Starting lectures at uni 2017

[HSMMaCM]

The other thread filled up really quickly, with exciting talk of laundry, mattress toppers and lost property.

Here's where the rest of them settle in, get through freshers and the work gets serious.

Juggling and horsemad, I had a sneaking suspicion that she'd need the money some time.

As for RG unis, they aren't the be all and end all, it all depends on what your child wants and likes the look of - my Dd went to a high school that was inspected and deemed to be failing after we accepted the place, she went anyway because all the reasons we liked the school were still there and she did amazingly well so all my children have gone there. It'd be the same with RG or none RG unis.

It's amazing how many parents get suckered into the RG hype, fairy.

at the two houses in Cambridge.

Fairy you are a saving like that.

I agree re RG unis. I and most of our friends went to an old Poly. We all have decent jobs and incomes. And the courses were probably more focused on RL and practical experience.

I agree re RG too. DD went to RG and DS not, btw.

Just thought I’d put the wind up you lot. Time flies, as they say, and it won’t be that long til they have to think about accommodation for next year!

Tobee I've already firmly buried my head in the sand about next year.

DD is coming home at the weekend. To get her hair cut. And can I pick her up, because she doesn't want to carry all her washing on the train

For next year I'm mostly just hoping that DD meets a nice group of friends this year to share a student flat with. Her current Uni flat has some girls who are international students, one just here for a year, and various year groups, so I don't think they'd all stay together next year, although some might.

And of course, there is the worry that they panic & look for a house with the first people that ask them DD nearly did this & fortunately escaped just in time - she now never sees or speaks to these people. Please tell your DCs not to be panicked into the first group of people, or indeed house that is offered.

Wise advice poisoned bypen. My friend's DS almost got caught out like this. Fortunately he decided against it and has actually gone into private halls for Yr2 (cheaper than his Yr1 uni halls).

My own DS went back into halls for Yr2 and it wasn't much more expensive than renting a room in a house share and the hassles of splitting bills etc. Plus, he got his en suite bathroom - very important to him!

Just had THE most lovely text from DS setting my mind at rest about him, workload and eating. I'm in pieces here.

Mine has his first essay due tomorrow so is doing it now (bit last minute). It is a quarter of the marks for this option for the year (and he has 4 options this year so is a sixteenth I suppose of his final mark for next summer's first year exams).

Behind, that's lovely. And good news.

Much too soon to be talking about next year! Only just settling down. My DD has several international students (from same country) in her flat so they stick together. She does have another friend from home at the same uni and I wouldn't be surprised if they gather together some like-minded souls. I live in hope of hearing from her before we go up at half term.

That's lovely Behind

With renting a house, they apparently have to sign up for the house in July and pay a deposit and rent for the summer even though they aren't there. No prizes for guessing who will have to pay that!

This time last year we were visiting open days and organising personal statements and so on - DD's uni have just posted the deadline date (next week) for medical and dental courses!

fairy, a lot of friends DC have told me they were all having to pay deposits in Dec/Jan of their first year for their next year's house shares!

They all said if they left it until end of Jan they would have missed out!

horse that's awful! I will ask an estate agent friend.

www.rightmove.co.uk/student-accommodation/when-to-look.html

Right move advice

Yep it's tricky; the pressure is on them to get organised but they don't really know the people they are contemplating sharing with all that well.

A friend of DS's who is house sharing in second year at another university said they had to start looking at the end of their first term. It's crazy, how on earth do you know someone well enough by then to want to live with them for a year? A friend's DS shared with five others last year, it all went very pear-shaped and halfway through the year none of them were speaking to any of the others.

Ds spent January/Feb chasing after properties, signed in March, paid deposit in May and took over lease at end of June. He was anxious to be sorted but there were several groups still trying to fill houses throughout the summer term.

My DS is now in second year and they were looking from early Nov onwards. Lease signed over Christmas and deposit paid etc. It was a 12 month lease, first rent due June, keys available 1st July, but still infinitely cheaper than halls.

They saw a number of houses in Nov/Dec, most had gone by the time they managed to get an offer in!

So I would say that signing up in July is way, way to late!!!

Wow, I wasn't expecting that at all - to be looking in January say, or even earlier. Mumsnet threads are so useful for these kind of things.
But is a little early yet I guess, given she's only in her third week, and second week of lectures.
Something to definitely be bearing in mind though, I might mention it to her in a bit.

Well I’ve put the cat amongst the pigeons. But I remember being shocked and then thankful she had it sussed already (rather an organised friend had) when DD mentioned it 4 years ago.

Yes, agree with Tobee, and I too was really shocked to find in some places they are looking before Christmas, but it is very normal to be signing up paying out another deposit in January of first year .
Don't get me wrong, some people find somewhere in the Summer Term. However, there is a lot of pressure and hype to get all signed up by January.

Crikey, Tobee thanks for the warning. I'm sure in my day we didn't start thinking about the next year's accommodation until the summer term.

DD tells me three of the five washing machines in her hall are now out of order and the remaining two are in so much demand she ended up getting up at 6am to do her laundry. It was either that or buy new underwear. I'm impressed because I'm sure when I was that age I'd have gone for the lazy option.

...Or like my boy might have done in that case - worn yesterday's underwear.