Oxbridge applicants 2018 part 3

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Looks like we need a new thread.

Thanks OYBD and Yippee. She has been more stressed since exams than during them! Good luck to your dd's - which colleges ?

Fiftyval - great! Your DD's 'mother' will probably be another NatSci, mine's doing Gen. Eng.

are we all going to do monumental shops for kettles and toasters and duvets and bikes?

Yes, you are!
My DM was at Homerton during the war, she had her bike nicked but found it again a couple of weeks later. DD got a new bike but also a good D lock.

DS is NatSci too. He says he's now feeling a little anxious about the reality of studying at Cambridge as he hadn't really thought about that much until now, not really believing he would get in!

On the kettles/toaster point, do they all bring their own to use in snack kitchens, not sure I can see how it works? In DS's college they're not allowed to use them in rooms but don't provide them in kitchens. Do they take a kettle to the kitchen when they want a hot drink?

On the kettles/toaster point,...

It'll vary by college. Mine had a kettle in her room. It's the sort of thing they can probably ask their 'parents' once they're in touch with them.

Heybells :)

You will immediately recognise my DS - he's 6' 5 without counting what he fondly believes to be the biggest afro in Cambridge (he might be right)

i was a bit bemused by the cooking(in fact no-cooking) arrangements but it does differ from college to college. I do think that kettles and toasters are okay and anything more than that is problematic - but you need to check with the college

And congratulations

Errol, that's the kind of thing DS won't be bothered about, will maybe let him sort it out when he's there, one or two less things to worry about getting/transporting.

Pearls, will keep an eye out. Nothing to distinguish my DS, short and skinny.

Lucycat your dd is right - I maintain that Oxford is the coldest place on Earth. The narrow streets basically create wind tunnels. Lots of layers and the odd thermal would be high on my packing list!

I live near Cambridge .A good choice for bikes is an ex hire bike . There are several bike shops in Cambridge which sell them .

There is a girl on YouTube called Paige Y who is a first year Nat Sci at Jesus ( I think ) she is delightfully normal and has lots of info about workload , what to bring , exams laundry etc

Hello Pearls and Heybells, it’s great to meet some other Nat Sci supporters!

And thanks very much for that Peaseblossom, we’ll look up Paige.

College said accommodation would be confirmed in early Sept so we’re holding off thinking about kettles/toasters till then, hoping that they will give us a clue.

Congratulations everyone! We made it!
Hoping for a bit of calm today after a whirlwind couple of days.
We have been looking at gowns and mortar boards too! Feels very surreal!
Nothing from DD's college (Exeter, Oxford) yet except an email to say congratulations and details and info will be sent by the end of August.
DD is desperate to start shopping but I'm trying to get her to wait until we know which accommodation she's in.

Do people bring their bikes to Cambridge on the first day? I'm trying to imagine the logistics of managing to unload everything including her bike off the roof rack. She's keen to take it and I know that very many have them but will she be the only fresher actually turning up with one?

DH didn't take his bike first term, and wished he had. DS will definitely be taking his, and a couple of decent locks!

My experience is most took bikes for freshers - lots of unloading - the whole mix from shiny new to old and battered. Colleges are all set up for registering/storing them and DS college gave free lights as part of his welcome back.

Good luck with all the prep.

Thanks both, that's extraordinarily helpful! dh and dd serviced her bike a week ago, the replacement parts cost far more than the bike is worth She does have a very decent (police issued) lock. That's probably worth more than her bike too!

DD needs a new bike. She won't let me buy her the Pashley of my her dreams because she says it will get stolen. She's far more sensible than I'll ever be!
She wants to have a look once she gets there and hopefully pick up an ex-rental. So at least we don't have to worry about transporting one along with all her stuff.

Hi just logging back in after a long absence to say well done to all the dds and ds and To say my dd has got into medwards to do Nat sciences too - Fiftyval. Not had any info yet re what they need - hadn’t even considered mortar boards and gowns!

Lobster she'll be the odd one out by miles with a brand new bike and she's quite right about theft. Mine all got a second hand bike once there - they do just fine. Buy yourself the Pashley!

First communication from ds college was about mortarboards and gowns so that is where we are starting!! Should perhaps be more concerned about books but we'll get there eventually.

DD was sent a reading list back in May so she's started her collection of books already - I shared the list with family/friends so she received a lot as congratulations gifts yesterday

Wow Lobster what a brilliant idea!! Did your family/friends ask to see the list - nobody has asked me.

Do make sure they have lights for bikes and impress on them that they need to use them when it gets dark.
The police used to do a good trade in on the spot fines (£30 back then) for no lights just after clock change.
And riding on the pavement to avoid the spot fine is a larger one as a friend of mine tried. He still got the lights' fine and they added riding on the pavement to it which was considerably bigger.

Bikes get pinched whatever the quality. Possibly the best thing to do is paint it a bright colour so it's instantly recognisable.

Bike theft in Oxford is pretty rampant. If you need to, get two locks: one to lock the front wheel to the bike frame, and the other to then lock the bike itself to something immobile. Many’s the student who’s come back to their bike to see they now have a very cumbersome unicycle. To that end, get a bike at a price that you won’t be upset if it’s stolen, just inconvenienced.

We got a new student info pack through yesterday with lots of forms and other info. It took quite a bit of ploughing through and was a bit overwhelming! You don’t seem to get much respite after the stresses of results day before you are into the serious preparation.

The need for a bike of course depends which college and its distance from department/ library etc. Definitely useful for medwards to engineering.