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.

So no flatmates' Sunday roast lunches @icanbewhatiwant (remind me, is your DS going to be in a Ziggurat?). Not good not to have ovens, although it does rather suggest experience has shown that most students 'hob/'ping' cook.

@bizzey Regarding length of course, when you do the online application for Santander it asks you how long your course is. I’m assuming you can update them later though.

All the banks seem to offer overdrafts & I think the limit is often extended as they get older anyway so not sure it is a huge factor to take account of. The free 4 year railcard was the nicest perk in my dc’s view.

@icanbewhatiwant the UEA microwaves are combi ovens/microwaves. Not as good as proper ovens, but exactly the same sort of thing you tend to get in self catering apartments in French ski resorts in my experience, so he will adapt. They should be fine for cooking pizza 😃. The one essential piece of kitchen equipment my DS asked for is a pizza wheel....

Re CC .
I read/heard somewhere that evem if you use it fo a £20 ish shop 1 x month and pay it off full at end of month it helps the credit score.
I am very happy and dont mind being told that is wrong !

Scissors all the daily here for pizza cutting. 😊🍕

We did the 20 minute video thing opening a student account at Lloyds as she already had an acciunt there. Now I'm wondering if she close it and nab the £100 from HSBC.

icanbewhatiwant I had no idea about credit score before the lady at the bank said about it - when we went in earlier in the year to ask about opening a savings account (she also pointed out that the current account had a better interest rate than the savings accounts)! Then I saw it mentioned by Martin Lewis. I really don't have any idea how much difference it really makes though. I'll do some investigating and if I find any useful info I'll post a link.

bizzey DD spent a while last week looking at the merits of the different student accounts before she decided to stay with Santander (for the free railcard) but the HSBC one I think gives £100 cash back and that came out top of her list. It was just easier for her to stay with Santander - already used to their app, already got the debit card etc. I wouldn't worry too much about the interest rates because at the end of the day, the highest we could find was still only 3% not a huge amount.

Freshers week tickets and info available for York on Student Union website and no mention of fancy dress for DD's college as far as we can see (apart from viking helmet) - phew.

DD just heard her Eng Lit grade has been put up from an A to A*. She was one mark off last week so school paid. This is the second time since GCSEs her grades have changed. The marking of these exams needs to be seriously reviewed.

Benjispruce Well done to your DD for her A* - I hope it didn't affect her uni place. It's a bit shocking how many change. My DS got his GCSE results yesterday and is 1 mark from the next grade in English Lit - school didn't offer to pay though . . . .

DD had notification from college that their Computer Science coursework will have a review of moderation, so we are waiting to hear about that, it was moderated down by 5 marks and if the original marks are reinstated then it will mean she goes up to the next grade.

@Benjispruce well done to your DD. Out of interest how many marks did she go up and when did she put in for it (on Results Day or later)?

I am not aware that DS's school pays for any remarks at all but they are a poor state school (very low PP numbers), relying massively on parents' voluntary donations and very active PTA income.

@Benjispruce wow fab news!

Schools wouldn't normally pay for subjects outside of Eng Lang or maths at GCSE, and even then, usually only for disadvantaged students or ones where the school has made the decision . In my little dept, one remark would eat up 1/2 of my annual budget :(

Thanks. DD is in a field in Reading at the festival so her signal is a bit patchy but she got an email from exam officer saying your grade has gone up. No other details. I’ve tried phoning the school but nobody there . Luckily she got her first choice uni as needed AAB and got that but all 3 were within 1 or 2 marks of next grade up. School has a budget for any within 3 marks. She desperately wants that B to be an A but still waiting on that. It’s great to go up but it’s a shame not to get that on the day.

She put in on results day btw

Thanks everyone .
I am swaying back to Santander now.
If he gets 4 year tail card he has no excuse for not coming home !.

Thing is railcards are " cheap " £ 30.
And i use my tesco points to get them so
"free " sort of .
But it would save him/me a bit of hassle.

I agree about Tesco points, but DS was already with Santander, so it was easy.

@GoldenRuby ok thanks, better if combination oven. It looked like just a standard microwave.
@NewModelArmyMayhem18 he's in Paston house. En suite campus.

DS didn't go for the Santander four year railcard option because it's cheaper (and more convenient given that it drops off/picks up on campus) to use the coach. I recall using the train in my first year but defaulted to using National Express from the second year onwards, once I'd clocked how much money I could save.

@Benjispruce that took quite a long time go come back? Someone at DC's school put in for a history paper remark on the 15th and it was back over the weekend (so three/four day turnaround). Oh and their B went up to an A (eight marks gained).

Yes I considered the railcard with Tesco. It gives one third off the ticket price. It's only £14 return for him anyway. So I'm not sure it's worth it. But then again doing it via Tesco won't actually cost me anything so maybe I will.

We were told that it would go in as non urgent as uni place issues rightly get priority. It may well have been sent earlier but as DD has been at Reading since Wednesday night, I doubt she’s checked her emails daily.

Silly question about the railcard.
Does it come as 1 railcard with 4 years on it ,or something that they get a voucher for and renew each year.
Can you choose the date you want it to start.

His rail card runs out in January.
Seems a shame to loose those months .

@Benjispruce that makes sense. Think DS's friend paid for a priority review of marking.

bizzey

There's a FAQs specifically for the Santander railcard - www.16-25railcard.co.uk/help/faqs/santander/?_ga=2.4090034.344645623.1566553589-1541906786.1565948853

DD says 60 days to use the code but I'm sure it will say somewhere on that page.

My DDs railcard just ran out! You can renew it online.

My dd has only used her railcard once in 2 years, visiting a friend. She always gets picked up at the end of term and taken back as she always has too much stuff.
Bizzey -no, my hedgehogs seem happy with their diet of slugs!

I did not know that about Clubcard. I shall look into this as we have gazillions of unused vouchers.