UEA freshers

[juicy0]

I've never done this before but hopefully I have managed to set up a new thread for UEA specific posts.
Perhaps someone can let me know if it's worked!

accommodation of 38 weeks means they can leave their stuff in their rooms over christmas and easter - in reality the year is 30-31 weeks - pretty rough to pay for 8 weeks when they're not there. My eldest DS had a term time only room, whilst it was cheaper in the long run we had to keep packing up his room and then taking him back a few weeks later and unpack it all again

@NotSorry yes that's what I thought thanks. Yes it is a lot for 8 absent weeks. But I guess if you rent a house you pay all year round.

yes that's what I thought thanks. Yes it is a lot for 8 absent weeks. But I guess if you rent a house you pay all year round.

not necessarily - you should be able to get similar for year 2 - my DS had 2 different houses in years 2 and 3 and only had to pay for September to June

ican I worked it out as 30 wks there, and that assumes they need to be there for the full exam period. So spring semester runs to 15 May, and then the exam period shows as 18 May to 12 June 2020. portal.uea.ac.uk/academic-calendar/semester-dates

Of course with a 38 wk let presumably leaving later for Christmas / Easter is an option as is returning earlier.

as with not sorry DS1 was at a uni with term time only accommodation.

I'm fairly sure some things like clothes, bedding will come back at Xmas and Easterif only to ensure in the case of the latter that it is properly washed :)

@MrsBartlet my DS is the same re HSBC he’s an existing customer, applied on 21st August for a student account and still hasn’t heard anything.
He’s off to Berlin for a week so will contact them when he comes back.

@Itscoldouthere - they obviously do have a backlog then. Let's hope they get it sorted soon.

Another one here who has an older child who had a term time only room (for 4 years!) so very pleased to not have to clear out ds's room over the holidays. Having said that he won't be taking all the cushions, throws, potted plants etc that dd used to take

@MrsBartlet, DS's HSBC account was set up without any issues (in under a week). I wonder whether it's more difficult to swap from an existing account with the same provider than to set up one from scratch? I suspect so (DS didn't previously bank with HSBC).

Moving kit in/out every term must have been a total PITA, particularly for four years.

Have now done the IKEA trip and stocked up on everything - picked up EU size sheets because it looks like the beds at UEA are a little longer than the usual ones (if that's wrong, she'll just have to tuck in a bit).

She is in a bit of a spin not knowing details like the colour of the curtains, the storage in the bathroom etc. We will just have to face the horror of non-matching room accessories.

She still hasn't done her bloody passport photo and completed the registration. And she says she's avoiding all the Facebook accommodation chat, because if they're all "weirdos" she'd rather not know beforehand.

@NewModelArmyMayhem18 - you may be right although I was hoping it would be easier. Really looking forward to travelling lighter when we take ds to university!

And she says she's avoiding all the Facebook accommodation chat, because if they're all "weirdos" she'd rather not know beforehand. I reckon that's why DS isn't keen on joining the FB group. He definitely doesn't subscribe to the 'forewarned is forearmed' mantra, in any shape or form!

It seems counter-intuitive, doesn't it @MrsBartlet? However, I suspect it's more difficult to move virtual customer info from one part of the system to another than it is to set up a new one!

She is in a bit of a spin not knowing details like the colour of the curtains, the storage in the bathroom etc.

She could try searching - or just asking - in the UEA sub-forum on TSR. There may well be a recent resident of the block who can assist. Or ring the accommodation office?

Re paying for accommodation covering the Christmas and Easter vacations (and with some contracts, the first part of the summer), as has already been pointed out, it avoids having to pack one's whole life up and shift it somewhere else for those breaks, but also, it does rather depend on whether you see university / its environs as your new home - where you may well have a job which keeps you there outside of term time- or as some form of boarding school? Certainly when DS1 was at Birmingham, for instance, Guild stuff carried on into the Christmas vacation, if only because there were lots of overseas students who weren't able to go home. And e.g. care leavers and those estranged from their parents for whatever reason, who don't actually have another home to go to...

In each of the FB groups for the accommodation set up by UEA eg there is one for the Village etc, there are people from the UEA accommodation office as Admin and I think existing students (the wardens?) who may be able to help with questions about curtains etc.

If the colour of the curtains is her biggest preoccupation, then heaven help me! She'll just have to cope.

I told her that my student room didn't have a bedside table so I created one out of an old cardboard box and a throw, and she looked like she might faint! Honestly, I've raised a princess.

Thanks for the info about weeks actually spent there. I thought that was the case.

My online delivery from IKEA arrived today. I ordered 3 cheap saucepans and 2 frying pans. They are better quality than I expected....but so small. I've been teaching ds how to make a bolognese or chilli to last a few meals. The biggest pan wouldn't hold it all. But I'll send the pans anyway, if he finds he cooks a lot then he can get a bigger pan. The cheese grater and veg peeler are much better than expected too.
I bought a thick cardboard desk tidy from ikea too. I'm quite pleased with it. Ds not seen any of it yet.

Thanks for the link to the acedemic calendar @boys3. I was only asking DS today about dates and he just rolled his eyes at me. We have reached a point where I'm not allowed to mention anything about university but will be expected to have thought of (and bought) everything by moving in day.

I keep having the oddest of worries, today's are: will there be a desk chair or am I expected to supply one? And will he be able to watch the 6 o'clock news live on iPlayer?

I never thought I'd find this part of parenting so stressful.

will there be a desk chair - yes :) As for iplayer just make sure the device in unplugged (otherwise tv licence needed). Which hall is your DS going into?

@CharliesMouse www.uea.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/accommodation/options all the basic details for each residence, had not realised the differing bed sizes before

@CharliesMouse mine isn't dissimilar.

Wondering whether the Ziggurats will be chilly in winter, with those large glass windows (possibly not double glazed)? Remembering my student house where it was so cold (we wouldn't have the heating on before 6pm because of the cost) during the day that I used to have my hands permanently wrapped around a cup of hot, black coffee!

I guess East Anglia is a dry part of the country but very cold in winter?

Hope your DS is as impressed by the IKEA order as you are @icanbewhatiwant?

BTW for those DC doing Geography, their timetables are up now, although no personal tutor allocated last time I checked (Tuesday).

If any of you plan to pay for the accommodation fees, your DC can now go into evision and nominate who is going to pay. You will then get an email to log in and set up payment. You can pay all at once, termly by direct debit, or monthly by direct debit.

Apparently the Zigs can be cold in winter and hot in summer. I'm sending DS with a 7.5 tog duvet and a fur bed throw. Also got a bargain kettle and iron in Tesco recently . The iron is for emergencies only!

The geography freshers week includes 2 field trips. I'm glad that the A level forces you to buy all those walking boots and waterproofs otherwise that would be another thing to buy.

DS says the Geography group chat is quite lively and he has found another Lad who supports his football team. He seems excited now.

I have cupboard and toiletry shopping to do and then we are set.

In less good news, my CAR has received a terminal prognosis so we need to get a new one pronto. DS1 is due back in Norwich next Thursday! (Car in capitals just in case any of you skim read and saw caT, that really would be terrible but fortunately the cats are fine )

@NewModelArmyMayhem18 he's not seen the Ikea stuff yet. He's tired and very bad tempered at the moment.
The hours at his work are getting longer, he is working in a lab testing crop samples. It was really quiet there through July and the start of Aug. as not many samples were coming in, then 2 weeks ago they started arriving, fast and now they can't keep up. He worked 14 hours yesterday but didn't finish all samples. His co workers were going in at 6am this morn. He went at 7am. He's not good at early mornings. Though has always set his alarm and got up, he would prefer to sleep longer.
So he was very tired last night. Some of his co workers are considering quitting. I told him after this week there are only 2 weeks left and he's off to UEA He has not worked at this place before, so we don't know how long the samples keep coming in for. Harvest is just about over. It would be nice for him to have a few days off before starting at UEA. The company employ university students over the summer, so the work must start to finish before they go back. Ds is taking an hour or so off tomorrow afternoon as he has an appointment with HSBC. Apparently his boss was annoyed that he booked an appointment during working hours...but as he works all day then there's no choice!
If anyone is doing biology and sees a timetable please let us know. Ds isn't looking on website at the moment. (Or any other useful info for that matter!)

@slug poor car. On reading your post, I wonder if there is a biology chat group? If so ds hasn't found it. The group chat for his accommodation aren't really saying anything. But ds says that's good as he can't join in while at work.

I bought a 4.5 tog duvet. We have quite a few 15 tog here spare. But typical no 4.5. If he needs warmer then he will have to either come get one or I'll take one (not that far away as I've said before)

@Sluj your poor car and the extra expense just when you don't need it :-(.

A hot water bottle might be a good idea too, for the cold East Anglian winter nights ahead.

Cointreau the curtains comment made me laugh as my Dd was the same. Trawling through google and uni photos, she decided they were burgundy or green. Therefore grey with pink ‘accents’ would go with both. What have I raised!?! She knows I hate pink so I think she’s rebelling!