Heading towards year 2 exams (uni 2017)

[brizzlemint]

Starting uni 2017 continued.
Tales of radiators, errant boilers, tomatoes and potato mashers...oh and university students.

Well done floral! Time to celebrate

Eve, no, that would be DD She has flopped every exam she's ever taken. In her mind

University tuition fees 'should be cut to £7,500' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-48451474

I can't help thinking that our current students will be the ones with the biggest debts and paying for longer

It is certainly a difficult issue (my twins are lucky enough to have no student loans but that comes at huge cost to me)

Well done to flora.
Good luck to those still doing exams. My twins have finished so doing nice tihngs like playing tennis and one went to a music recital yesterday by a housemate, but some of their housemates still have more this week.

Ds2 did his last exam yesterday. He's going to spend time socialising for a bit, especially as some of his mates will have finished their courses by the time he's done his year abroad.
His visa has been approved so when he comes home we'll sort out his flights. He also needs to do more mundane tasks such as his dental checkup.
Hope the remaining exams are kind to everyone's DC. It's not easy getting the balance between being reassuring that they've probably done ok and not seeming to be blase about what for them are real worries.

Exam was apparently ok, passed it but won’t be a high mark.

He got his formal offer for his placement yesterday, starts 1st July so no summer holiday for him.

I’ll ask my advisor, but for a year out would you recommend he joins their pension scheme? I’m thinking yes , to collect the employer contributions and then at some point in future transfer funds into his private scheme . ( I started pensions for them when they were born so already have 18 years of contributions)

Congratulations Floral. Don't know Eve; probably best to take advice.

DD has an exam now, then 2 on Monday, one on Tuesday and one on Wednesday. Some of her friends have already finished but the NatSci ones are apparently late in each session, no idea why. DD2 has an A level on Monday, one on Tuesday, one Wednesday and 2 on Thursday where she has a clash. She and a boy will be sitting "in isolation" with an invigilator. She's allowed revision materials, food and drink but no phone, which for her I'm sure will be a complete nightmare. We were idly speculating that as the later exam is Politics, would she be able to read the morning's broadsheet newspaper whilst in isolation?

The engineering exams are even later than NatSci, Malbec - DD has, I think, six starting on Monday then another two in the following week. Maybe the scientists and engineers get more lectures at the start of Easter term so exams are pushed back? Or maybe the arts types have to do some essays after?

I'm not sure a newspaper would be helpful for a politics exam set some time earlier. They say that a week is a long time in politics, but recently a day can be .... yet simultaneously it all seems interminable.

DS is in his last exam at this minute. He messaged yesterday saying he didn't think it will go well, the info wasn't sticking and he's worked really hard for it. He sounded so despondent ☹️

Keep your fingers crossed for him please. He's such a good lad; conscientious, works hard and I hate that he's feeling like this.

Fingers and toes crossed here, Horsemad. 🤞I'm sure you've said all the usual stuff about him only being able to do his best but it's tough being a parent at times like this. Sending positive vibes in both your directions.

Ah thanks latedecember63, yep, done all the pep talk stuff. He's just messaged 'went s*'. He has said this lots of times before and it's been ok in the end but who knows? It's one of his fave modules too. 🤨

Tried to call but it's gone to VM so hopefully he'll call me soon.

Parenting never stops, does it?

Oh Horse, hope he's just being unduly harsh on himself.

I hate the way everything hangs on an exam when RL work is totally not like that at all.

Oh Horse. It feels even worse when you can't actually do anything to help them at all except the pep talk and they answer Mum just leave it, what do you know about my subject? .

DS1 (doing finals of masters) has just sent me a similar text but much more graphically worded.

Sympathies Haff, it's not easy.

Still haven't spoken to him yet but he's been online, and said we'll chat later.

Hopefully if he found it really bad everyone else did too and that will be taken account of. Sometimes you just do get a bad exam but probably over all it won't matter too much to the general mark.

Mine "break up" on 14th I think so not long until they are home now. I have already paid the first 3 months of year 3 rent for one of them for tenancy starting 1 July.

One of mind just got what he called a "comfortable first" in an essay so that might make up for difficult exams. I am making the most of a peaceful house for the next week until the 3 months of the return of twins for the summer.

Ds has passed his end of year exams comfortably, with a first in one module ...( he's doing a 4 yr course , so half way through!)...very reassuring as he'd had a wobble after Christmas and was considering quitting! ( he was able to swap faculties instead)
He's currently abroad, so we'll have to wait till beginning of July to celebrate with him..his dsis is currently waiting for her finals results so it's a nerve wracking time

DD is waiting with interest for her results. It was some sort of practical study so they were examined in batches. She found it "brutal" but was not too concerned as she had worked hard and the others who took it with her felt the same.

However it appears that they did not change the scenario examined through the two days, so some who took it on the second day are bragging about how easy it was. Not surprising as they knew what was coming up. It is bizarre. Oddly I think DD is in a good position. As an early batch she was tested under proper exam conditions so has experience of that sort of format. Presumably they simply cannot fail a disproportionate number of those who sat it early. Nor can they fail those who sat it late but claim they did not know what was coming up.

Odd as it may seem, I seem to remember DS telling me that his University had some foul up (something like a maths question for which there was no answer) which caused them to have to revise results. I guess it happens. Certainly now the initial panic and upset is over it is seen as funny.

She now has three more weeks of teaching. Apparently the first lecture after exams had a historically low number of attendees - well apart from the day after the medic ball. Its fine as they can watch it on catch up. The stuff they will be covering sounds really interesting so she is happy, and things are fairly quiet so there is time to pack and clean and just hang out.

And horse I hope things are OK. Not easy.

And Xenia and Havering, congrats to your DC.

When you think of the cockups which occur in public exams like GCSEs and A levels, it's not surprising that exams set within a university by people who may be subject matter experts but not necessarily skilled in the art of setting tests, it's hardly surprising that there can be variability of difficulty or worse. DDs concern is ambiguous questions. She says exams are always marked by someone other than the setter, partly so there's some assessment of whether that person should be allowed to continue setting exams! I'm not sure if there's more prior scrutiny of 3rd and 4th year papers which form most of the final grade (unlike yr 1&2 for her).

Congratulations to Xenia's and Havering's DC and I too hope things are ok for Horseman. Errol, I think you're right about the timings.

DD1 finished her exams yesterday. Her mates are in the habit of meeting one another from their last exam with treats and a bottle of (supposedly cheap) cava. So she got sprayed with the stuff yesterday, but new boyfriend also appeared with flowers and gin, so she was very happy. She has some rowing commitments coming up, and she has started reading up on what she needs for her internship this summer and is pleased that it's an extension of what she's just been covering.

In other news, DD2 had 2 A level exams today so I took her for an ice cream after school as she's now done more than half the papers. I wasn't able to see her when she was in isolation, but she was with 2 lads and perfectly happy. I ended up doing route planning as I have another D of E lot out this weekend. Let's hope all the little darlings show up this time...!

Wow - an impressive crop of firsts among these dcs (We must be an elite group of exceptional parents! ) Congratulations to those, and to the rest who have got through exams one way or another. It's a massive relief when they're done.

Ds1 has finally finished his Masters so is now no longer a student and officially a drifter. Ds2 at last has some friends home from uni to play with so is out. He's spent the last week in his room 'chilling' but apparently chilling does not involve sorting out his stuff which is spread across the floor. He tells me there is no room to put his things away in the drawers because they're so full of old clothes he no longer wears. My suggestion of sorting the old stuff into charity bags was met with Lol

Haffdonga, although I am (of course) an exceptional parent , my DD is working her socks off to try and get a 2:1. I love hearing about the other students doing so well.

No exam results here yet - the last one was earlier this week. I'm not sure when they come out.
Good luck to everybody waiting - I'm in the same boat as I'm waiting for the exam board to confirm my results for my two MA modules.

Serendipitous that the start of Love Island coincides with the end of exams!

Thanks. It was only one essay and he has said he worked much less hard this year than last until now so I hope he hasn't done too badly int he exams. I am not sure they get an overall easy to work out grade for year 2 as they will get individual marks for various essays, practical assessments and eaxms but they both think they won't have to go back early and do any resits which always ruins the summer holidays if you have to do that.

I want them to pick a career this summer holiday even if they change their mind later. They need to get on with it.

I tried to speak to one about something today (their older brother is buying a new house) but he was far too busy he said so will call me another time.