Thread 27 Covid Cohort Snow or Like Spring? Let's Do This Thing!

[OrangeCinnamonCocktail]

This is a thread for supporting all young people post GCSEs 2020, regardless of their educational setting. It is respectfully requested that all are supportive and helpful to each other. If you want to start a debate, e.g state vs private, please don't within this thread. Please also be sensitive when responding to threads about grades.

Some of us have been here since first thread back in yr10, some will be new. Everyone has been friendly and helpful in the past. Everyone is welcome. It is hoped this will continue.

Our DS/DD may go down various paths (such as employment, apprenticeships, higher ed) We have decided for anyone interested they will most likely find us within the Further Ed board.

previous thread found here

Thanks again everyone. I am pretty knowledgeable with Newcastle Uni accommodation if anyone wants to know.
My tip is always try to go with accommodation owned by the university rather than ‘affiliated’ with a private company. With lockdowns/friendship issues/ housing issues/ dropping out, universities are much more forgiving than private landlords at giving rent back. Universities often have large stock so can do swapsies fairly easily so even if your Dcs don’t get their preferred accommodation first time, there could be a chance after a few weeks. By then, of course, they’ll hopefully have made friends with their flatmates and it’s not a priority anymore.

Sorry to hear of health situation Zanda, so especially well done dd.

@EwwSprouts if the St Andrews offer come through (fingers crossed!) accommodation is a bit of a lottery, but most people seem to end up with what they wanted. The real problem is private accom when you move out - there just is not enough, so it is a real scramble. DS thought his group had found a house, but when they went to look round, found out that the landlord was taking 4 groups round and the group he liked best would be offered the house! They did their best to be lovely and one of the group recognised the landlord as someone who had taught her at school, which is hopefully a good sign!

@Monkey2001 Well remembered! I have my fingers crossed for your DS. What a lottery, though if your DS takes after you in the helpful and thoughtful stakes they should be a shoe-in.
It's DS top choice & his headteacher told him it was a strong application but the numbers are against him I fear, especially having seen the Oxbridge redirections for some amazing applicants.

@Monkey2001 the same happened to ds1 looking for their house in Norwich. 2 of the houses they were one of several groups that day. The third one they arrived to view but no one turned up to show them round, when they phoned the agent they were told the previous group had taken it, but they'd forgotten cancel ds's group. He was quite disheartened at the time. But 4th time they succeeded.

We went to York offer day yesterday and they announced the accommodation portal opens tomorrow - first come first served and DD still has Durham outstanding in terms of offer decision? Durham often go on until later March with offers for her course so if she is declined then York will only have the dregs left.

However decidedly mixed opinion of York - sandwich, crisps and water for free lunch bags - DD loves water but said she would have expected fruit and or biscuit too - especially when there was nothing really open to get alternative food - teens make me laugh!

I was more concerned that they were very vague about face to face teaching despite students from other courses telling us they are having 100% face to face already? Also when someone asked about field trips it was also vague.

DD had got York then Sheffield as the plan B (Durham and York IF she gets an offer) now I think it maybe IF offered Durham then Sheffield or Sheffield and Exeter. OMG!

DD made two friends super quickly when they went off for workshops and lecture so on that note she's feeling a lot more confident that making friends is not as hard as she was fearing

Sheffield offer day in 2 weeks so fingers crossed its a very positive experience ...

York haven't sent any emails about accommodation ! I didn't think they were first come first served. This is slso vvvv early to open accommodation! Panic!

@Piggywaspushed - DD got an email 9th Dec titled Changes to our accommodation guarantee. This is a small part of it.

How to apply for accommodation
Applications open for 2022/23 entry in late January and you will be able to apply for accommodation when you accept an offer to study at York. We will be in touch via email to notify you when accommodation opens for applications.

You will need your York username to apply. Your York username is a combination of initials and numbers which can be found on your offer letter email. It is different from your UCAS ID.

Insurance offer holders can still apply for accommodation in January but will not be eligible for our accommodation guarantee.

Full terms and conditions will be available when accommodation opens for applications in January 2022.

AlsoTop tip: check out our new colleges opening for September 2022/23 entry. Located on Campus East, David Kato College and Anne Lister College will include thousands of new rooms as well as a large green space for University and college events.

So seems there have got a lot more accommodation than in previous years.

@Fruitygal - that does not sound promising - It is currently DD's insurance - she didn't exactly love it when we visited in the summer but was happy to put as insurance as means she can forget about Sheffield Hallam. We have an open day in Feb so we will see what she thinks.

Accommodation lady did a talk on Saturday - said portal would open on Monday. You can only apply once you have put them down as a firm or insurance on the UCAS.

Accommodation is allocated in August BUT priority is given to the people have York as their firm choice and their form in first so tomorrow's accommodation applicants get priority and so on. If you have York as insurance you will be allocated behind those with a firm choice BUT also first come first served. I was shocked as accommodation normally opens in March to May at most unis.

Have to admit I hadn't noticed the late Jan opening for accommodation until last week - I was forcussed on 1st March for Nottingham! Decided there seems to be a lot more rooms, and all on either Campus West or East so being late to the party doesn't seem too bad. Unlike Nottingham where DD really wants catered on Campus so does need to have firmed by their deadline.

Yes, I just loked it up. I dodn't think it si quite as clear cut as FCFS

www.york.ac.uk/study/accommodation/undergraduate/how-to-apply/

But it's still very very early. Not sure what they are playing at.

DS is very trustworthy but he ahs this terrible habit of reading and then deleting important emails.

I saw that York one but didn't really process it at the time. The main change is not guaranteeing insurance people a room. Used to be York's USP.

Tbh , shared bathrooms in Langwith perfectly nice. Not so keen on some of the really cheap stuff but it is what it is.

I feel like I haven't got time or headspace for this in my life.

Not sure why but DS is being grumpy when uni is mentioned atm.

@Fruitygal - did you look at the accommodation on East & West? if so what did you think?

I really want him to make up his mind now, actually, so may be nagging.

I still have traumatic flashbacks to the NTU system!!

@Piggywaspushed - "Not sure why but DS is being grumpy when uni is mentioned atm". I know exactly what you mean - I'm not mentioning uni to DD at all at the moment as she is the same. Just waiting for the open days which I am sure she will hate anyway. If she can find something wrong with the uni she will. I am sure it's just a coping mechanism, she doesn't want to look ahead really, would like a year out but knows it's not the best idea especially without a plan.

@Heifer we haven't received that email? DD sends me everything (after watching DS2 mess up). One of the new accommodation blocks is almost finished and the other is still being built. Given there looks like no TAGs just exams their accommodation team is confident there will be no issues this year.

DD didn't love it as much as she should have ...it was OK but not raving ...so we will wait and see what Durham do and how the offer day at Sheffield is! Plan C would be Exeter Offer day in March but I'd rather not.

On WIWIKAU, parents are raving about York, especially re Covid. Very kind apparently. They deliver food, give students vouchers, check up on them. They do also all seem to think F2F is good there. There are comments about ow safe it is , too (Covid safe and generally safe)

@Heifer only seen the show flat - which a portacabin mocked up as a student flat - my DD asked where the empty vodka bottles were on the kitchen windowsill ?? She's seen too many of her DSs student places to take the show home dressing too seriously. Because of covid no access to other accommodation. . Looked through the the windows when we were looking around in the summer and most of East is very very nice and 75% is less than 5 years old. About 50% is self catered. On west some nice stuff but a lot which is old and 60s (DD is fussy so not to her liking)

@Fruitygal - I've just sent you the whole email via PM. We are also going to Sheffield on 12th Feb so will be interesting to see what DD thinks - the plan was to see if she liked it more than Nottingham - it wasn't supposed to be an Insurance as offered ABB (York BBB) but if she doesn't like York then it could be I guess - although not sure if that's too risky as who knows what can happen during the exams...

@Piggywaspushed - yes I've only seen good things about York too and it's such a lovely City. I thought the campus was ok - not the nicest I admit but ok. I haven't seen many to be fair so not much to compare against.

My old room in Vanbrugh looked different fro outside as it is more built up nowadays. It did have a broken window .... it wasn't the nicest room 30 years ago!!

East is lovely.

@Fruitygal I was talking to my friends dd over Christmas. She goes to York. She's studying psychology, she has lots of f2f but has friends that aren't doing any f2f. So it must depend on the subject.

Ds accepted his offer from Sussex a couple of weeks ago. He says he's received no confirmation email from them. Should he have? I asked if he's definitely done it correctly, he says yes. I would have thought he'd get something.

@Fruitygal thanks for the info - we only really looked at West Campus during the summer as had enough and we only drove around East Campus. DD also fussy and didn't like West Campus at all.. I was hoping for a more thorough look at accommodation during the open days - hadn't thought about the covid sitation!

The big selling point of York is the lovely city really. The campus is nice in that there is accommodation on the actual campus so that college feel. It's sprawled out a bit these days.

Birmingham Campus possibly has more of an 'oo' factor. Bath campus is really nice and more compact. But up an enooooooormous hill!

@icanbewhatiwant - ask him to go into his UCAS login aand take a look at Your Hub - I am sure it would have changed on there (Your applications) . DDs currently says all decisions received as she hasn't firmed any yet.

Young relative graduated from York this summer and he liked it. Was in private accommodation for years 2&3 so a bubble of established friends through lockdowns. Not to be too outing but he was from 'down south' and has landed what sounds like a fab job in the City. Also a friend of DS is in year1 and he is very happy so far. Both rate the sports facilities and opportunities. This has influenced DS but he hasn't been on campus yet.