Thrills and spills of studying in London

[stoneysongs]

A thread for supporters of DC heading to London unis - was originally going to be UCL which seems very popular this year, but expanded at @Needmoresleep's excellent suggestion.

For chats about moving in, what to take, living in London, whether an Oyster card is worth bothering with, how to do a big shop, where to park at drop off, the dreaded search for 2nd year accommodation etc etc etc

Tagging people I've spotted from the ex Oxbridge thread but all welcome including those with DC currently in London who can share their wisdom and anyone thinking of it for 2025 or beyond

@catmomof3
@lifeturnsonadime
@PotentialUCLmum
@CoffeeMugShot
@space99
@FebruarySmith
@mynameisnotmichaelcaine
@Summertimer

By way of intro I have a DD going to UCL to study BASc Arts and Sciences.

Thanks for this thread @stoneysongs !

My DS is off to UCL to study history!

King’s London for my DC - I am not have one so never done this before

Thanks @stoneysongs !

DD off to UCL to do Computer Science

Re Oyster card, theoretically you can add your student rail card to your Oyster card and get 34% off off peak travel. I say theoretically because my idle SS (UCL, just graduated) never managed to add his - admittedly it isn't very clear or easy to do. Student Oyster card only gives discount on Travelxards so no point unless commuting regularly.

Please can I join? DC going to UCL.

First question: accommodation starts 14 Sept, but that is 1 week before freshers and 2 weeks before academic stuff starts.

I don't want the DC at a loose end (i.e. in their tiny room on their phone) in London for a week or two, neither do I want them to miss out on important friendship making. I assume the international students are the ones getting there on 14 Sept, so there will be social activities that DC might want to join in. What is everyone else doing?

Thank you @SlenderRations this is exactly the kind of wisdom we need! I will pass that on, as railcard / Oyster card is one of many things DD has to sort out.

She is absolutely horizontal about preparing for uni, she has no idea of all the faff that is coming her way. She has a place in halls with a moving in date of Saturday 21 September but still has to sort

• drop-off time
• pre-enrolment
• student bank account
• meningitis vaccs
• railcard / Oyster card
• shopping for bedding and kitchen stuff
• suggested course reading
• training for various bits of DSA software
• online induction courses
• pre-enrolment events

I know it's early days but she habitually leaves everything until the last minute and then has a big panic, which is not much fun for anyone 🙈

@Summertimer when does KCL's term start?

Mine has just graduated from LSE. Biggest issue is accomodation!

At the uni I work at, arrival weekend is always the week before freshers. I would say 95% of first years arrive that weekend. It gives them time to settle in, find out about the area, make friends with their flatmates etc...... I would make sure my child was there for arrivals weekend. They will miss out on a lot if they are not there.

@stoneysongs thanks for this post! DD is going to read Law at KCL. So much to sort out now - definitely make sense to pick each other's brain!

That's interesting @babyzoomer - mine is in UCL halls and the accommodation contract starts on 21 Sept, is yours in Uni of London halls which maybe start earlier because some places go back earlier?

I hope / imagine that there will be a way for them to connect with their flatmates before they get there, so I would try to do that and see who's going to be around and how busy they're going to be with their uni / course.

Yes, UoL.
Guess it's earlier than need be for UCL students because other unis will be starting earlier.

If you have any tips that can help to reduce the misery, let us know! I am actually really worried about this as we don't have bottomless funds and DD finds it quite difficult to make decisions quickly, which I think is probably essential 😬

I would definitely try to find flatmates and see what they are doing. Hopefully there will be another UCLer for your DC to hang around with, or if they decide to wait and move in later, someone else who is also new.

Room allocation is on arrival so it's potentially hard to know in advance who your flatmates/hallmates will be. Even if we knew where to find those mythical social media groups where students get to know each other in advance of arriving in the same hall/on the same course, which we don't because we are dinosaurs and DC is not very sociable...

Hmm it's a tricky one then - maybe move in on the earlier weekend, as it would be a real shame to miss it if everyone else turns up and starts bonding then. But with a view to coming home for a few days if there's nobody there, or if they're all off doing things at their different uni all the time. And then move in properly around 20th. According to DD's info stuff starts happening on 21st and 22nd but that might be just her hall or course.

23rd September - no more information yet re accommodation which we secured pre results day

Thank you for the thread

Forgot to mention DD will be studying English

Thanks for this thread @stoneysongs . DD moving in on 21st. My biggest query at the moment is offloading her stuff… as in can we can park outside or do we need to book a parking space somewhere and walk lugging suitcases etc.

I really hope you can park outside, even if only for 10 mins. I think I saw somewhere they have student helpers and trolleys available.

I have booked a space with JustPark, it's about 20 mins walk away. Hopefully I can go and park up and get back just as they have finished lugging it all to the room

Arrival slot is now booked for 1300-1400, first meningitis jab is booked, she is going to look at student bank accounts and at the list of uni essentials that her brother used. A couple of hours well spent this afternoon. Next big thing will be pre-enrolment but she hasn't had the email for that yet.

My Dad is driving me and DD so the plan is to drop off all her stuff with him helping take it to her room while I wait in the car. Then once that's done he can drive off home and I plan to stay and help her sort the room out as I can get the train home after. That way with someone in the car he shouldn't get a ticket. This is the plan anyway if I still don't have the energy to be carrying things to her room.

My son finished at UCL last year. He loved his time there (though his first year was ruined by Covid sadly, no freshers).

He was in halls for his first year - we parked right outside the front door. If you go on a weekend it's usually quite easy. We got a slot (but I don't know if they do that any more)!

Thanks for the London thread!
Ds was toying with a year out but will now be taking up his place at Imperial. Received emails re; ID yesterday and dates but no accommodation options yet. I don't think they start until 28/09.

We didn't know anything about a meningitis vaccine so will ring our GP.

For those of you heading to UCL, one of my favourite places to eat is the Hare and Tortoise. Japanese and well priced for students, large dishes.

Thanks for the recommendation!

Re meningitis, it's meningitis B that is the one they need, they give it to babies now but not when ours were little. You can't get it on the NHS I don't think, or at least you can't here in Wales. DD has booked in the local Boots. 2 x injections, at least 4 weeks apart, quite expensive at £110 per jab 😬

Here's more info:

www.meningitisnow.org/get-support/supporting-young-people/meningitis-in-students/