What if? These two words loom large for anyone applying for college, especially at this time of year, when the Central Applications Office (CAO) change-of-mind deadline comes into view.
What if I have chosen the wrong course? What if I’ve already chosen the right course, but I change it to something worse?
And, either way, what should I do if I find out I have made the wrong choice? What are my options?
Luckily, there are plenty. In the first instance, there have never been more sources of support in choosing the right course for the right student. But if you do get it wrong, there are multiple off-ramps from your course and more entry points than ever before. We got advice from the experts.
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Avoiding the wrong decision (for you)
Students may find themselves in the wrong course if they choose it based on parental pressure, or because their friends are doing it, or because they think it will get them a high-paying and secure job.
“There are two schools of thought,” says Sinéad English, founder and chief executive of Hilt, which provides career growth advisory services for individuals and organisations.
“In one of these, you look for where the jobs are, and where they are likely to be. This is not a school I subscribe to.
“Instead, I think it‘s important to choose a course that you will enjoy. There’s a common quote that if you find a job you love, you will never have to work a day in your life. I violently disagree with that. It is not true, and it makes everyone think they have to enjoy their job all the time. But if you are doing a job that plays to your strengths, of course it will be more enjoyable.
“So if you are a blue-sky, creative thinker, but you’re going to a job where you have to check data lines all day, you won’t enjoy it.
“Go through the modules, semester by semester and year by year, so you know what you can expect at each stage of the course.”
Dr Derek O’Byrne, vice-president for academic affairs at South East Technological University (Setu), agrees that a student’s choice should be driven by genuine interests and skills.
“Problems occur when students try to project their possible CAO points to a course, or follow their friends into a certain programme. But you need to get up in the morning and enjoy what you’re doing in college, so make your CAO choice in order of preference and don’t be distracted by other factors.”
O’Byrne advises students to study the course content and modules in detail, but also, ideally, to visit the campus.
“It‘s not just about the programme, but also the college and the type of learning environment you’d like,” he says.
“Some students, for instance, would feel lost in a class of 400 people, whereas others might see 399 new friends.
“But non-academic factors, such as finance or accommodation, can also make a student feel they are in the wrong course.
“Over the years, we have seen that the people who don’t stay in first year are those who don’t make a social network. Setu and other third-levels put a lot of work into orientation.”
A course is not for life
English says that, on average, people will have four completely different careers in their lifetime.
“I don’t mean four different jobs; I mean four different careers,” she says,
“This means that an 18-year-old doesn’t need to ask the question about what to do for the rest of their life, but instead they can ask themselves: ‘what do I want to do for the five years after I leave college?’ It is much easier to think of themselves as a 24- or 25-year-old.”
At least half of all companies will recruit graduates from any discipline, which can mean arts and humanities graduates moving into technical roles, or maths graduates working in law. Many companies explicitly state this in their graduate recruitment advertising.
With this in mind, you may find yourself studying for a law degree but quickly realise you don’t want to work in law (or business/architecture/science etc, but discovering that you don’t want to work in it).
If you’re still enjoying the course content, however, you’re all set, as you’ll pick up transferable skills that you can apply in any workplace or in any postgraduate education.
“We develop our careers in bite-sized chunks,” says O’Byrne.
“This stage of your education is just one of those chunks, so don’t panic about what you’re doing in college. If you’ve done your research and followed your interests, you’ll do well. Ultimately, employers want good-quality graduates with more than just technical skills; they want people who have, for instance, team-building skills, or the proven capacity to learn [on a postgraduate or continuous professional development programme]. And third-levels build those skills into all programmes.”
Talk
Even if you follow all this advice, there’s still a chance – albeit a smaller one – that you won’t like your course, or you may just learn that college isn’t the right route for you.
Examining what modules are featured in the following academic year could give a different perspective on the course, as they might be more in alignment with your interests.
But don’t suffer in silence: talk to a student adviser, your lecturer or tutor, the students’ union or a college counsellor. You are not the first person to regret your course choice, and you won’t be the last.
Teasing out the reasons you feel your course isn’t suitable is important.
“If a student starts having problems, it‘s important to talk to someone as soon as possible,” says O’Byrne.
“Setu and other colleges want to keep students in the system, so they will help.”
I followed the advice, but I still hate the course: Your options
European Union students are entitled to “free fees” (the registration fee is a de facto fee, albeit a smaller one than if students were not subsidised) for one year of college but, if they repeat first year – whether the same or a different course – they will pay full fees for that year.
That is why it is crucial to speak up early if you’re in the wrong course – leave it too late and you lose that year of free fees. Different institutions have different cut-off points for dropping out and getting a fee refund, but they’re mostly around the end of October or early November.
If you find yourself in the wrong course, student advisers will talk you through your options.
“There may be transfer options,” says English.
“Or it may be leaving the course and making a plan to take on something else next year. Make a plan for the rest of that academic year – perhaps getting a job.”
Students could also consider travel or taking, doing a Post-Leaving Cert course – which can be a route to third-level in itself – or a traineeship.
O’Bryne says that student credits (for assignments, projects and exams) can sometimes be transferred across to a new programme.
“With your friends all having a great time in college while you’re waiting, it can be tough,” says English.
“People can feel embarrassed or think it reflects on their judgment. But it is a brave decision to not do a course just for the sake of it.”
