Going to university (2019/20 academic year) - finance, flat shares, friends old and new and freshers' week to come...

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Following on from thread 8 which filled up in just 72 hours.

@mumtoeim hi :) What's your dd studying? Also would you mind telling me about your experience with disability services please? were you asking for specific help or generally advising them? did you phone or your dd? thanks x

@LIZS Sorry I meant lots will also be walking in her direction not just towards Pollock in the other direction. There will be all sorts of students in all the halls because everyone has different criteria when selecting and inevitably lots will not get their first choice anyway - she will find friends I am certain even if her flat does not gel. But she will have the advantage for the first few days of a natural little group and slightly less pressure to appear to be having a great time. Moving to university is a daunting time but I am sure she will settle - even if it takes a while.

@mum2eim @Witchend @Ingles2 @bigTillyMint
DS also off to Durham, he's in Hatfield - JCR is £230! No freshers week pass to be paid for though (or not so far, anyway!). He's in quite a helpful Hatfield freshers Facebook group, they seem to have current students 'manning' it so we've been able to ask questions. I think from this that the gowns are £53 to buy, you can get them in induction week ( have to have them for matriculation), and they will add the cost to the accommodation bill.
We've had to fill in accommodation preferences as well though the questionnaire wasn't quite as detailed as they made out on the open day! He's happy to share a room so I'm thinking maybe once/if he is allocated a shared room, then maybe they'll send a more detailed questionnaire out. Does anyone know?

Loving hearing the names if these new Durham colleges!

@Ingles2 she is studying natural sciences so she will have a walk to the science site!
She has been awarded DSA so disability services were helpful with advice then, even before she got her place. Since she has been accepted, I phoned them to ask what she needed to do as some of her DSA is study skills help which Durham needs to arrange. They advised that DD needed to arrange an appointment with them either face to face or by telephone. She phoned them to sort that out and had a telephone appointment 2 days ago. She said they were lovely and really helpful but as she was away I wasn't able to listen in so have little idea what they said! I think she is now 'on their books' as a student 'with needs'.
I would suggest phoning them up and they will guide you. The number is on the Durham uni website under student support.

@Tinseltrauma the St John's accommodation questionnaire was quite detailed -there are 15 shared rooms and DD put that she didn't mind sharing. There was quite a lot of info such as quiet/noisy room, describe a perfect day, she also put somewhere that she liked her window open even in the winter. He room at home is positively arctic and if I dont close her bedroom door there's a cold draught! I pity a room mate who likes a tropical room!
Yes gowns are about £55, but laundry facilities are free and the college gym is only £30 for the whole time she's at Durham!

thanks so much for that info mumtoeim... ds2 doesn't really want me to phone them, but he has a bilateral degenerative eye condition and has already had surgery on his right eye.. his left eye is scheduled for Dec.. he can cope fine day to day atm.. but that doesn't mean its going to stay that way and I think we should let them know.. I might phone them anyway...

We do have a freshers wristband to pay for £65... I think the Loughborough one is more, tho' ds1 won't tell me :)

also Hild Bede probably don't ask about rooms, as there's no shared ones.. just singles with shared bathrooms and its catered too

@Tinseltrauma you get the prize for the most expensive JCR Maybe they all are for the whole time they are there? That doesn't sound quite so bad. And no Freshers wristband!

DS does NOT want to share! Hopefully there'll be enough who do I will have to quiz him about the gown...

I don't think he's joined any FB groups - will have to quiz him about that too

So much for Santander online banking. We did everything right, documents scanned and approved. This morning they sent DS an e-mail he will either have to post the lot or call in at a branch. Give me strength. He has now gone into town to sort it out at a branch.

@Ingles I would phone them anyway so you are aware of what is available if and when your DS might need it. They were so calm and knowledgeable on the phone.
The wrist band was £5 for St John's? but there was a T-shirt at £15 to buy. I think every college is different. Something to sit down and chat with DD when she gets home. She's on various facebook groups for her course and college (although she says they are quite quiet at the moment) and has already contacted the sailing soc president so I am quite pleased as she wouldn't have done this 12m ago!

What's a JCR?

I think JCT is junior common room. If I'm correct, do they have the pay at all unis for common rooms?

Read earlier student finance pay more in the last term for maintenance. I hope I've got that wrong, as surely they need more the first term with freshers, stationery, books, extras for rooms. Just wondering how much this is all going to cost!!

Dds accommodation payment is £500 more in Oct than in May. But a lot if students do need to find early deposits for 2nd year accommodation while they are still paying the first year.

No mention of a charge for common rooms at Vanbrugh

Isn't JCR basically an Oxbridge ( and it seems Durham) concept? I don't know of any other unis that have it.

If I'm correct, do they have the pay at all unis for common rooms?
Never heard of it before (on DC3 here), but they aren't at traditional universities. I was at what is now an RG one, but again, I've never heard of such a thing!

@mum2eim hmm, the questions on the Hatfield form were just basically preferred bedtime, getting up time, describe personality in 5 words, how do you listen to music, and hobbies. They did say at the open day that they have a good success rate at matching roommates but those questions dont seem quite detailed enough to me! Hey ho, what will be will be I suppose. It's interesting how different the colleges are in terms of arrangements for the new students though. I know they tell you they are different but I suppose I thought they would not be quite so autonomous as they seem!

there is a definition of JCR on Wikipedia of 'These groups exist to represent their members in the organisation of college or residential hall life, to operate certain services within these institutions such as laundry or recreation, and to provide opportunities for socialising' and it does gives examples other universities like Lancaster, York, Kent, Soton, Reading, who have JCRs in their halls of residences. I think I vaguely remember back in the day a JCR at my hall of residence. They organised discos, hall ball, Christmas concert...etc

@Tinseltrauma I would hope that they would be good at matching up as there appear to be so many shared rooms. I shared a room in my first year at Manchester (naively ticked the box 'don't mind sharing') and my room mate is still one of my closest friends. I was shocked though at the very small size of some of the shared rooms we viewed at an open day. Didn't look at Hatfield though. But yes agree - what will be will be....

DD had a JCR in her halls in Bristol but it didn't work like Durham - she didn't have to pay to join it AFAIK..

mum2eim The different accommodation blocks at John's really are different in terms of noise! When DS1 was there a few years ago, Cruddas was party-central till 3 in the morning, whereas The Garth (new block, en suite, pricey) was much, much quieter but some rooms were very warm, as I think they're more aimed at overseas postgrads.

The food is... OK. 'Formals' may well be very formal, but DS never went to one! The rest is sort of school-dinners food (plus sandwiches if you need to eat off site, which is probably the case if she needs to hike to and from the science site).

Some of the beds were an odd size (and made of something very uncompromising) -- I'll ask him if he remembers which halls if you like.

Also, I'm pretty sure the laundry wasn't free but card-operated (as DS just bought extra socks for several weeks till he'd worked out how the system worked!)

Thanks to all you super-efficient people on Mumsnet I have managed to rescue ds from losing his allocated room, for which he had not completed all the admin before going away with his friends. They were only holding it for another 24hrs and he won't be back in time. Whew! I was checking his emails as other MN indicated that other students seem to be a lot further ahead with their arrangements, when I came across the message. I will really have to lean on him when we are back from hols.

What clothing should they take. Reading one student forum their clothes are stolen from the laundry room. Is this common or just bad luck with these students.