Many students have no trouble adapting to their new university’s culture. They don togas in freshers’ week, assemble their ultimate squad by the end of year one, and make the most of the next few years until a cushy grad scheme picks them up at the end of it.

Others, however, will spend their first term fantasising about how great life would be anywhere other than the lonely fourth floor of their halls.

In the past, unhappy students pretty much had to find a way to like it or lump it. But now the government is in the process of making it easier to switch university. The aim is to increase competition and encourage social mobility. Although the number of student making the change is currently low – fewer than 7,000 students switched institution in 2013-14, out of about 400,000 UK undergraduates – it’s likely to increase. So if you’re feeling like you just want out, here’s what you might want to consider first:

Is it you or is it the uni?

Some people have their heart set on going to a certain place. They love the city, they’ve planned their internships and they know exactly how they’re going to spend their weekends. But if you didn’t get into your first-choice university, and you end up, reluctantly, at an unfamiliar campus in a faraway town, then life can feel unfair.

“I had a fine time – met two of my closest friends – but my heart was never in it,” says Charlotte Jones, who switched from Southampton to Queen Mary’s in London at the end of her first year. “Not getting into my first-choice universities was really difficult – it was my first real taste of disappointment, and I hadn’t expected it. I think, in a way, it was immaturity that led me back to London. Southampton wasn’t my first choice of uni and I couldn’t accept the change of plans, or adapt to them.”

Change can be expensive

It’s important to be aware that there are financial implications to switching university. Manuel Souto-Otero, a senior lecturer in social sciences at Cardiff University who prepared a report in 2013 for the Higher Education Academy on credit transfer, says moving university can ending up costing you. “People may have established connections – found a flat, got a job – and these are additional costs. You will need to check with the student loans company and this is something you might have to take into account when making your decision.”

Kirsty Bradbury, who moved from Bournemouth University to Southampton Solent at the end of her first year partly because of poor health, has experience of this. Although pleased she made the move, she says sorting her student finances was stressful and complicated. “I was originally given less funding because the course was deemed to be shorter, but I kept getting told different things by advisers,” she says. “There need to be much clearer guidelines when it comes to changing courses.”

Leaving can be awkward

Sod’s law dictates you will suddenly start to have a brilliant time once you’ve decided to leave your university. And then there’s the decision of how exactly you tell your new friends. Do you backdoor it? Do you have one last big night out?

Jones says the process can be uncomfortable. “It was an awkward situation where I’d umm’d and ah’d about leaving, and on a whim signed a contract for a second-year house with seven friends, so I had to pull out at the last minute and spend ages trying to find someone to fill my room,” she says. “My friends in Southampton were all pissed off with me and didn’t understand why I wanted to move. It was like an attack on them. They thought that I thought I was better than them.”

Try not to leave it late

Making a snap decision is scary but wasting a year thinking “what if” is no good either. According to Souto-Otero, it’s easier if people change very early on.

“It can be done through Ucas if it’s in the first days, but if it goes beyond that, it gets a little bit more difficult. You have to contact the new uni directly to see if they have a place available,” he says. “It can be easier to change courses within your uni, rather than moving away.”

You could trade up – or down

The idea that you can transfer to a more reputable university is something the government mentioned in the white paper, in order to help under-represented groups who are more likely to have landed up at a uni for which they are over-qualified.

Emran Mian, director of the Social Market Foundation and a former director of strategy at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, expects switching between universities to become more common among those who do exceptionally well in first year.

“It’s most likely to be young people who perhaps didn’t get into their university of first choice right away, perhaps because their exam results weren’t quite strong enough, or they didn’t feel confident about doing well in a more competitive university. Perhaps their aspirations have risen, or career choices clarified, during their first year. This group of students will be looking to trade up.”

Then there are those who are struggling, and might want to move in the opposite direction – away from a selective university or a very demanding course. “Switching courses, for this group, is a better alternative than dropping out of higher education entirely,” says Mian.

Consider staying local

If you don’t want to uproot your life entirely then it’s worth considering changing where you study but not where you live. Mian thinks that at the end of first year students are often settled. “They have established friendships, perhaps got a job. Some might want to consider moving to a university in the same city or region rather than further afield,” he says.

Of course it is possible that leaving the area is exactly what you want - to reunite with schoolfriends, follow a partner to another university or just to make a fresh start.

Will your work translate?

The challenge in moving universities will be transferring credits for the courses you have already completed. However, if universities are actively recruiting switchers – either to increase their numbers or to improve the diversity of their student body – then it’s likely they will make it easy for incoming students to bring credits with them.

“Either that, or they will ask them to take an additional course or two during second year to bring them up to the same base as existing students,” says Mian.

Whatever you choose, you’re not a failure

When you switch direction, you might feel judged by those who think you lack perseverance.

“Uni is seen as something you see through, and if you deviate it is something that hasn’t gone according to plan,” says Souto-Otero. Don’t let this hold you back. With the increase in tuition fees, the practice of switching courses is likely to become far more common, and there’s more reason than ever to put yourself first and make a decision that is right for you.

For Jones, changing the plan wasn’t easy but ultimately it was the right choice. “My switch resulted in brilliant work experience and part-time jobs that were crucial for my career. And I made some really good friends – in the end. But all these things took a while to realise and at the time it was awful, and lonely.”

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