How can I change university?

Reasons to change university

You’ve chosen your course, but when the academic year starts you realize that you’re studying in the wrong place. If you decide that you want to change university you must be aware of the procedures you have to follow, the time you have to invest in the process and also think about why you have taken this decision.

It may be that you have various reasons for wanting to change, such as not having adjusted well to university life or feeling far away from your loved ones (if you decided to move away to study), and that’s fine.

We are here to give you as much information as possible to make it easier for you to make the change.

How do you change university?

Changing from one university to another is simple and if this is what you want to do we’re here to tell you how to go about it. The only thing you have to do is apply for a place at the new university where you want to study. This step isn’t complicated, although it may be a slow process as there are times when the university where you want to go doesn’t have a free place for you or won’t admit you and you’ll have to be patient and provide them with justification of why you want to change u

When it comes to the process of trying to change university, there are a couple of options we want to explain. You can:

1. Take part in the general admissions process: with this option you have to apply for a place at the new university as if you were a new student and the most important factor determining whether your application is successful will be your university entrance grade. When your grade is high enough that there’s a chance the university will admit you, then they will look at the course credits you have already accrued at your current university.
2. Transfer your academic transcript: in this case you only have to “compete” with other students who also want to change university. Changing university at the start of the second year of the course will be the best option.

Depending on your circumstances, you will have to choose whichever of these two options suits you best and see if the new university will allow you to follow your preferred application route.

Change from a public to a private university

Making this change is possible and no more complicated than the process we’ve already described. In fact, the processes to transfer from one university to another are the same irrespective of whether the universities involved are private universities or public.

You must take into account that, when you’ve finished the first year of your degree, to be able to request the transfer of your academic transcript you must have “passed” the academic year you have just finished (if you were studying under the old system) or have accrued at least 60 course credits (if you were studying under the new system).

On the other hand, the new university may ask you for additional documentation such as a letter explaining why you want to change university. They can ask you for academic information such as your grades from your first year of studies or your university entrance exam score. Once you have given them this complementary information and met their obligatory admissions criteria, the university admissions board will evaluate your case and give you a reply.

We must stress that applying for a transfer of your transcript doesn’t guarantee you a place at the new university, although universities always try to help students as much as they can.

Change university while doing the same degree

To change university but continue with the same degree you have to focus on just one of the processes we have been explaining.

This is transferring your transcript, because you want to continue with the same course but don’t want to have to repeat the part of the course you have already completed at another university.

Remember that transferring your transcript doesn’t guarantee you a place at the new university, but by wanting to continue with the same degree you will have a better chance of being admitted because the people you have to compete against for the place are existing students, not new ones.

Can I change university once the academic year has started?

There are always some students who want to change degree course or university once the academic year has begun, either because they don’t like the institution they have chosen or the one they have been assigned as a result of their entrance exam grade, or because having started their degree they realise that it’s not the one for them.

Often you can only realize there is a problem when you’re already in the place of study or studying the degree modules. This is why it’s possibly to make the change after you’ve started your course.

It’s understandable that you may find yourself in this situation. There are many students who don’t know for certain if the degree they have chosen is the one which most inspires them because they didn’t have all the information they needed when making their initial choice.

Changing university is possible, but it is better to have chosen the right university and course for you from the start so you don’t have to worry about transfer processes, submitting documentation and waiting for replies.

We hope this article has answered any questions you may have had and now, when it comes to changing university, you’ll know what to do. In addition to offering university residences in Spain we support our residents throughout their time at university. Book your micampus room today and start a new adventure!