Applying for Uni 2019 Part 7: IB and A Levels are but a memory, we're relaxing and let's not even think about the 15 August yet!

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Carrying on from the previous thread which filled up very quickly.

, and for everyone

Zanda , that is what I am going to do. DD has chosen self catering and apart from scrambled eggs and brownies (not together) she can't cook.

When dd went I wrote down basic things like spag Bol, curries, chilli in a notebook too.

Ds tends to look recipes up online & rejects any offers of my recipes!

Attempted laptop shopping : aaargh. Too much confusion. DS having broken his Lenovo three times, we are after replacing it for his 18th. Anyone recommend a decent one at ballpark £500? (not an Apple!)

No recommendations but on the UCAS site they have links to companies offering discounts (even before results I think)

www.ucas.com/undergraduate/student-life/student-discounts/tech

Elizabeth what a fabulous experience for your DD to have.

Can't recommend one Piggy but I would have a look a the John Lewis website for ideas. They tend to do the 'best in price range', from cheapish to state of the art, on tech/electronics/white goods. And they are big into the whole 'off to university' thing so should already have good options in stock.

Thanks bot : JL prices were a bit high but gave me some ideas!

Or both, even....

DD is on holiday in Berlin with pals from her German class. She won't be getting a job before uni - Saturday jobs etc are not common here (mainly because lots of dcs are at school on Saturday!) so all her pocket money's been earned babysitting and giving English lessons. We bought her a Macbook for her 18th that she can take to uni with her. Do you have a particular objection to Apple Piggy or is it just the price? We've tried cheaper alternatives, but they end up going wrong so decided to invest in one for DD and hope it will see her through.

Apple products aren't as versatile as other brands. They work well with other Apple technology, but as DD found nearly to her cost of an A level grade, you have to remember to save your work in the right programme for it to be compatible with the software the institution uses. She ended up reformatting her 6,000 word geography NEA because she didn't save it as Microsoft Word as she wrote it on her MacBook.

Yes, I know she should have thought about it.

My aversion to Apple is the reasons tapas gives plus their blatant built in obsolescence (two lower end iPhones bought for DS1 have lasted very badly compared to other family phones)- and the price!

Agree Piggy, and that you can't add extra memory to their products. Apple suck you in then it is difficult to change. All the techie people I know don't like their operating systems and the inability to work with other operating systems.

Apple products are what I'd call style over substance.

That's interesting - my experience has been that Apple products have lasted much longer (and my Macbook even survived having a cup of coffee spilled over it). I'm also a bit tech-phobic and I find Apple products really easy to use (pretty intuitive - I've even got my mum, whose in her 80s, using them and she is not tech-savvy at all). I suppose it's horses for courses.

LillianGish I think you are right. DD uses a Mac and gets on with it famously but I just can't.

My laptop is a Toshiba. It is only the second laptop I have owned in the last 16 years. They go on forever. DH, who is pretty tech savvy (and dislikes Apple) has reinstalled the operating system multiple times and installed a solid state drive to speed it up, which is why it is still a very good laptop.

DD's MacBook is perfectly serviceable, and great for surfing the internet, but I use Windows and Microsoft Office at work, and find it much easier to stick with the same operating system at home.

Dh's £1500 Macbook has needed two new hard drives in the same time as my Lenovo laptop has never left me down and nor has ds's v cheap desktop.

Ds needs a laptop for uni...we're going v cheap as long as it's light enough. He has an ipad for internet/Netflix, and a desktop for animation/illustration stuff. Just needs a lightweight laptop for word processing and there's absolutely no need to learn a new os.

I much prefer Windows and believe if you spend an equivalent amount as would on an Apple product, they last longer (and are more easily upgradeable if not).

For those of you already genning up on Clearing, there is a new 'decline my place' button that's being trialled this year.

Well we are done! Last day was v emotional but also lots of fun moments.
Here’s to the next steps whatever they may turn out to be!

Error I think much better to continue to the end of term as your DD and other privately educated DC have done. Many of the young people have been off, post exams, for a month or so already.

Without a job to keep him gainfully occupied (and it's seeming less likely that he'll get one by the day IMO), DS's plans for the summer seem to have turned into a (watching) sports fest.

If you can afford it as a family, I think it’s great for Dc to have a long (possibly slightly boring) summer to reflect on the end of an era and relax. It’s going to be full on by mid August then uni then jobs then possibly a family. This is the last big ‘chill’ of no responsibility! Dd has been away but next will be having a big clear out and car booting a lot of her childhood stuff (I hope!). Other than another holiday (!) not much else. It’s been lovely with her being really relaxed and we’ve ‘put the world to rights’ with lots of chats. So proud of her.

error we had mixed emotions on the last day, very proud of DD and the experience was brilliant, sad to leave it all behind.

Zanda, we're also thinking about a car boot. Just have to sort everything out and motivate ourselves to do one.

DS is now working 40 odd hour weeks saving up for college. His friends went to Magaluf, but he has already had two holidays this year with school, skiing and surfing. I keep looking at him such a lovely young man that I will miss so much when he goes. Empty house and a grumpy OH to look forward to.

My DS heard from his Insurance choice today (BBC) changing the offer to unconditional (I know it's NOT because he is a bright student ). He is still hoping for NTU but a great relief if he doesn't get the grades required as there won't be any scrabbling around on clearing on results day ... apart from the accommodation but I have been looking on the Uni website & they seem to have a fair amount of accommodation left.

Regarding part time work we live in a fairly touristy area so it is very easy to pick up jobs in hospitality, DS took two pub jobs, did a few shifts in both & then ditched one as they didn't treat him very nicely (still waiting to get paid ) but enjoys working at the other pub with a nice team of young people. He does 4-5 shifts a week so still plenty of time for socialising, sport, doing some volunteering and (hopefully) clearing out his room. I didn't nag him during A levels but am now really fed up with the mess. .

Zanda those are wise words. Hadn't really thought about this summer in those terms. The calm before the storm of adult life!

Ragwort that's good news for your DS (unconditional offer). Also great that he is working. And your DS too, justasking111.

I capitulated and did a mega clear-out of DS's room when he was away.