2nd year uni (starting 2018)

[HSMMaCM]

The old thread seems to have filled up!

No packing done here as far as I can tell, dad is away until mid week and goes the same day, currently none of them have sorted out an energy supplier but apparently it's going to happen

^ dd. Stupid autocorrect.

We are currently on the A1 heading North.

Remember last year when the car broke down an hour into the journey?!! 😁 All ok this time, hopefully!

I'm on the M4 heading West. It's a good job we took the bookcase a couple of weeks ago, because the car is FULL. This is despite the fact that all her bedding, towels, kitchen stuff, etc is already there. Apparently it's because she needs 300 coats and jumpers for winter. I also spotted her collection of Yankee Candles from her bedroom, which she wasn't allowed in halls last year.

And the motorway is closed ....

I know! Closed until gone 2pm :-( I was going to go out that way shortly.
Hope it's not too bad.

www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/local-news/m4-closed-traffic-overturned-tanker-2009630

Seems to be the weekend for it, there was a massive accident near Bristol on university drop off weekend last year.

Just arriving. DD is fast asleep.

Glad you made it!

DD back here at last, towels in washing machine, kitchen stuff in dishwasher (it looked perfectly clean but she wanted it doing after a year of hand washing it).

DH tends to travel very early or very late, and nearly always with an overnight stay; my contribution is to check the routes for closures and roadworks on Traffic England, there are always more overnight.

So the marathon weekend of taxiing is done for us with both ds1 and ds2 now ensconced in incredibly grotty student houses but both seeming delighted with their grubby damp rooms.

The journey today was hell with another motorway closure (M62) forcing us to take the longer scenic route through horizontal driving rain and traffic either winding or at a standstill for hours at a time.

I deserve . And so do all you others who have successfully deposited your second years or will do soon. Here's to them coming home by train to visit soon (and to pick up all the phone chargers and other bits and pieces they've forgotten). Cheers!

We too are almost home. His halls are lovely and he seemed very settled when we left.

He is coming home in a fortnight to play an important match for his footy team, so not long to wait until I see him again

I'm nearly home. We fixed the broken door handle and had a hob cleaning lesson. The jammed window is shut and thermostats have been explained.

We also managed to get her an application form for a job at a shop a few doors down from her house .

DS came home for a brief visit yesterday -by train! He’d been involved in a charity fundraiser on Friday night so was really home for that, crawling in at 4am on Saturday, but it was lovely to see him. And we will see him again next weekend as we’re helping DD and boyfriend move flats and he’s coming over to do some of the heavy lifting.

My two are still here. University telling them all to register but the system is not working so that's typical of on-line systems - my coucnil does it soo - you must uyse on line system and then on line system doesn't always work. I suppose they can register in person once they get there. I suggest every student invoices the university for the time they have spent trying to register in response to the email when the system has not worked for days. I hope someone has notified the university of the IT problem.

DS has decided to go back next weekend - possibly the most awkward timing ever as DH is away from Sunday and I am on a course on Saturday so one of us will need to drive up with DS2 in tow meaning that we can't fold down the back seats.

I made the schoolboy error of going to Dunelm on Friday but it looked like someone had been in earlier doing a trolley dash. The shelves were stripped bare or anything student related. Finally managed to get a set of three cheap saucepans from Sainsbury's at the bargain price of £3.25 for the lot. And I tracked down a Dishmatic in Poundland!

Xenia, I have just spent a happy hour trying to pay fees to the same University. The systems seem up, and indeed updated to have DD in her second year during the time I was looking. But no account information and the "help" FAQs dont include how to pay fees. The "paying as a third party" facility that I found via Google did not recognise her student number.

Once again: piss up; brewery; organise.

My son said one reasonamight be if you owe any money from last year you cannot progress. He owes (or they say he does but he doesn't really) £20 for a key which he is happt to pay but... the system is down to allow him to pay that.

Anyway I am going to leave it to them to deal with when they get there later in the week and if and when they can pay the fees they can let me know. It is certainly wasting parents' and students'[ time when we all have lots of other things to do.

Once again: piss up; brewery; organise.

That's pretty much what I said about student finance who, despite having approved the application, have informed the university 4 times that they will not be paying the fees. Now we have a letter saying pay within two weeks or leave. However the university have been on the phone to student finance and are proactively trying to sort out the SFE foul ups and have issued a letter guaranteeing the place on the course rather than the automated one for self-payers who ignore the demands.

Grrrr, DD has found guidance which says you set up a payment plan in the MyBristol portal. But the MyBristol portal does not suggest how you do this. Last year was simple. There was an account button and clear instructions on how to pay, and using what reference. I have emailed suggesting that perhaps I might be allowed to send an old fashioned cheque.

I assume that at some stage they come chasing the money. Perhaps that is the way to go.

Despite the weather starting to turn autumnal for DDs belated 'summer hols' we managed a bike ride yesterday and a nice (if windy) walk up on't moors. One of the few things she doesn't like about uni (which also applied to the are she did her summer job) is the lack of hills!

And she's doing lots of admin things - passport renewal, banking stuff which are better done here.

Bristol people - the registration on line is now working again. One of mine just did it.

Xenia, at the risk of boring others, but the whole thing seems pretty unstable. I finally phoned and asked for account details to pay fees. DD then checked today. The Account/Fee section is down, though there was an email confirming she had paid. More irritating was that she came in from an 8 hours placement last night needing to use the system, and it was down again. The trouble with putting everything in one place, including study resources, is that everything stops if the IT is not working.

But then her flat wifi was also intermittant.

I think she gave up, went to bed and read an old fashioned book.

It feels as if she has been back for ever. And term lasts till 23 December. I suspect it willl feel as long as those autumn terms in Infants used to.

We haven't got as far as paying the fees yet but one of my sons has managed to register withthe university and register with his faculty before he went back and that other will do it shortly I expect unless it's down. They went back today and it was nice to see both of their houses and friends.

I am sorry about your daughter. I hate these type of problems. It is one reason I like everything separate, have my own paper records etc but so many organisations are making everything reliant on being able to log in these days.

DS not back until next weekend but I have just discovered vacuum bags for packing. Amazing the amount we should now be able to get in in a smaller space in the car. Duvet, towels, bedding etc bulk reduced to much smaller volume.
Can't quite believe he's off again in a week for a few months but it's been great having him around this summer.
Hops others are settled or settling back into a new routine.