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!

PUG well done. You all did it! I got cursory hugs which really meant OK off you go now.

I've been thinking about the frustration of trying to get them to work through the to do list while they are wanting to socialise. Obviously they are embarking on adult life with greater freedom and greater responsibility.(Sounds like a manifesto). While they are keen to enjoy the freedom we are having to harp on about the responsibility....

DS gets free insurance through his halls. His laptop (which he got through Disabled Students Allowance) comes with insurance. He is also covered via our household insurance. It foresee a bloody nightmare if we have to claim for anything as the Insurance company will probably ask "Is this item insured by anyone else"? and then begins the onslaught of who pays out!

Nice idea Pug. Will sort myself out tomorrow and get cracking on surprise nice stuff.

We're back from dropping DS off.
We had a happy day, not nearly as emotional as I feared. He loves his accommodation fear we have have gone overboard in Ikea though and is thrilled to actually be there.
We had a lovely lunch where the waiter was a very enthusiastic 3rd year student, bought enough dried pasta for the whole campus and came home sad that he's gone but delighted he's doing what he wants.
One more to launch next year which will be easier I hope.

Itmust Glad to hear you had a happy day.

Hoping my pangs last night haven't put anyone off. It is a really exciting and happy time. A bit like a wedding. A real right of passage.

Good luck to those still packing. I'm spring cleaning my living room

Rite of passage - not right. Bit tired.

Thanks for posting pics PUG That kitchen is luxury. Washer and drier there too.

Swedish Doing more off a treat box than survival kit for DD. So far mainly food and drink items, some of her favourite luxury items she won't be able to afford too often. And a bit of cash. The bag I plan to put it all in will also be part of the gift.

Annienomouse I have a big lump in my throat after reading that poem, we left DS 1 in Edinburgh this afternoon after going out for lunch, we had dropped his stuff at his flat, helped a bit with unpacking, gone to Sainsburys & now he was ready to head back & get his room set up, he is meeting a school friend who is 18 today & who is also studying at Edinburgh (they both said they would invite anyone in their flats who wanted to come along). So it was big hugs all round & we drove off, I am so pleased & excited for him, he is going to have a brilliant time but I just wish that lump would go, God knows what I will be like in 4 years time when DS 3 goes.

Well Done PUG and it must Your DS's kitchen looks great PUG!

Love all the photos.

My dd is at university but it isn't her university! She is visiting my older dc. She doesn't go until 26th so this is a trial run and she seems to be making herself at home so I have no fears for her when she goes for real.

Eek we're going in an hour and a half and ds is still in bed and there's nothing packed in the car - bags and boxes all over the living room floor...

In a flurry of displacement activity I have been making a cake to take with him

Good luck all.
Loved the kitchen - wouldn't mind that at home!
DD not going until next week - nothing packed yet.
She is going out for a last brunch with her village friends today.
She is still in bed after a late night birthday party where there were lots of farewells as the first ones to go to uni are leaving today.

DD doesn't leave for another 3 weeks. All her friends are slowly heading off and the Bf goes the week before her. She's been away this weekend with him and it has felt like a trial run. Even DS has commented that this is what the house will be like without her. Who am I going to witter at?

Lol at noitsnot's displacement activity!! Hope you get sorted

Page 40! We need a new thread...

Good luck Noits. I take it he is now out of bed?

mum there was an iron and board in DS's kitchen, not that he will use it! Also toaster, kettle and microwave.

I feel a bit strange this morning

Some of the unis are so much better than others in regards to the equipment they provide.

Only a communal hoover provided in Soton. No kettle, iron, ironing board or toaster but there is a microwave in the kitchen.

Feeling a bit better today but finding it slightly strange to really not know what she is doing or who with. Wish I was on her snap chat...

Controlling? Me? Nooo

I know. I know. She is all growed up and forging a new life without me or at least with me backstage/in the wings

Chilly It is a huge change, but prob more noticeable to us because we're staying put and not much changes, apart from our DC are living elsewhere.
They don't feel the separation as much as us, as it's all new and there's so much going on.

You are right Horse. I do remember ringing home when I went to uni years ago full of beans about what I was up to. I remember asking what was happening at home and them saying cheerfully, "um, you know. Not much really."

Of course this was before mobiles or emails even. I had to queue to use the pay phone in the foyer of the halls. I wrote letters to my family and they to me. Sometimes they would send me a prepaid phone card, presumably hoping I might ring more often. Feeling old now.

3 weeks to go still here, too. Dd has become a hermit and is ploughing through her reading list. Her best friend went last week and other close friends are going this week so dd just wants to get on with it now. Making me well up reading about those of you have dropped dc off already!

Thread almost full, can someone do a new one & link please? On phone and can't link!

Sparkling new thread here

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/2466997-Preparing-for-Uni-in-2015-continues?watched=1

Hope I've done it right!