A-Level Results: What should I do if I don’t like my degree?

James Curling remembers vividly the moment he broke down during a Skype call with his parents during his first year at university. After months of hiding the truth, he finally revealed to them how much he hated the course he was on.

“I literally broke down into tears while talking to them,” he says. “Because I had kept it bottled up for so long, they didn’t realise the extent of how unhappy I was and [had previously] told me to just crack on.”

James, 21, originally enrolled in the Chemistry undergraduate course at The University of Nottingham. However, he quickly became disillusioned with his chosen degree.

He describes becoming trapped in a “spiral” of disinterest, finding it harder and harder to engage in his lessons.

Coupled with his homesickness, James began to feel “incredibly lonely”.

After speaking to his parents and going home for the weekend, James spoke to his subject tutor.

“I had to go and speak to my tutor, telling him I wanted to swap. I felt so bad as I didn’t want him to take it personally, with me telling him how I had grown to hate the subject.”

At Easter 2015, James swapped from Chemistry to Archaeology, before restarting his first year. He’s just finished his second year, and is now far happier.

“The best advice I would give to people is to be honest with yourself. Having changed my course, so many people I speak to say they wish they had picked something else had they been able to,” James says.

“The ability is always there, it can just be a hard thing to admit. I learnt a valuable lesson in that first year of Chemistry, and while it was a £9,000 lesson it was definitely worth it for where I am now.”

With thousands more students enrolling in undergraduate courses in recent years, the risk that some may not enjoy their course, or else feel pressured into following a particular path, also increases.

So what should you do if you don't like your degree?

“If you realise that the degree you have chosen isn’t for you, then act quickly,” advises Katherine Dodsworth, UCAS Customer Experience Partner.

"Speak to your Subject Administrator, Registry Services or turn to your Student Support who will help you work out what is that you don’t like, and will be able to advise on alternative options."

It will help if you can be "as flexible as possible" during the process.

"Swapping onto a joint course may be possible or changing to a different subject all together. If you are not happy, the quicker you talk to someone, the more likely it is that they can find a solution that is right for you.

"However even if you get six months into the course and realise you want to change, speak up quickly and people will help."

Alice Rendell, 23, recently graduated with a 2:1 in Liberal Arts, after swapping from a course she wasn’t enjoying.

After achieving better than expected at A Level, Alice had looked online for available degrees. After a “snowball-like” process she signed up for a degree in Classics at The University of Exeter.

“Honestly that year on Classical Studies wasn't great,” she admits.

“I was home for the summer contemplating dropping out [after my first year] when I found the new Liberal Arts course that was starting up that September.

“It just so happened that I knew the administrator on Liberal Arts and she helped me swap courses, but I did have to start in Year 1 again.”

Liberal Arts was “ideal” for Alice because of the variety of modules she could choose from, although she sometimes regrets rushing into her first degree.

“To be honest, looking back I'd have told myself not to go through Clearing as my first year at Exeter was a pretty expensive mistake to make, but then without it I probably wouldn't have come to Exeter at all and met the people I did, or got involved with the extra-curricular stuff I did.

“And really it boils down to me being too impulsive, so it's not really the fault of the Clearing system.”

However, for A Level students waiting for their results and who are already feeling unsure about the university course they’re on, Clearing can be a brilliant way of checking out what is available without making any commitments.

For more information on Clearing, take a look at The Telegraph’s Clearing App.