Preparing to go to university - the admin!!

[TheThirdOfHerName]

Most 18 year olds are capable of sorting out their pre-university admin, but mine needs support (due to dyspraxia & anxiety). Because he needs my help, I've found out quite how much admin is involved.

He started the process with a list of tasks, e.g. apply for university, apply for student finance, apply for DSA, apply for accommodation, apply for a student bank account. Initially it sounded straightforward, but each task is actually made up of many subtasks, most of which require different logins, passwords and security validations.

Applying for accommodation was supposed to be done completely online, but at three different stages of the process the system would not let him access the next step and he had to sort it out with phone calls and emails.

This morning he completed the online registration for his course. There were six stages to the process, including several "Computer says no" moments along the way. Luckily the website accepted the third ID photo he tried to upload. He couldn't access the final stage until the system had accepted his responses for the first five stages.

I often see posters comment that in their day, students did all this independently, and query why modern 18 year olds need help. It's true that when I was a student I handled the admin myself, but everything wasn't so bloody complicated back then!

Well said kitten

I was actually put off posting because of the tone of some of the replies. My DS is dyslexic and horrendously unorganised and it is indeed a worry. He's going to do a creative subject so hopefully his out of the box thought processes will be useful.

It's almost like clairetree has no understanding of dyspraxia and doesn't realise that lack of organisation is a key problem. Do you think she feels that those with diagnosed disabilities aren't suitable for higher education? Oh deary me.

Our DC don’t have dyspraxia. You don’t need any kind of disability or SN to struggle with malfunctioning bureaucracy!

For a lot of the youngsters it will be the first time they deal with such important admin.

They've just had a stressful year which will have been a bit of an emotional roller-coaster for some.

Fwiw I'm dyspraxic, a chartered accountant and a chartered tax adviser. Which means a lot of time spent dealing with the masters of jumping through hoops and petty beurocracy..... HMRC. You have to be pretty shit hot at keeping on top of the admin side too. At 18 I'd have wanted support in sorting the uni bumf out.

It's a life skill, and one that will develop for most of them.

The OP's DS does have dyspraxia though, as stated in the OP so there's no excuse for some of the dismissive comments by PP.

Today he managed to do the following:

He set up a new phone, set up mobile banking and the university app which shows him his timetable etc. (no support needed)

He accepted delivery of his specialist equipment and software, finished setting up the laptop, registered three software packages (no support needed, I was in the house but he dealt with the delivery person)

He completed an online request form for DSA laptop insurance (no support needed). This didn't work and he realised he would need to phone them. He asked me to be in the room while he made the phone call (he was worried they might try to oversell but he was able to be firm about what he wanted).

He researched deals for printer ink cartridges and paper and ordered these (no support needed). I did have to remind him to save the order details so he could claim the cost back.

I feel as though he is making good progress in coping with the admin demands.

great progress.

Currently a student in final year , 2 students I know of who coped well with admin, paperwork, banking and travel etc, independent of parents left the course during the 2nd year due to not coping with workload. Another student whose finance was delayed and wasn't aware of the paperwork involved has passed and is expected to get a good 2:1 atleast.

Coping with admin has no relevance to study abilities

Three years ago, DS1 just got on with it and as far as I can remember never asked for help in navigating his university's admin processes (apart from, 'Oh, nearly forgot, I had an email about my accommodation on Monday and could they have the first instalment by midnight, please?'). This is not a boast re his obviously superior skills, more to comment that having read other people's posts, I am hoping that it was a case of his university being particularly easy to deal with but am now also worrying slightly that even this far down the line he will find that there was something terminally important that he missed...

MarchingFrogs
It probably just means that everything went smoothly. If there had been any major hiccups (e.g. no accommodation allocation or problems with opening a bank account) then hopefully he would have come to you.

I think the uni DS is going to do a good job of making everything go smoothly.

He did miss the paying for accommodation email, but they phoned our hive number when he ignored his phone ringing so together we dieted that out.

It's nonsense to say if you can't sort out your win admin you're not yet ready to study for a degree. There are posters in MN who will tell you if you can't find yourself a part time job and hold that down you shouldn't be doing a degree course.

My DS is good with admin. He's perfectly capable of studying his chosen degree (which is career specific) he also volunteers once a week for a working day, and has done so for the last 2.5 years. He has never had a part time job, though. He dies t have the confidence to apply, or the aptitude for something like bar work. This probably horrifies most if MN. I've told him he would be a bloody good mixologist though. He would memorise all the ingredients for all the cocktails in 5 minuets, he's good looking (I'm biased) and juggled well -Tom Cruise eat your heart out.

But atm he actually couldn't have a part time job. He'll be fine at uni, though.

So saying someone who can't cope with admin shouldn't be going to uni yet is just silly. It's probably the best place for them.

It probably just means that everything went smoothly. If there had been any major hiccups (e.g. no accommodation allocation or problems with opening a bank account) then hopefully he would have come to you.

I actually asked him about it yesterday and apparently, both at the time and in subsequent matters, he has found that his university admin seems to be pretty easy to engage with. (But yes, if it hadn't been, in sure we would have heard about it. Eventually).

I'm with you OP

DS's admin last year was vast and full of the university's own internal cock-ups, plus we had to deal with medical stuff and money and his tight-git dad and CMS and Unite bloody Students and Student Finance and travel and just so much stuff.

I was happy to help him. He's done well in first year ('hard' science).

It does get a little easier after first year. Second year usually involves things that are more familiar to parents, like utilities bills and sorting out your own house, then by third year you've pretty much got a handle on it. Hope everyone gets on okay 💕

I'm watching with interest as this will be DS1 next year. Do they have to get new bank accounts? DS 1 has one already but people on this thread are talking about 'student accounts' and online banking. Is there a specific type of account, beyond a normal current account, that they have to get for the loan to be paid into it?

Mina There's no requirement to have a specifically "student" bank account, but the student orientated ones offer better overdraft facilities and sometimes have funky freebies to tempt you in like Railcards or free Amazon Prime or something. But if he's happy with what he's got, as far as I know there's no need to have a specially student one. I have a Barclays Student Additions account and tbh it's much the same as any current account.

They don't need a new account, MinaPaws, but if they transfer over to a student account they normally qualify for an overdraft and freebies like a coach card.

@Xenia
19 although why on earth we should pay masses of tax inEngland just to let other parts of the UK not have presctiption charges is beyond me. We should get a massive tax discount in England over the taxes they pay in the other parts to reflect the lack of free prescriptions.

Your not subsidising other parts of the UK. The 'other' parts of the UK also pay taxes and their governments allocate the funds as they see fit. Clearly you need to vote in a different 'English' government who will allocate funds for free prescriptions.

That's not true though. The English pay most tax and it gets allocated to the welsh and the Scots. Something called the Barnett formula I think.

I have been blissfully unaware of any issues other than a hiccup at the early stages of student finance. Either my DS is extremely organised ( unlikely) or we've got a lot of checking and sorting to do...

@GeorgeTheHippo according to the Exchequer, Scotland pays on average £800 more than the rest of the UK. This was the figure for 2012-13

But the spending per head in Scotland and wales is so much higher than in England that there is still a net transfer.

I wrote the instructions for the online enrolment system at the uni I work at and think that anyone who makes it through first time without any issues deserves a bloody medal!

Many universities are running on IT systems which are hideously archaic and complex, which defy logic and reason, and are held together with a wish and a prayer.

We had a student member of staff try and do it sat next to me. I couldn’t work out why it would accept his address. Walked him to the system owner who spent five minutes humming and hawing before he worked out the issue. It’s embarrassing, but changing the system is a huuuuuuuuge scale project that just isn’t happening yet.

So no, I don’t think that struggling with some of the admin or wanting a bit of moral support with it is any indicator on ability or readiness to study.

That was such a lovely update TheThird

I'm generally of the leave them to do it if they are able to view, but dyspraxia and anxiety must make it so hard for him, hopefully he is very proud of what he has achieved.