Salt burn makes me worry for poor kids at ‘posh’ unis.

The OP is getting some mean comments - actually, I think the movie reference worked as a good entry point into a really interesting discussion.

It's about social mobility, British class + wealth barriers, - and how universities can offer positive exposure to people with very different backgrounds, values and perspectives - and generally better equip people to navigate in society (including, if they want, upwards - see point (a) about social mobility!!)

You realise that Saltburn was fiction? Don't you?

Two of my GCs go to Exeter. It’s not posh. It’s just a uni with a mix of students.🤷‍♀️

You have raised a child who has done well enough in their school career to be looking at good universities. That’s a huge achievement both for you and for them.

Spoiler: But if he does go the way of Oliver, look at the magnificent house you'll end up with! 😄

I mean, everyone wasn't completely lovely, in my experience, but I wasn't scarred by encountering an average amount of assholes or anything.

Absolutely. One of the things I remember most was discovering people who knew what they wanted to do for a living, and it was in a field I didn't even know existed, like opera directing or art restoration. That was a complete eye-opener for me, as the first in my family to stay in school past 15, and whose relatives were all shelfstackers, waitresses, cab drivers, mechanics and binmen.

the % of private school/ privileged state school at childs top 10 uni is shocking! yes my child has found it difficult especially when exposed to comments like " his family are so poor they had family time playing board games, whereas I had expensive holidays and meals out" That's a friend about a potential boyfriend as questioning whether they were compatible. No idea regarding Bath but Exeter seems more normal!

I love Emerald Fennel but the whole MC boy wanting to be like the rich poshos just showed how out of touch she was with, well non-poshos!

Did you actually watch the entirely fictional film? The point is he wasn't a poor kid, he was a middle-class boy trying to make himself seem more interesting.
Also... fictional.

Missing the point entirely...
Oliver in Saltburn wasn't a poor kid. His problems fitting in at college were because he was strange.

it is a film, it is not real.

plus, Bath and Exeter unis are not posh universities, Bath is not even a russel group.

you are over thinking it.

Okeydokes. If you're saying that not a single one of the tropes/stereotypes shown in Saltburn has any basis in real life events/facts at all, then we might just need to agree to disagree! I'm glad your experience at Oxbridge didn't expose you to any snobbery/tribalism/class division though - nice to know that people can come through unscathed 😁

Same here. Only two of us on my course had been to a comprehensive school (this was decades ago) and I was the only one who hadn't studied Latin. Everyone was lovely and it wasn't a big deal at all. In fact my horizons expanded in a way that I don't think they would have done if I'd gone somewhere where more / most people were like me.

Op, you are absolutely right, but there are many other things you should be worried about than your dcs’ universities being like Saltburn.
Never go to the Yorkshire moors - who knows, Heathcliff could easily be lurking, waiting to hang your dog.
If you go to Oregon or Montana avoid hotels like the plague: Remember those scenes in The Shining? That could be you……
Likewise, motels in Fairvale, California.
Transylvania is supposed to be beautiful but don’t go there. Those fangs could be coming to your throat sooner than you think….

Bath and Exeter aren’t “Posh!”
Let your son enjoy his time without parental angst.
He’ll likely meet people he feels comfy with.

No, maybe just your interpretation of events is about your own social Hang ups and maybe not to do with how others would interpret it?

Exeter and Bath aren’t posh universities.

Thanks or your comment but I'm not really sure what you're after here - do you want me to disbelieve the evidence of my own eyes?! 😁 As I said, I went to an Oxbridge reject uni in the early 2000s and saw and heard some things that would.not at all have been put of place in Saltburn. I'm certainly not saying all RG HEIs were like that 20-25yrs ago, or even all Oxbridge colleges - I'm just saying that IME, some of the tropes shown in the film have basis in fact. Like @LookAtAllThoseRoses, I encountered some people that had to be seen to be believed!

Op what skills do you think they're missing? You talk about not eating out so is it variety of food, which cutlery to use? With travel, not much you can do now but did you do cultural stuff with them? Have you raised them to be tolerant and open minded? I'd concentrate on specific things rather than the damaged going adult who murders a family for their wealth

What a load of nonsense.

Exeter does a lot of outreach and low offers for West Country students, there are also quite a few students from Wales. Therefore a pretty good mix, and in all these unis the majority are still state school pupils.

Generally it's the Welsh students who have all the money, regardless of background. They have such great finance they end up subbing everyone else!

Most "posh" kids are normal, fun loving and kind. They won't deliberately rib anyone about not having had money. They might even wish they had had less of a luxury life if they feel it singles them out. Snobbery does work both ways with class.

I think if your kids are open minded and happy in themselves they probably wouldn't rule out being friends with someone with more money either. Therefore they are unlikely to have a problem with it - might even feel lucky if they house share with people who can get takeaways and have left overs more often! You can get idiots in any social class but Uni is a good way to make friends with all backgrounds and broaden your opinions.

Trust me, salt burn is no more based on real life than east Enders is.

65% of Exeter students are state educated - are you implying they’re all rich?