Preparing for Uni in 2015 continues...

[Chillywhippet]

New thread

Old one here with loads of info

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/2408327-Preparing-for-Uni-in-2015

Well done beau

Glad to hear how everyone is getting on. It has been useful to hear what people are packing and has jogged my memory.
I am so tired I have not slept well waking up with lists on my mind. I am off tomorrow and have just had a text to from a friend to see if I can take an extra as she has an injury that means she can not drive.
DS1 has been upset and moody this evening and has now gone clubbing. I am leaving the car for him to pack tomorrow morning. We are off when I get back from work mid afternoon He now has to jam in another lads stuff too so I hope he makes it back before dawn. The extra lad is surly so it is going to be fun with that and a hung over DS too. It is a long journey with a rammed full car.
Roll on October when everyone is where they should be. Fortunately no one has to clear a room for Christmas.

Oh my word Fletch as if you don't have enough packing/unpacking with your three DC you now have an extra one and a grumpy one at that.

Good luck with packing the car. I bet you'll be relieved to be heading home alone!

I've got Monday & Tuesday off to recover from moving just one Fletcherl, so God knows how you feel with your own 3 and an extra!

Parking was fine DEcorhate, parked outside his room to unpack, then at the back of the arndale shopping centre (5 mins in the car) in headingly to lunch and do a bit of grocery shopping. All roommates in his flat now but one. I imagine Saturday might be busier though. Bring a door wedge Rooms are snug, it's nice to prop the door open and be sociable. Having read this thread, I have reminded my sociable DS to be kind to the quieter non drinking people he meets. One girl was really shy but did pop out if her room to offer help unpacking. We stayed longer than I imagined, I thought we would unload and then go, but after lunch we went back to the residences and did a bit more unpacking and chatted to the other parents of his flat mates.

I asked Dh his top tip for the move and he said. 'both parents should go' it's really unlike him to be so sentimental I have just chocked up again.

DS has (I think) around 8 contact hours per week. This is completely normal for Humanities subjects and for every contact hour they are supposed to put in at least 4 hours of independent study. Ha ha ha .

I graduated 2 years ago as a mature student, in the same subject as DS. I was studying at a local uni with far less rigorous entrance requirements than DS and was frankly gobsmacked at how little work my (truly lovely) young fellow students could get away with. Most of us started out taking an FdA in a related subject at the local college and we all converted to a BA at the local uni for the final year. We all got 2.1s or 1sts though! .

I am now working in my chosen field alongside 2 of our original FdA group (both of whom gained MAs last year ), and 5 other graduates and undergraduates from the same uni course are currently employed there!

Carriemac - I've told DS that no matter how grim he is feeling, there will always be other kids who are feeling worse. He suffers from social anxiety, and I suggested that in social situations where he's feeling left out and is hovering on the outskirts of groups, to look around for someone who looks even more lost than he feels and feel the fear and go and introduce himself anyway. One of the best ways to cheer oneself up is to perform an act of kindness for somebody else.

This still works for me at professional social events.

Musmlife - thank the Godess their 1st year results don't count towards their final degree!

Spent a jolly few hours (not) with DS today showing him how his uni intranet works, and how to access stuff like the library and his course material and reading lists and timetable. He hadn't realised (bless!) that he now has a uni email account which contains LOTS of IMPORTANT information about stuff. This is a child legal adult who has spent most of his Gap Yaar online. WTAF, as the Yoof say?

Lapsed, I know for a fact that my dd has had an email about how to get a card for her catered meals which she has completely overlooked

I feel your pain Decorhate. We 'missed' the 'choosing your modules for your first year at uni' email. Or rather, it was ignored.

You know when you guys talk about "contact time" does that mean lectures and tutorials? Or just tutorials. 8 hrs seems awfully short if its lectures and tutorials. So basically some of these degrees could be done in 2 years really .

Oops. Hope it hasn't been a total disaster? I am going to let dd find out/sort it out herself. If she has to spend money on food rather than going out it will be a lesson learned.

Glad the move went well carrie - we are staying over Sat night.

Looks like most of your dc's will be dropped off this weekend. Looking forward to your photos.

Unfortunately my dd has another week to add to her three spoil tips. Hope there will still be one or two people still at the same stage.

One of the things that got to me on moving in day was seeing all those young people with parent(s) and/or sibs and their boxes or crates or bags of stuff.
Some with chocolate. Some with beer. Some with fairy lights. Some with guitars. Some with loads of kitchen stuff. Some with lots of supernoodles. But all going, as far as you could tell, with loads of love and support from families.

It made me reflect on kids who just don't get the chance or get there against the odds and make their own way there.

Sorry gone a bit sentimental. Coming down with sore throat that kids have had. Not missing DD. not at all.

We're still here, MossAgate!

Brilliantly, younger DD's school has an Inset day the day we need to drop DS off - so all of us can go.

My DS also has another week to go. No sign of any packing yet

DH and I were on holiday last week, when I got a mystery message about a change of internet banking details from a bank I don't have an account with. Thought it was a scam. Mystery solved, when it turned out to be DS's ISA account (which had previously been his junior ISA, and still had my mobile no as contact details) - he is in process of setting up a regular payment from it to his new student account - so pleased he is doing some things!

Have also got him to email all family members from his new uni email account, so we have another means of contact.

Bagpuss, 8 hours contact time + 32 hours independent study = 40 hours per week, minimum. Studying for a humanities degree means learning how to carry out independent research and to evaluate (and have the confidence to) present your findings and ideas in a structured, polished and articulate fashion. It can be extremely difficult for first year undergraduates to get to grips with the requirements of these courses, especially as so much teaching at A2 level nowadays involves coaching students to pass exams by ticking checklists for exam questions, and doesn't always give them the tools they need to learn independently and think for themselves.

DD seems to have 2 hours lectures/tutorials a week for each 15 credit written module, with 10 hours expected self study for each. Her practical module is 1 hour a week with 15 hours 'practise'.
I think there is also some kind of compulsory employability module that doesn't carry any credits, but not sure how much contact for that.

Hey - so DD seems to have 5 hours for each contact hour, not including instrument practise. So looking like a 50+'hour week for her. Hey ho.

lapsed thanks for explaining, it makes alot more sense to me now. Can see some kids will have a bit of a shock, find it difficult at first, if their use to being spoonfed and not use to the routine of independent self studying

I am awake as DS has just crawled in. He needs to finish his packing and load the car this morning. I am off to work soon and back at lunch time but not feeling hopeful about our easy afternoon leaving time.

My dd was also out last night (last night out with friends), friends staying over so lots of noise in the small hours. Won't miss that when she's gone!

Just woken by the bin men here! House all quiet. Better get up and finish packing!