Ideas thread for what to take/not take to Uni.......

[MissMarplesBloomers]

We have found already that the student forum on the Warwick Uni website has been a valuabel resource.

Also advice from past students on here & other friends so thought I'd share a few "ooh ...good tip" moments that we've already had as the lists are mounting up!!

-Keep stuff to take to a minimum, check the list of stuff provided first or else the kitchens end up with 8/10 sets of everything by the end of first week.

-ditto for groceries, stick to dry/tins so tehy last longer & the shared cupboard in the kitchen/fridge shelf may not be that big!

• plain white china/crocks can be muddled/lost/appropriated with all the other IKEA stuff in the kitchen, a couple of granny's patterned plates will stand out as yours & can be found cheaply in charity shops. Ditto cutlery. Then no biggy if it doesn't come home at end of term.
  

-some halls provide linen/bedding but having your own from home helps with the settling in. Eg DD is taking her double duvet & own covers as that is snuggly on a single bed.

-lots of pound coins for laundry & buses.

-Double up the amount of underwear you pack, you'll be too busy the first week to do washing!

Loads more I'm sure, all little things but useful!

Please share your top tips

[MABS]

Thanks Missmarple, am fine again now :)

[MissMarplesBloomers]

must be hard, bugger about the delay too.

[MABS]

am struggling today, but she went off very bright :) could have done without a 4 hour delay on her flight back due to fog...

[MissMarplesBloomers]

Oh so glad the emergency visit helped you both.

It emphasises too I think that the distance is no object (within reason!) when she needs you.

[MABS]

Well, picked up dd from Lhr late last night and pleasantly surprised! quite bright and talked openly about the poor girl and what happened. She said what was upsetting her as much as what she saw is the constant police presence everywhere in the accom block. Has been chatting lots, shopping in a moment :( then out for sunday lunch. She flies back 7am tomorrow but she, and I am far happier and relieved now. thanks so much for all your kind words girls.

[MABS]

Long story but student died in her class ystdy :( tragic,poor parents. Dd very upset so flying home tonite and back first thing Monday to uni

[MissMarplesBloomers]

badgershead

Have pm;d you.

[MABS]

Well, long chat with her last night, think her wobble is not being helped by her best friend being at another uni nowhere near her struggling badly :( he has been crying on the phone to her rather a lot..

Well 2 hours after the chat I texted her casually 'fancy lunch next Friday? she replied 'don't think was meant for me mum!' I said yes it was meant for her, she rang me, said are you serious??!! I said yes, shall I fly up for the day? She was absolutely delighted :)

We will see....

[madeofkent]

Go! There was an article I was reading by a uni counsellor and she says that contact at first is a good thing, just tail it off as time passes, or it happens naturally whichever is the first. Lots of kids find it all too much as do parents. They like to know that if something happens you will be there for them, and the novelty can wear off after a couple of weeks. I can remember not giving my parents a thought until two weeks after I had left, then suddenly sitting down on the stairs and crying my eyes out. I hadn't even bothered to phone them until then. It was all so new and exciting but then it felt like a holiday and it was time to go home. anxiousofdevizes she is going to have to make extra effort. Tell her that all the others are feeling just as shy as her even if they hide it well.

[MABS]

so sorry anxiousofdevises :( opinions please ladies? Dd has been great, but may be slightly wobbly now, but really does seem fine. I am debating flying up to see her one day next week just for few hours just to see her with my own eyes, take her for lunch etc. what do you think? the week after dh ds and I fly to Oz for 3 weeks so I s'pose I am conscious of that too and want to see her first. Thoughts?

[anxiousofdevizes]

I seem to burst into tears every 2mins! mine does not seem to be meeting many people, has quite an antisocial flat of people and does not seem to have met anyone else in her halls as it appears most of those on her course are in different halls! Just trying to encourage her to just talk to people so that she has people to go out with - any advice happily received!

[MABS]

today I woke up to a 'love you and miss you' text from dd, burst into tears

[madeofkent]

Waterspaniel my son chose blues for his room as it was all beige. He chose a rug but didn't want cushions, he had extra pillows instead. He also chose a blue fleece to spread over the bed in case he needed something to wrap up in.

So sorry badgerhead. It's not a good start but maybe she needs her mind put at rest for now and will settle in soon. My nephew broke his leg when he got drunk in fresher's week and was too scared to tell my sister, she only heard of it when she saw photos of him on my niece's fb page! It's a time of many, many 'first' s.

[mumeeee]

Sorry to hear about your DD2 badgehead. It's hard when they are so far away. DD3 is 4 hours drive away we are going up to
see her next week. She is making friends and doing well but is feeling a bit homesick.

[MABS]

you poor loves Badger , all I can say really. I am also in West Sussex if you ever need a sympathetic ear x

[badgerhead]

Update on badgerhead's dd!
Dd2 & I went up there on Saturday to move her into halls, that was a stressful day, but we got there in the end, well I though so at the time!

Started the drive back home & ended up stopping of at a hotel part way home as too tired to drive any further, got home Sunday lunch time. Sunday evening get a phone call from dd, she is feeling really unwell (had been feeling off colour all week, and she has a diagnosed heart condition). Calmed her down (well dh did as he is better at that than me ). Persuaded her to make a doctors appointment for yesterday morning.

Roll forward to yesterday, she went to the doctors & he decided she needed an ECG done, nurse? made appointment for Thursday, which she moaned to me about but not surgery. Later gets phone call from surgery can she go back in at lunch time for ECG as doctor wanted it done that day. She did this, no one available to read it immediately, gets a phone call about an hour later she needs to go to the hospital for further tests! Cue panic phone call what shall I do etc?! Persuade to go to hospital after letting uni know she would miss an afternoon seminar, caught bus to hospital. Upshot is that she is being referred to cardiologist & mutterings about possible surgery which has really scared her. Eventually managed to get home in the evening after contact someone from her church to give her a lift back to halls as had no money for a taxi & too far to walk in the dark, especially as feeling unwell.

Cue more long phone call between us & dh to the rescue again.
DH is going up to Lincoln again tomorrow to sort out a few problems in her room (like connecting printer to laptop among other things (cable needed which have had to buy, plus extra bedding etc), hopefully she will start to feel better, still feeling ill today and persuade her she really needs to stay there (keeps on saying she wants to come home every time something goes wrong). It doesn't help we live in West Sussex at least a 3.5 hour drive away, no family near her & steady boyfriend on a 2 year church mission & only contactable by letter of occasional email, no phone calls except Christmas & Mothers Day when she is with his family.
We are praying for her constantly as she really needs to get through this & enjoy her time at university, gaining the degree she wants and hopefully onto Masters & PHD to get the career she has planned for herself. It just being able to cope without close family support which she is finding hard at the moment as I'm sure is the case for most students, if only she would realise that!

[WaterSpaniel]

DS doesn't go until 6th October, all his friends are gone and he's lonely.

Would it be overkill to get a rug and some cushions for his room? Masculine brown ones, of course... the photos I've seen of the rooms look a bit bare and bleak, I'm sure girls bring cushions and rugs, but is it a bit much for boys?

I'm going to order this DVD to be sent to him in halls when it's released on October 7th, sounds like perfect student fare


www.amazon.com/Sharknado-Reid/dp/B00DCLTA6Y?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[madeofkent]

So pleased badgerhead, my daughter went to Lincoln when all the rooms were still brand new and beautiful, but then dropped out because of boyfriend trouble and has had to start all over again elsewhere.. But it was a wonderful place to go to uni. One of DS's friends is there this year too.

[MABS]

so pleased badgerhead :)

[mumeeee]

That's great news badgehead.

[ISingSoprano]

That's wonderful news badgerhead I really hope she settles quickly and happily

[badgerhead]

I have just been speaking to dd & she has managed to get a room in the halls she wanted, so back up to Lincoln on Saturday to help her move in from her temporary accommodation Huge sigh of relief all round here.

[MABS]

well done to all this w/e 'droppers' :)

[greyvix]

My DS also went to Nottingham today. It's the first time I've seen it, and was really impressed (apart from the horrendous traffic jam).
The sunshine made a difference. On the topic of what to take, however, we forgot loads of his stuff. It was all there, but somehow didn't make it into the car! Hopefully, he'll be too busy to notice.

[zizza]

Just back from dropping my dd at Sutton Bonington (she's in Nottingham as I type, at the official Notts uni intro). What a fantastic place. Really organised - lots of staff and student guides about and welcome packs. Some arrived yesterday (we did - at about 4 after terrible traffic - and DH and I went to hotel for the night) and she managed to meet up with her mentor from the year above and another girl who, like dd, was the only one who had moved into her flat (we overheard her telling a rep that she was on her own so dd went up to talk). They went to a free bbq and a couple of drinks in the bar before ending up in one of the flats for a while. She was a bit tired when we caught up with her this morning, but we went off to do some food shopping and then stayed for a tour of the vet school before leaving her to it. Think they had a talk and a buffet before heading into Notts. Lots organised for them this week during the day, not just nights out.

I was so proud of how she happily went up to people to introduce herself and called into a couple of the flats where people had moved in - met some lovely people, all on different courses (she was happy when she finally found a few other vets).

Fingers crossed for a good week ahead.

(To those of you wondering about vaccination records - don't panic. When they've registered with their new gp their notes will be sent on which will show what they've had)