Dropping Out
Not every student that starts university ends up graduating. This can be due to a number of reasons such as the degree not being what they expect, they’ve changed their mind about wanting to pursue that career, or they have financial or health issues. In New Zealand and Australia, going to university has become the default option for many people. With easy access to student loans, it is relatively straightforward to go to university, but university does not suit every individual.
It’s often a good idea to try university and see if it suits, but, if you find you aren’t engaging with university, it may be a good idea to reevaluate after a semester before incurring too much debt. Some students completely fail their first semester, and then just reenrol and try again without careful evaluation of the causes of failure. This can mean repeated failure along with more debt.
In Australia it is worth paying careful attention to the census date. This is the date at which the enrolment is finalised, and you become financially liable for the cost of the unit. Prior to this date, you can drop the unit without paying. This try-before-you-buy period can extend up to four weeks from the start of the semester. Unfortunately, in New Zealand, the deadline for withdrawing without financial penalty is very short. Often less than two weeks from the start of the semester meaning that students don’t really have a chance to sample a course thoroughly before making a final decision.
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Important
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Be aware of the date by which you can withdraw without incurring fees. |
Risk factors for dropping out
A number of risk factors have been identified for failing to complete a degree. None of these means a student will definitely drop out, but they appear to increase the risk. In Australia students with an ATAR below 60 are twice as likely to drop out as students with an ATAR above 90. For those with an ATAR below 60 the risk of dropping out is about 40 percent, whereas for those with an ATAR above 90 the risk is only about 20% [1]. Similarly, trying to juggle too many other responsibilities like work and family life can also increase the risk. These students usually enrol part-time, but don’t have a credible plan for completing a degree, while also managing their competing commitments. Changing degrees isn’t itself a risk, but if students have failed and then changed degrees, that has been shown to be a risk.
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Low rank score for admission to university
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Studying part-time
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Being a mature student
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Health issues
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Previous failed attempts at higher education
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Tip
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If any of these risk factors apply to you, think extra carefully about how you will manage your studies. |
Should you drop out from university?
There comes a point in some university students' lives where they start to contemplate dropping out permanently. If the degree isn’t meeting your expectations, sometimes it is better to drop out after a semester or a year rather than spend another three or four years. The time spent isn’t a complete waste if it can help clarify life goals.
While dropping out isn’t always a bad idea, it also shouldn’t be a hasty decision. In addition, it doesn’t need to be a permanent decision, in most cases you can restart your existing degree or commence a different degree in the future. Another option would be to study part-time.
Some valid reasons for dropping out include:
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Your current degree is of bad quality.
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Your current degree has poor job prospects.
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You are failing and don’t believe you can improve in subsequent semesters.
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You receive a job offer that you are satisfied with.
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A preferred alternative training path like an apprenticeship becomes available.
The main cost of dropping out is the loss of the potential opportunities and income a completed degree might provide. On the other hand, the labour market return from degrees is declining, and some degrees don’t really deliver much economic value.
Should you take a break from university?
An alternative to dropping out permanently is taking a break of one or more semesters. One of the most common reasons students give for dropping out is health issues or stress. Sometimes the pressures of academic work can worsen physical or mental health problems. If these can’t be adequately managed while at university, it might be better to take a break until such time as you have recovered significantly.
Some things to think about before dropping out
Think back to why you started the degree in the first place? Are those reasons still valid? Sometimes it is the case that rather than not liking the degree, you just don’t like the university. It’s worth investigating continuing the same degree at a different university. For example, a degree may be taught in a theoretical way at one university but in a more applied way at another. Similarly, some universities might emphasise individual work, while others incorporate more work in teams. It’s also true that some universities may neglect undergraduate teaching in favour of an emphasis on research.
Another common issue is that students don’t really like the content of their degree and assume that when in the workforce the nature of the job will closely align to how things are at university. Sometimes that might be true, but at other times they might be completely different. In other words, just because you don’t like the degree, it doesn’t mean you won’t like the career. For instance, some degrees like engineering are full of solving complex mathematical equations, but in the workforce this type of problem-solving is handled by computer packages and little manual calculation is required.
So various scenarios can play out, students love their degree and hate the workplace or hate their degree and love the workplace. Before making any big decisions, investigate what jobs in the intended career are actually like. It might be worth persevering with a tough unpleasant degree, despite it being several years of HELL, if the career seems like something you will love.
For students dealing with health, financial or other issues, instead of dropping out, consider deferring or part-time study.