I am a first year at Loughborough on the Masters Programme for Electronic Engineering. The year started off ok, I wasn't particularly enjoying it but nor was I hating it. I especially love the the sport which is one of the reasons I came here.
However a few weeks ago I found out that my dad was going to be made redundant, and now very recently I have found out that my mum's job isn't exactly safe either..
This presents a massive problem for me as studying at uni was always going to leave me in debt if I moved away from home (which I kind of wish I hadn't done now), and now I am almost certainly going to be leaving uni with huge debts and with nearly zero financial support apart from what I make for myself.
This brings me to the point of this thread which is basically that I am thinking/wanting to change universities so that I'm living at home. I want to move back to London. When I properly think about it I know that I'm not really all that happy where I am at the moment, and if it wasn't for the sport I wouldn't be happy at all. Studying at lboro feels like being at boarding school, there is absolutely nothing to do here apart from what is on campus, might suit some, but for me I loved living in London.
I'm looking at trying to switch to UCL as it is roughly similiar to Loughborough for EEE, and even if it meant I had to completely scrap this year and lose the 7k I've already spent I would still save over £7k in the long run from being able to live at home.
The major problem I have with this is that the timing couldn't really have come at a worse time for me, and I have poor A Level grades. The entry requirements for UCL are AAA-ABB, and I only have BBB - althought my GCSEs were very good (12 A/A*). My offer at Loughborough was ABB and they still let me in though which I am hoping is because I have extra-curricular stuff that few people will have: National standard sportsman, finished first in the league table of a nationwide online 'fantasy stock market' game, relevant work experience at an international engineering consultancy. These are things that I hope will counteract my A Levels.
The difference between UCL and Loughborough for EEE is minimal although I think UCL would be better for job prospects outside Engineering but overall it probably doesn't matter. So the options I have are:
1) Stay at Lboro where I'm not really enjoying myself and hope it gets better. I can't wait to go home though so I think there is something wrong here.
2) Drop out of Lboro and try to get into UCL for this year (Very unlikely)
3) Drop out of Lboro and work full time for a year, try to apply for UCL for entry in 2009. I actually have a job I could start straight away in which I was offered last year after my summer placement. This is something else I think is an advantage but as far as the admissions tutors at UCL are concerned I could basically be making this up. I can get a reference though I suppose.
I think my life will end up going down one of these paths: 1) Engineering job 2) A position in investment banking.
I know for IB I really should have AAA at A level but considering what I achieved in 'fantasy' leagues, have traded with real money already and still follow markets daily I still think I have a good shot at it. Living in London gives 100 times more networking opportunities than lboro
One point I am worried about is my age when I graduate. If I stay at lboro I will be graduating when im 23, and that seems quite old. If I move to london and take a year out I could end up graduating at 25 although more likely 24.
Any advice greatly appreciated
Thanks
However a few weeks ago I found out that my dad was going to be made redundant, and now very recently I have found out that my mum's job isn't exactly safe either..
This presents a massive problem for me as studying at uni was always going to leave me in debt if I moved away from home (which I kind of wish I hadn't done now), and now I am almost certainly going to be leaving uni with huge debts and with nearly zero financial support apart from what I make for myself.
This brings me to the point of this thread which is basically that I am thinking/wanting to change universities so that I'm living at home. I want to move back to London. When I properly think about it I know that I'm not really all that happy where I am at the moment, and if it wasn't for the sport I wouldn't be happy at all. Studying at lboro feels like being at boarding school, there is absolutely nothing to do here apart from what is on campus, might suit some, but for me I loved living in London.
I'm looking at trying to switch to UCL as it is roughly similiar to Loughborough for EEE, and even if it meant I had to completely scrap this year and lose the 7k I've already spent I would still save over £7k in the long run from being able to live at home.
The major problem I have with this is that the timing couldn't really have come at a worse time for me, and I have poor A Level grades. The entry requirements for UCL are AAA-ABB, and I only have BBB - althought my GCSEs were very good (12 A/A*). My offer at Loughborough was ABB and they still let me in though which I am hoping is because I have extra-curricular stuff that few people will have: National standard sportsman, finished first in the league table of a nationwide online 'fantasy stock market' game, relevant work experience at an international engineering consultancy. These are things that I hope will counteract my A Levels.
The difference between UCL and Loughborough for EEE is minimal although I think UCL would be better for job prospects outside Engineering but overall it probably doesn't matter. So the options I have are:
1) Stay at Lboro where I'm not really enjoying myself and hope it gets better. I can't wait to go home though so I think there is something wrong here.
2) Drop out of Lboro and try to get into UCL for this year (Very unlikely)
3) Drop out of Lboro and work full time for a year, try to apply for UCL for entry in 2009. I actually have a job I could start straight away in which I was offered last year after my summer placement. This is something else I think is an advantage but as far as the admissions tutors at UCL are concerned I could basically be making this up. I can get a reference though I suppose.
I think my life will end up going down one of these paths: 1) Engineering job 2) A position in investment banking.
I know for IB I really should have AAA at A level but considering what I achieved in 'fantasy' leagues, have traded with real money already and still follow markets daily I still think I have a good shot at it. Living in London gives 100 times more networking opportunities than lboro
One point I am worried about is my age when I graduate. If I stay at lboro I will be graduating when im 23, and that seems quite old. If I move to london and take a year out I could end up graduating at 25 although more likely 24.
Any advice greatly appreciated
Thanks
