Preparing for Uni in 2015

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Carrying on from yr13 thread, here thought we could share our ideas for Uni preparation.

All welcome, not just those in above thread. Would especially appreciate contributions from those who have 'been there'

Topics that spring to mind, and a few recent threads on them are :

What to take What to take , What NOT to take, Shared accommodation

Clearing out rooms

How much to contribute What does it cost, How much needed weekly, How much are you subbing

Budgeting, cooking, and other life skills to learn Easy recipes for teens

Leaving friends, family, boy/girlfriends behind

Us coping without them - noted series of 'Empty Nest' threads.

Hope all the links correct!

Cooroo, when DS changed his course details on SF it mentioned something about it could take upto 6 wks, but he says it's completed now and is back as it was before he changed.

Thanks Horsemad - I'll get her to keep checking!

AFAI remember when ds started at uni two years ago he had to formally enrol on his course when he arrived and the first tranche of SF money arrived a few days later.

A few tips for managing money etc:

1. Check and see what is included with halls fees - Southampton include an annual bus pass

1. The first couple of weeks can be very expensive with Freshers events - see if there is any pass or ticket that can be pre-bought that covers any or all of these.

1. We took DS shopping and filled his fridge and freezer shelf and got him started with basics (pasta, rice etc) as well as a good stock of toiletries. (we still do this at the beginning of every year)

1. Once they know which their local supermarket is get grandparents, god parents, other interested adults to send gift cards. Sainsburys do a 'meal ticket' which works well too.

1. Try and pre-plan trips home to get best deals for train/coach etc

1. Get your ds/dd to sit down and list everything they need to spend money on including stuff like gym membership, haircuts, toner for printer etc etc - it focuses the attention on how much it adds up to!

1. Ds takes out a certain amount of cash every week for incidental expenses after food which makes sure there is a slush fund still in the bank for emergencies.

Hope that helps!

(DS is doing oceanography Horsemad and lived at Glen Eyre in his first year).

Condoms. Then if they need them, they have them.

I was on last years thread (someone linked above).
TheOriginalSteamingNit The loan covered the rent exactly. In the end we decided to give him £300 a month for living expenses and in the first term he did spend that. This included one off expenses and freshers. Term 2 and 3 he spent far less and in fact told us to stop the allowance before the end of term 3. He is not a clubber though. Student friends of his spent a fortune on drink. That seems to be what makes a difference to spending.

Don't bother with photographs, everything is digital. You just need one saved on computer for uploading.
DS spent very little on books but he is a maths student. Don't buy until the uni library has been checked, even then I got books second hand from specialist web sites.

We both travelled down to move him in. Most students had mum and dad there.

Waving goodbye was bitter sweet. Sad for me, my pfb gone but happy and excited for him. .

Most students had both parents dropping them off last year. I couldn't get there as I was working away but had hoped to get away early and pop in on the way home. In the end, I didn't manage to and my DH left and there were some tears, so we decided for me not to go and to make arrangements to go up for the weekend in October. That worked well as, by then, it was useful to have the car to pick various things up that she hadn't thought she would need.

The main one was a printer. She had expected to use the library printers but that was often just too inconvenient. Her flatmates were brilliant and let her use theirs until she got her own. The other item was a drying stand. Tumble dryers were so expensive it was better to use them to dry a bit and then finish the clothes off on a clothes horse in her room/ensuite.

Dd is going to use her loan for accommodation but as it is £700 short she is using savings to pay the rest.

As for day to day expenses, she plans to get a job. Luckily she won a scholarship which will be about £25 a week. She says she doesn't want any financial help from us but we'll see.

Lots of great advice on this thread re topping up store cards, etc. thanks for that. Lots to take in. Not bought anything yet as she's still in the celebrate/sleep cycle but will probably get on to it tomorrow.

Once they settle down you will find out where they do their main shopping. My DDs flat used to get Tesco deliveries which were £1 on late night slots. Her flatmates would help carry everything up. That was when Tesco were £25 minimum charge. Now I believe that it is £40 but with some organisation flats could share a delivery.

Drink is definitely the biggest budget buster. Especially in the clubs.

drink was also the biggest friendship buster. Great friends in Freshers week soon turned sour at the end when strong personalities came out and things were said that might not have been without the influence of alcohol. Some of these "friendships" never survived Freshers.

My DDs flat would occasionally go out for a meal and the cinema (on a deal night). Visiting Nandos or Wetherspoons for an affordable meal out. At Christmas, before breaking up, they went shopping and prepared their own Christmas dinner.

I haven't read the whole thread but thought I'd chip in with some thoughts from when I went to university a few years ago.

(1) Take a few fridge and a few freezer items with you on the day for your DC to 'reserve' a space in both. Opt for the top shelves or drawers because this means no-one else's milk can drip on your stuff. You should also take some cupboard stuff for the same reason but fridge and freezer are more important.

(2) Don't hang around to help your DC unpack. My mum did and I really hated it, I just wanted to be on my own in my new 'home' and unpack in my own time.

(3) It'd be nice to take them there with shopping but remember (a) fridge and freezer compartments and cupboards are small so they won't have room for much and (b) the first week is usually taken up with take-aways, teas in the Union or communal cooking so make sure everything is frozen.

(4) A sharp knife is a must for chopping veg and any fresh meat (later in the year I suspect). We had one sharp knife amongst 12 of us.

(5) Pack condoms. Sorry you might not want to hear this but the first term of university was a frenzy of casual hook-ups and a lot of us spent a fortune on the machines in the toilets.

For you, I'd say don't expect regular calls. It's probably different now from when I went 7 years ago because or Skpye, FB etc. but I hardly ever called my mum and I know it upset her. I feel really rotten about it now but the first term went by in a blur of hedonism and my daily routines were completely out of whack with what they'd been at home.

DS has selected his accommodation and had it confirmed. When I asked him how much the rent would be, he looked blank.
As far as I can ascertain, he selected it based on how it looked, and had not even found the page with the rent details on the website!

OK, he's booking late, as it was his insurance choice, so the cheap rooms have probably gone anyway - and we are in the position where we can afford it. But I see some serious remedial budgeting training is in order!

Thanks for the useful collection of links in the OP.

My DC's are through Uni and it's been a great experience. Fantastic advice on here. I wouldn't leave my DC's until they had come out their room and were hanging about in the common areas - it's all too easy to stay in your room and the first few hours are the most difficult but they are all in the same boat.

Just to lower the tone - I saw hoovers mentioned. Yes, I think they are provided in most halls. No, they don't hoover up sick. Yes, if you try that, you have to replace the hoover.

Oceanography sounds amazing ISingSoprano!

DS has opted for City Gateway, Mayflower (both very new, I think) and Wessex Lane. Am excited to see where he ends up.

Gawd, we are still waiting to hear if she has her chosen accommodation (ie the affordable one!) - they said at 2 o'clock that they were now contacting people, and have tweeted to say be patient

Has anyone packed a DC off to uni without them knowing how to cook? DS starts in a month and has never cooked a meal in his life. Thinks it isn't a big deal but I think he is in for a rude awakening when he discovers everyone else can cook except him

I probably will be chickflicklover DS thinks I'm making a fuss about nothing...

DS just heard about his accommodation. He got his third choice. It looks fine but expensive

Apart from buying stuff, what else is on people's pre-uni-get-your-dc-to-sort lists? Ds's says:

Sort meningitis jab appointment and get himself jabbed
Sort student bank account
Sort student insurance
Sort his student finance/ accommodation budget

What else should be doing?

DS is a dab hand in the kitchen - provided he can use a wok and I've stocked the fridge with all the necessary ingredients. He did do food tech GCSE but all he ever seemed to make was cheesecake. He also makes a mean sherry trifle which I'm sure will come in very handy ....

But chickflick, plenty of time to teach him a few basic pasta, rice etc dishes. Now my ds has never used a washing machine or iron in his life - that's my challenge over the next couple of weeks!

Please, please do teach your children how to cook before you drop them off at University. I am a University lecturer and the amount of students we see who are unwell because they are eating poorly as they do not know how to cook, not how to shop. Can they cook basic nurtious meals? Do they know how to get decent affordable food from supermarkets? It are they going to be eating kebabs for the next three years.
The best thing you can do for your children between now and Freshers week is to teach them how to cook.

DS's sisters have been teaching DS how to cook. So far he can do Bolognese-type dishes, pasta and rice, cheese on toast, and heat up pies in the oven. Will that do?

Having discovered that DS's accommodation is en-suite, a crash course in bathroom cleaning also needs adding to the programme.

Haffdonga* in answer to your prepare question, can inky think of Uni and course related stuff.

DD's Uni offer email included a welcome link with stuff to do. So able to set up Uni email account, and apply for ID card etc in advance. A few less things to worry about when they get there.

Also, if course modules not all fixed in first year, may be useful to look through the optional modules and get an idea what they may be interested in.

Also, get onto social media anfpd find others in same accommodation. DD finding plenty on her halls, but doesn't get address confirmed until move in day. So that results out any discussion on who's bringing what.

Look at the freshers events to see what it's worth buying tickets for in advance.

Inky = only lol
Autocorrect strikes again.

Ds wasn't too bad at cooking when he started uni but was fairly hopeless at menu planning and using leftovers which meant he spent more than he needed to for a while. He came home for a weekend after the first 4-5 weeks and we spent a bit of time working out some menu plans which helped a lot!