Thread 31 Covid Cohort - Hopping through Easter and Revision

[OrangeCinnamonCroissant]

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 30

I've made this one a little bit earlier as things are so busy, at home and on thread, so please feel free to use up previous thread first

@Oblomov22 we’re doing what you suggest so let’s hope your ds and my dd get to know each other in Rutland! For various reasons, as of this year we have a decent income which means dd will only get minimum loan from second year (about £6k in first year) but for years we’ve just been getting by, for various reasons so we’ve not been able to save and now we’ve got a decent income we’re having to move to an expensive area for work and take on a huge mortgage!

In any case, I don’t think dd should be swanning around all summer while we work to keep her (I’m letting her do that one last time this summer!). She knows she’ll have to work in the summer holidays at least, if not during term time.

Thanks.
Ds has already been saving large % of his salary and intends to add to that this summer.

Crazy, (mums) we'll all see eachother on Rutland moving in day. See you there!
Plus, We'll also make our dc wear mn scarfs for the first month so friendships materialise. 🤣

DD is also finding attending school for ‘revision’ lessons ‘exhausting’ as some days she feels she would have been more ‘productive’ at home.
Study leave ‘officially’ starts next Thursday but we’ve agreed she can be ‘selective’ from now on as to her ‘attendance’- rightly or wrongly.
@Oblomov22 the maximum maintenance loan for students starting University in 2022 is £9.700 which is for students entering from a household with a total taxable income of less than £25,000.

Yes @Oblomov22 we need to be able to spot one another 😂

Your story sounds similar to Architect friends I have JustHere. But then many medics I know not even 45 (a popular profession amongst my mother’s community) say the same about working for the NHS.

i do tell DD to try and enjoy the remainder of student life before she steps onto the treadmill…

Is it close to an A , JustHere*? With grade boundaries reduced from 2019, hopefully he may end up there if he's close.

DD has a bigger loan as we are using our income for this year and our salary/dividends are as low as possible so we can make our new full time business work. It overs the accommodation (catered) with approx £600 left over, so even then we will have to contribute so things are going to be tight for us. DD is having a fun summer and I too have told her she will need to work next summer. I don't think she will have time for a job at uni as the contact time/study time is quite a lot with sport and socialising too but she can work during any holidays - I definitely won't be giving her any money whilst she is at home from Sept to spend.

You know at Rutland drop off we are really going to be watching parents really closely to see if we can work MNer out ;-)

Heifer, crazy I will find you (stalkerish).

@Oblomov22 I wish dd had considered Nottingham. Her accommodation will be around 9k We've said that we'll pay that for the first term to assess how well she manages the loan (she'll get the minimum) and then reassess. There's lots of extras to pay for such as society memberships which I expect will rack up quickly. Plus her catered is only 2 meals a day (despite the hefty price tag!).

Wow @NCTDN that’s a lot! Where’s she going again? I’ve heard lots of people say their kids have the minimum loan to live on but that seems too much to me, if you divide it by term time weeks. Last Christmas dd got a 3 week job in Sainsburys that paid very well so I’m hoping she might do that again this Christmas although it will have to be a different branch.

That's for Bristol, though nothing has been firmed yet.

@heifer for year 1, as DD’s loan just about covers the Rutland rent, I’ve said we’ll give her £50 a week in term time but I don’t expect her to spend it all! In fact I’ve told her that she’d better save some for year 2 if possible! I can’t see why she’d get through that much when all their meals are provided! How much are you thinking?

In terms of finances, DS will get the minimum loan and we will make it up to the full loan. At Bath, his firm choice, there is accommodation from about £5.5k up to £8k. We said if he takes a cheaper one then he would end up with about £4K to live on which is doable. The issue is if he gets allocated an £8k room, in that case we will pay the difference between what he chose and what he got allocated. (He has to pick ten and gets allocated one by an algorithm in August so we really don’t know what he will get.)

We purposefully haven’t gone for the we pay the rent and he has the loan option because we want him to have to make sensible decisions about the rent and not just think we’ll pay it so he can have whatever he wants/desires. I am also keen for him to be in cheaper halls as that means he won’t end up with all the rich kids who have very high expectations for second year housing!!

That said, if he goes for the cheaper rent it will mean he has roughly the min maintenance loan to live on. We don’t want him to work in term time as his course is full on, approx 25-30 contact hours plus other work. He has some savings which he can use and will also work in the summer holidays.

We will see how he gets on money wise as Bath is expensive and will top up further if required. We have said we will pay all his main living costs but not for his alcohol!

All the above is based on if he gets into Bath, I think we’re in for an easier ride if he ends up at Nottingham.

Fortunately we are in a position to help as required, as despite not having saved separately for uni, the mortgage will be paid off just before he goes.

One of DS's friends has received a Durham history offer this week.

@Fruitygal DS very happy to have been allocated first choice S/C. I hope your new job is going well.

We're doing the finances this weekend. Am so glad DS wasn't allocated catered.

Massive relief here too @EwwSprouts she got first choice and self catered. Finance application is quick if you don’t declare - as me and other half both work - DD will just get minimum so don’t need to produce evidence of salary which makes it take less than 20 mins

DD has been revising all night tonight … well after we watched Derry Girls 😂🤣

@Fruitygal I work p/t and we're both on 'well outside London' salaries so I think DS will get a little above bare minimum which is worth the paperwork I guess. He works a little at the minute and we'll expect him to earn in the holidays but not sure about in term-time.

DS lived off the minimum loan last year, but that was during covid. This year he has got a term time part time job to boost things. He calculated his 'allowance' to include Christmas and Easter holidays, not just term time. Maybe we were being mean!!

@EwwSprouts my DSs worked on holidays but not in terms as they had a lot if face to face contact and full weeks with their courses. Can’t imagine it’s much different with biosciences. Definitely worth applying if you can get a little more loan.

At least it’s not just me being a miserable cow then! 😄.
I also try to instil the ‘enjoy your pre work life’ ethic but have also tried to steer the DC to do what they enjoy rather than just what they think makes the money. Not sure DS1 read that memo..

No idea tbh. I’m hoping they are kind this year. 🤞🏻

Assuming DS1 gets his grades, I’m dumping him at Lenton and heading over to Rutland to see you lot. 😄

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn - we may not be hard to spot - our DD/DS's will be looking mortified as we chat ;-) I'm actually thinking of staying overnight beforehand as DH will be driving his van and only has 2 seats, so I will need to catch the train. Depeninding on drop off time that may mean it would be better for me to come the previous day.I really hope DD does get the grades as we haven't prepared at all for her backup. Decided not to bother with accommodation etc and will deal with that if needed. I really do think DD will ask to take a year out if she doesn't get Nottingham, as she even mentioned deferring the other night as she feels she needs a break. I pointed out she has 13 weeks from last exam to uni, with 2 holidays booked and at leat 1 more potential - was told it's her decision.. God I really hope she doesn't, but more chance of her deferring if she doesn't get into Nottingham I feel....

She is handing in her PE Coursework today... They started it VERY late in the year so it's not her fault. She is feeling miffed as she feels she hasn't had the same amount of time and input from staff as others as she is achieving much higher grades than the rest of the class. But she needs an A so needs as much help. She will go and speak to them again today
to see if anything could be improved upon etc before finally handing in (today is final day in the window for hand in apparently)...

@crazycrofter We've not decided yet how much to pay DD. I'm thinking £50 is too much for her weekly as I would rather pay for things as she needs them (hockey membership, Balls, clothes etc), I really only want to give a weekly amount that is enough to socialise (just not sure what that is)... I don't want her to have enough money to be able to socialise too much or extravagantly, especially when home as I want her to need to work then. I do want her to learn to budget though so was thinking perhaps changing what we do later in the year once she has settled in and will have more head space to work out budgeting etc.

@heifer My nephew went to uni last year and they all had designated time slots for drop off at halls so we may find we have 20 mins and then we're out on our ear! It wasn't Notts though so no idea how they work it. DS has no back up either so come sit on the scared bench with me!

I hope we do get longer as DD wants me to help sort out her room - which surprised me as I did assume she would want us to drop and go tbh. @JustHereWithMyPopcorn where is his insurance? DDs is York.