No degree for me.
I accepted a place on a combined science BSc at University of the West of England (Bristol Poly). It allowed me to pick and choose the subject I wanted so I was looking forward to doing three years of organic and inorganic chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, etc.

2 weeks before the course was to start they told me it had been cancelled and I'd been given a place on the applied chemical sciences course. I wasn't ready for it, particularly the amount of work needed to come up to speed on physical chemistry. I passed about 80% of the course.

The next year, they invited me to try to Combined Sciences one I'd wanted again, promising that it would definitely, definitely be run this time.

It was, and I was loving it, enjoying my courses, doing well, learning good stuff...until about halfway through the year when it turned out that so many other people had dropped out, transferred course or been kicked off, that I was the only person left on it.

so they told me I was causing too many timetable clashes (like it was MY fault!!!) and that I was being transferred to halfway through the second year of a pure biology degree.

As you can imagine, not having done biology at GCSE or A level and having missed the first year and a half of the course, I had a few problems being dumped into a lecture hall with 150 people I didn't know, using a language I didn't understand to explain the things I was supposed to be learning.

I didn't do too well, failed dismally (as they then put me through half the exams from my own course and half the exams from the biology degree - so they wouldn't have counted towards anything anyway) and didn't bother trying to convince the council to give me a grant for a third year as a fresher.

Mind you, the exams WERE fun. Some of them I went into a room for an exam and as I was the only person on the course, there was me...and three invigilators watching me to make sure I didn't cheat.

In the exams where I knew nothing except my own name, I just scrawled random stuff, asked occasionally for new paper then walked out early looking smug and hopefully scaring the crap out of people who were finding it a bit difficult.
( Afinkawan Yes I can hear you Clem Fandango, Mon 8 Jan 2007, 10:16, Reply)