2nd year uni (starting 2018)

[HSMMaCM]

The old thread seems to have filled up!

Ds did his FT masters at SOAS as it is well known for his subject area - it was 13 months. He went for the max available loan which at the time was £10K and his fees were just over £8K which was much cheaper than LSE and Kings who both have good research institutes in his subject but the loan wouldn't have covered the fees. He used the extra 2K towards his season ticket and commuted from home.

There was an option to do a 2 yr masters- either the same one on a part time basis or the same FT one with an additional intensive language option - I think he would have preferred to have taken the latter route but the loan would have only been £5K per year. He would like to do a PhD (pretty sure he wouldn't take a £25K loan for that) but needs to have more on the ground experience under his belt first - its not a safe part of the world to travel to at the moment so he's decided to wait a few years and in the meantime apply for some grad schemes. I don't know if he will ever pay back the whole loan - I find the whole concept easier to swallow by seeing it as a graduate tax.

DD phoned me last night, shes not enjoying the 2nd year at the moment - she got a lower grade than shed like for a lab report and was fed up with the feedback; they are marked by post-graduate students and she only got 2 lines of feedback.

Shes disappointed about the mark but what really annoyed her is that she doesnt feel she can improve her work with two paltry lines of feedback. Shes going to talk to her tutor about it because she doesnt think it`s satisfactory - neither do I.

That's a shame. I got some disappointing results in year 2 for no good reason at all but managed to make it all up in the 3rd year. There is a fair bit of luck with exams and marking. I was reading and scanning my diaries from the time when I was a marker in the early 90 s for 3 or 4 different things - lawyers, accountants, A levels and you try so hard to be fair but constantly worry about how to be consistent. I am glad I gave it up.

DH mailed DD a warning about this today, adding that she was very likely to get one of these as her uni effectively puts emails in the public domain (I'm not exactly sure what he meant by that). Anyway, thought I'd better pass it on FYI

Scamwatch Student tax rebates

<a class="break-all" href="http://go.mumsnet.com/?xs=1&id=470X1554755&url=www.thetimes.co.uk/article/scamwatch-fake-student-tax-rebate-emails-srkkqqcwt?shareToken=ce1fe3ef036a43c757b14938810be115" target="blank">https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/scamwatch-fake-student-tax-rebate-emails-srkkqqcwt?shareToken=ce1fe3ef036a43c757b14938810be1155

Errol, I had three calls to my landline at the weekend telling me that HMRC was about to take me to court (clearly the scammers don't realise that civil servants in the UK don't work weekends). I was so annoyed that I reported it to ICO and Action Fraud.

What are you all getting your DCs for Christmas? DS doesn't want anything apparently. I was thinking about getting him some vouchers for Aldi, Pizza Express etc and putting them in envelopes that he could open at the start of each month for a monthly treat. However I am worried it might need a whole other level of 'Elf on the Shelf' type organisation that isn't my forte.

That's a nice idea. I'm similarly challenged as DD got what she needed last year before going to uni plus topup last Xmas. She is getting a new laptop, but DH is sorting that. So far I've got one cheap Xmas t-shirt (primark 'dachshund through the snow' ... we have a sausage dog so there's usually something like this) and some posh coffee and tea. Though I've belatedly realised its loose tea and I doubt she CBA with anything other than bags.

I've bought DD some books off her list plus a little game 'posing pandas' that I saw in the supermarket last night. I'll add some chocolate and some vouchers to the cinema/coffee shop/pizza express and that it's done. Hardly inspirational but it is what it is!

Is 'posing pandas' the sort of game which might provide innocent hilarity for slightly inebriated students? Something like that sounds like a good idea!

Yes! You are supposed to roll the pandas and see what position they end up but I'm sure that I'd students have more fun arranging them into certain, ahem, interesting positions

us.paladone.com/posing-pandas

£8 in Sainsbury's at the moment, or maybe it was £5.

I can't help it, I've now got an image of the posing pandas game and a copy of the joy of sex wrapped up as a Christmas present

I'm liking the idea of vouchers. We've been trying to think of ideas for both our sons. I've already got the standard socks, undies and smellies.
Does anyone know if petrol stations sell vouchers for petrol? DS1 has quite a long commute to work and money towards petrol would probably be helpful for when money's tight after Christmas.
I'm also interested in hearing about Posing Pandas as DS2 is part of a board game group at uni.

Just spotted the posing pandas info, thank you Brizzledrizzle. 😊

Amazon have the pandas
www.amazon.co.uk/Purple-Donkey-PP4168-Posing-Pandas/dp/B07BC3DBJ3/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=posing+pandas&tag=mumsnetforum-21&ie=UTF8&qid=1543845353&sr=8-1

Lol at Posing Pandas!! 😆 I am going to Sainsbury's tonight, so will look out for that 🙂

It's on a separate little cardboard stand of xmas stuff by the flowers - assuming all stores have to follow the same layout format.

Brizzle I bought the posing pandas on Friday - great minds and all that! I thought it was appropriate since he was in China in the summer and we've always loved Pass the Pigs which is similar.

I thought it was appropriate since he was in China in the summer

Good idea :-) I love it when things come together like that. My DD is off abroad to Bali on a placement this summer so I'll steal your idea if I can think of anything Bali related.

Posing Pandas! Awesome!

I've bought ds3 twister in sainsburys for a tenner for those coming home in the early hours slightly the worse for wear but not quite ready to go to bed times and am now thinking posing pandas would be much a wiser buy - what with all the contortions of Twister, they will most likely all end up spewing all over the mat!

This time next week DS2 will be home. I'm driving to him on Saturday morning and we're going to look round the Christmas Markets in the afternoon before watching the Strictly final at his house. Hopefully a relaxed drive home on Sunday.
Last Christmas I'd just had a major operation so DH went to collect him in my ancient Zafira as DS's cello wouldn't fit in his little car with all his other stuff. They were driving back through busy Saturday lunchtime Birmingham when they heard a crunch and discovered the exhaust had dropped off!
Hope all well with everyone's DC's and they're either enjoying the last week of term or are already enjoying home comforts.

Ds due home on Sunday. (Can't wait). Meanwhile he is being totally useless about ideas for Christmas. He has said vaguely 'clothes' (but he'd want to choose exactly what) or some guitar stuff (but he will specify exactly what).

He will clearly be learning the old adage he who fails to tell his grandmother what he wants for Christmas will only ever get socks.

DD is coming home at the weekend sometime. She's spending a lot of time in the library at the moment, doing LOTS of work. She's loving the course still which I'm really pleased about and is hoping to move in with 3 of her course mates next year.

DS home at the weekend, not sure if the new cat will appreciate sharing her room with him!! 😉

Horsemad - surely you're not going to make the cat share!

😆 there's room for both but will DCat permit him to stay in her room?! 🤔