Fighting our way through 1st year uni (starting Sept 17)

[HSMMaCM]

Continuing the previous thread.

Exams, assessments, essays, etc.

Support, or lack of it.

Will they all get accommodation for next year and can they cook a balanced meal yet.

DS assessor kingly emailed uni on Fri to state in explicit blunt terms the support that DS requires. I followed it up with a polite email to say this should clarify everything. If support not correctly in place my next email will not be polite as disability support are not being the cheerful, helpful accommodating service they promised at open day.

Mine had exams too and a house to rent from July is signed and sorted out so so far so good.

Feeling a bit sad cos it's designed biRuth day tomorrow and the first one without 7s. Won't seem right not lightingbirthday cake candles. At least her cards have arrived and she's got old school friends and using friends to celebrate with.

Daughters birthday that should say.

RedHelenB, it's my DS's next month and I already feel weird knowing he won't be here that day.

I know.I'm really missing her even though we speak most days. Goodness knowshow I'll be when it's my youngests turn!

Spoke to my DS earlier; we usually chat via text, so it was nice to hear his voice

Visiting DD today (we are taking shopping ). She is a summer baby, so she's normally home for her birthday. We'll take her for lunch.

Texts aren't the same are they? Can't believe they are in to their second terms already doesn't seem two minutes ago that we were agoniagonising over applications!

Yes, it goes so fast. It's an easier year this year compared with that build up to A levels with university uncertainties although those with younger children may well have it all starting again this year.

I think I quite enjoyed last year with the open day visits and the personal statement to write! I like a nice project and it all turned out quite well with DD getting a place somewhere she wanted to go, although results and final offers day was a lot more stressful than I was expecting ( we had two to choose between)

This year is harder for me as I just miss her so much. But am also excited for her with all her new studies, adventures and friendships, and very glad she has settled well and is happy with her choices and flatmates.

Drove through the very light snow to see DD today. She has a rotten cold. Her friend who has quit was packing her stuff in the kitchen and they were all feeling a bit low. DD's boyfriend was there, but when we took her for lunch he nipped off to do some errands. She said she had told him she wanted to be on her own with us. He wasn't too upset, because he took himself off to a French restaurant she had refused to try .

We had a lovely chat about life, the universe and everything. This is something she would NEVER have done last year. She was saying how fabulous her DSA mentor is and how she was thinking of doing a Masters when she's finished. She's changed her career focus slightly and was being all responsible about the houses they're looking at for next year. Normally I would be trying to help with that, but I don't think I will need to, which is amazing for my DD.

She did however ask if I could make a couple of admin type phone calls on her behalf, so I don't feel completely redundant.

All in all it was a lovely visit and she now has a massive workload to get on with, so we probably won't see her for a while, unless she needs some stress relief.

That sounds lovely. I spoke to one of mine for a while today (who helped me do something complex with the Sky settings) and then chatted; seems happy. Exam results are in February. Has yet another reading week. His friend who is reading law does not get reading weeks. Spoke to the other one very briefly who was in a quiet study room at his halls which he often seems to be in and he was working so that was about 2 second call. He does not have a copy of the tenancy contract they signed which I think is a pity. he says if he gets it he will send it to me. I just like to keep copies for my files.

Mine has decided that she wants to do a Summer School in August so has solicited my help in applying. And paying. And it will mess up our plans for a family holiday. Sigh.

Gosh simbobs, I can't imagine my DD wanting to do more study in the hols - she's all about the travelling! How annoying and expensive for you.

It is because she has taken on a new language ab initio and has decided to carry it on next year. The jump from absolute beginner will be a bit too big to be able to access the Y2 courses otherwise, so she wants to give herself a bit of a jump start. I'd rather that she did that than went off with a random group of people. The cost is not too awful but we think she should pay her own subsistence.

DS was Home for a flying visit on Saturday to go to a party. He got here 9:30 pm went out to party at 12:45am!!! And rolled in at 7am. And lovely mum woke him at 11:30 so he could go for lunch with his dad..who he hadn’t seen since before Xmas !! He wasn’t best pleased and had a cracking hangover. But is loving his course and all the social life. His flat mates are lovely and they seem to do lots together so I’m happy.

I've been mulling over a trip to see DD in the Spring, either for a weekend or a couple of days at half-term. Have just been thinking how nice it would be to see her settled in her new environment, maybe a visit to the library or the department, a walk around the campus, and pop in to meet her Uni flatmates.

Have others visited their DC? How much can you get away with - as in did you get to meet the flatmates and/or visit their departments or the student union? Or are we only allowed to swoop in and take them out for lunch? I quite like the idea of taking DS (16) with me too as there would be the bonus of a good introduction to Uni life - has to be at least as good as an open day?

We are quite lucky to have family not too far from DD so we meet her on neutral territory and DS goes back to her place to spend some time. I have not met her flatmates, but have seen some of them online. I went to an Open Day and saw then where she would be studying. However, out of the blue she has decided to come home next weekend as she will have finished her exams. Might have not a little to do with seeing the rapidly growing puppy on facetime.

Juggling I went to visit dd for a weekend. It was really nice to see her settled and happy in her new environment. We mostly did touristy things in her uni city, went out for dinner, etc.

She wanted us to see her room, so we met a couple of flatmates who happened to be there at the time. We didn't see the department because nobody is really there on weekends.

Yes, good idea to bring your ds on a visit. When dd was about that age I took dd to visit her older cousin at his uni. It was a good introduction to uni life and gave her the feeling that 'this could be me'.

We visited dd1 at Uni when she was in halls in first year and took Ds ( who was 14 at time) he stayed in her flat for weekend when we stayed in hotel
He's now at same Uni and is in very same halls....in flat above where dd was!

We've visited DD on campus. She's only about an hour and a half away. We draw the line at eating in the student house though and take her out for dinner, or take sandwiches for a picnic. We looked around at the open day, so haven't looked at much more than her room and the area around the building.

Thanks everyone, I think I'd love to go and visit her! ( even though it's a bit of a trek hence haven't been since drop off day)

Taking DS could be a good experience for him, so I might well take him if he's up for it.

Regarding looking around I just think "This is my lab/ department" is just more exciting and real than the open day tour when you were still wondering where they'd end up going.

Has been great to hear from her that she's settled in well, but think it would be lovely to see a bit of that for myself, and hopefully to meet a few more of her flatmates as well.

But thanks as well for keeping me in check a bit before I move in completely for the weekend 😀 Fortunately I know a nice pizza place overlooking the sea which we could go back to one evening!

We visited twice last term. Once because she had been away all summer and we were away at the start of term so we had not seen her for 4 months. Then because we passing by the area. It was lovely. The first time we visited Cheddar Gorge, which we had not been to before. The second time we played it a bit by ear, bought her big breakfasts, took her to Lidl, had a really nice Sunday lunch but left her to go to a Saturday night party, and dropped her off at sports training on the Sunday.

But she did not come home, which in retrospect she thinks was a mistake. With freshers week and her ski trip it was 14 weeks of newness.

This term seems better and she appears more settled. Having her accommodation sorted for next year is good. A friend is visiting this weekend and she is coming home next, so she should not feel so isolated. Especially now the newness is less new.

I still want to go down, in part because I think she will now be more able to walk round saying "this is my town". Plus I am missing her more now she is leaning on me less. Perhaps a dog. She has wanted one for years. Instead I have allowed tenants (4 lads!) to get a rescue dog, on condition she can walk it. It arrived last week ready for her visit.

We visited DS last term for a weekend and going again in a couple of weeks.