Applying for Uni 2019 entry Part 4, UCAS & offers (and thinking about exams)

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Following on from the previous thread.

Yes it is cheap for a double bed and ensuite in the south! Obviously you don't have to have either which you'd realise if you'd read any uni accommodation websites?

DD wants an en suite. I have trawled the accommodation websites. I am surprised that some universities still offer shared rooms.

The choice isn't always the student's though, is it, Fazackerley? Isn't that one of the issues with the whole university accommodation bun fight? You could apply for a cheap room option but get the most expensive one? It depends on whether the university of choice offers a 'first come, first served' approach or whether it's more of a lottery? Seem to recall one of the regular posters saying that a family relative had applied to B'ham with grades in hand, chosen accommodation (cheap option) but been allocated the most expensive halls.

Seeing the state of some of the rooms yesterday I don't think I can expect dd to share a bathroom at least for the first year

Don't go there, Fazackerley. Bleurgh....

Ragwort and Tapas Another older parent here, and feeling older by the minute. I am paying for accommodation and DS will use his loan for living and stuff. Although I have agreed to this I have no idea how I am going to afford to pay 6k per year, it is such a big expense. But I will do it somehow and will live on bread and water for the next 3 years. It will all be worth it as he has promised me he be earning lots of money and will look after his mum in her old age.

I will definitely be 'encouraging' my DD to do an apprenticeship in 2 years time.

Glasshouse and Goldsmiths are what I was just looking at. Goldsmiths is fully booked. DS said yesterday that NTU was his favourite but I feel very stressed about accommodation and the fact that he needs to get decent grades. It isn't just the South that has expensive accommodation : Nottingham is the most expensive I've come across!

If only I could swap Hull Uni into another town...!

That said, for all I know all the nice accommodation at Hull will have gone.

The other thing that was frustrating yesterday was the 'questions from the parent' section which went on for 20 minutes longer than it should have. The questions people ask are generally very specific to their DCs and yesterday a lengthy (and dull) debate ensued about why someone's DD hadn't got an unconditional and how upset they were because an older sibling had. It went on... and on... and on...
A lot of anxiety out there all round!

I must say all the accommodation I have seen has been kept very clean by the students! They obviously bribe them or something.

Piggy & Mine if our DC get into NTU I suggest a Mumsnet meet up for parents .

It’s such a lottery with accommodation and crazy that you have to book & pay the deposit on a room when you don’t know if your DC. will get the grades to get in . We have already worked out where we hope DS might get a place through clearing if he doesn’t get the grades for his first & insurance, and noted the accommodation to apply for, have made enquiries & they ‘usually’ have rooms available for clearing students (& it would be cheaper ).

I hope dd will insure swansea over ntu. Much better all round apart from Nottingham itself which looks great for students. I still can't believe the subject talk at ntu took 15 minutes

I’ve just booked some Easter revision classes for DS as I’m getting a bit worried that he’s not doing much exam practice or past papers.
It’s hard doing it all at home as he gets very little feedback as he’s not an official pupil at school, just booked to take his exams there.
I don’t really know if he’s on track, hopefully this will give him a boost he needs to keep focused.

Rag and Piggy and any other NTU parent. Happy to meet up or talk online. Although with the lack of revision my DS is doing at the moment, he won't be going anywhere. It's like he doesn't realise he only has 2 months until his first exam.

@itscoldoutthere - DS went on a maths revision course during the Xmas break and he found it really useful. It’s ‘easy’ revision as it’s all structured for you. Hope your DS finds his Easter courses useful.

DS has been offered his first choice accommodation at Nottingham - Broadgate Park which is s/c.
All coursework was finally submitted on Friday so it’s full steam ahead with the revision.

Last coursework (theatre) for DD this week coming. Will be a massive weight off. Her school does mocks after Easter (weirdly) so she has been doing some revision amongst ongoing homework etc but once the coursework is done there will be more time. It is coming all too soon

blametheparents that’s good to hear I’m hoping it will be money well spent, he’s doing half days so 17.5 hours a week, one week Chemistry the next Biology he’ll have to get a bus into Cambridge which takes an hour+ so it will be good for him to get out and about on his own.
His tutor he sees once a week thinks he’s able but he doesn’t seem to perform very well in exams, he need to get 2 Bs if he want to get into Birmingham.

The business about Cambridge and adjustment was just on my local news. I only realised halfway through the story but it is being touted as widening participation move, and they reckon they will offer up to 100 places through adjustment.

Interestingly, Oxford bascially did that to me when I was 18. When I got my results, they wrote to me and asked if I wanted to apply again, givne my results. I was happy with the place I had and rejected their advances. Not sure I would now.

DS has finally pressed the firm and insurance button yay! Accommodation button doesn’t seem to be working

madeline what is your DD's first choice atm? I remember a thread a while back about her choices and all the weird stuff people were saying! What did she go for?

blame Similar stage here - final paperwork for completion of CAS has just gone in. Standard subjects are all finished. Still learning on the Highers, but nearly there.

Just wish that Manchester (first choice) would hurry up and make an offer after the interview almost 2 weeks ago!

Piggy She has firmed York and has Liverpool as insurance. She also had an offer from Nottingham, but they wanted the same grades as York and she liked their open day better. And her final offer was from Bangor, which she was criticised for applying to as it's non-RG. They offered unconditional with a £3.5k bursary if she still got her As as predicted.

York will want £200 deposit when they offer her a room out of the ones she's expressed a preference for. And it will cost her £6.5k for her digs for the first year approx.

The unis must make a fortune from all the students who pay deposits then don't make their grades and have to find last minute accommodation at a new uni that they may not have even considered up to that point.

£6.5! Wow! Is that catered?

Still less than NTU which is over 7k, believe it or not.

York is my alma mater. Fantastic place to live and study : in the second year, she will be able to find plentiful good value accommodation in the city, on the plus side!

Not catered, but yes en suite. She doesn't want catered and there wasn't much price difference between catered with shared bathroom and non catered en suite. There wasn't a choice of non catered shared bathroom in some of the rooms.

She has, to be fair, put down a few different permutations across different college buildings, but she's still looking at between £5.8 and £6.6.

For which I'm eternally grateful that we live in Wales due to her getting a bit more student finance than we would if we lived across the border.