees. If funding is administered through student finance, you should be entitled to everything provided on your last course.
In some cases, you might need to go through the reapplication process and show you need the funding for this course too. As a whole, your tuition and student finance shouldn’t be affected too much if you switch courses early on. If the process is done quickly, it won’t become costly and mean you are paying double the tuition for 2 different courses.
What Happens Once You are Enrolled On Your New Course?
In most cases, when enrolling into a new university course, if done in the first couple of weeks, you will spend some of the time catching up on things that you have missed from the beginning.
If you’ve enrolled into a new course early on into the year, this should be fairly easy to do, with you only requiring a few extra hours a week to catch up on missed modules. However, in some cases if you have applied too late, an extra year may be required in order to give you a better time scale in which you can complete the work within.
If you have simply changed course before the university year has begun, then you’re in luck as not much will have to be completed. Since the course has not yet begun, there would be no missed modules or assessments meaning you are on the same page as every other student. The most work that you will have to do is research into the course to find out what you will be learning. Your teacher, in rare cases, also might ask that you provide them with some kind of work or written document to prepare you for studying.
Generally, it’s important to remember that the head of department for your course is there to help and will only provide you with the work that is beneficial to your degree. If they feel you require extra hours or even an extra year they will discuss this with you further.