The ABC of university life (2019/20 cohort) - settling in we hope

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Previous thread - sorry about the lame thread title but done in a hurry!

@bengalcat, to Durham? Or Lancaster?

Durham

@thesunwillout my DD is in Talybont North House Y. Her first choice was Talybont Court which has a breakfast bar and sofa in the kitchen rather than a table, in fact I think all the Talybonts are much of a muchness except the lower letters of the alphabet at Taly North which have smaller bedrooms (and are correspondingly cheaper - though none of the accommodation at Cardiff is extortionate). I think any of the Talybonts is good - they are all grouped together on a campus with sports hall and social centre a short walk from an excellent 24-hour Tesco express and an easyish walk to lectures, the Union and into town. She is in a flat with six other students and all the rooms are en-suite. It had a really nice feel when we dropped her off.

Sorry that should say Tesco Extra - it's huge.

@candycane222 yes we put 2 crates under the bed. They have kitchen stuff in atm one and food in the other. Very limited space in the kitchen too. Ds was going to find somewhere for his pans and utensils in the kitchen.

@candycane222 yes we put 2 crates under the bed. They have kitchen stuff in atm one has cooking equipment and food in the other. Very limited space in the kitchen too. Ds was going to find somewhere for his pans and utensils in the kitchen.

@ZandathePanda my dds at Newcastle in her 3rd year and theres loads of activities at freshers and some run multiple days. Hope she finds something soon! She definitely got value from hers! She went home with a free pizza yesterday that they were giving out for freshers!

Just been up in Manchester for business so met DD for lunch. She has really gelled with her housemates, they are having a great time. They didn't end up going to a lot of the freshers events as they thought them a bit crap - just went clubbing instead. She really loves Manchester - it's buzzy and a lot cheaper than London.

Although she has longer hours when she's expected to be in for her Fine Art course compared with others, the course has yet to start in earnest. Some of her house mates have had reading to do for their courses.

All good. I'm so glad she's having such a good time. It was lovely to see her and a bit weird - it's been 2.5 weeks but feels like ages.

@Bouledeneige that's great - Mancs is a cool city.

@bengalcat, another! Maybe we should start our own thread for Durham like UEA 😂

@Bouledeneige that all sounds good for your DD. Good that you got the opportunity to combine business with pleasure.

It's strange to think that some students are already heading for three weeks into their courses/university experience. And others have still not started yet. The Oxbridge terms must be over in the blink of an eye, with being only eight weeks long.

@New is Cambridge 8 weeks as well?

Long-time lurker just joining. DS going to Oxford so we are still in the collecting piles of stuff stage. Having to drag him out kicking and screaming to do things like open bank accounts, but he is getting his huge piles of reading done. He finally agreed to look at the timetable of Freshers Week events!

I expected to be much more stressed by this stage, but DH was diagnosed with a brain tumour over the summer, so the uni-prep has taken a bit of a back seat. Friend is very kindly driving us to Oxford as I don't and DH currently not allowed to. A bit anxious at the thought of the logistics with parking, unloading and all that.

@LillianGish
Thanks for replying! I've been looking at those, did she apply early on for the smaller room, I'm guessing they're quite sought after.

I had a look on the map, it looks quite far from the main bit, dd's course will be mainly near the train stn.
Tho some of it at John Percival building (English)

What's your DD studying?

Great that it's near Tesco, I believe there's also a McDonald's lol.

A shiny new thread! Reporting in and ready to backpack!

@Shimy it certainly used to be eight weeks!

@SchrodingersKitty So sorry to hear about your DH. Nice to have a friend like that though. My dd loved Oxford when she did UNIQ but they dodnt offer the course she wanted. I'm sure he'll get sorted fro freshers when hes there.

@New, I didn't know that, thought it was just Oxford, though I know nothing about either apart form what I read on here, no offspring there . DS2 made some noises about it but i had to shut them down quickly unfortunately.

In the 'olden days' Oxbridge undergraduates used to get the same grants as London students (because it was so expensive to live there). Doesn't seem to be the case with student loans now though, or is it?

Just dropping my backpack into the new thread!

Freshers' Flu has apparently hit in Manchester. Fortunately, we'd included cold capsules in the packing. First crazy Thursday timetable - 8:45 to 5:30 lectures & seminars. Other days have nothing or just one.

@RedHelenB - yes, she's a friend I made at Oxford, many years ago, actually - I hope DS (and all the other DC) make such good friends at uni. Thanks for your sympathy about DH: the tumour is responding well to steroids (so well that they shrank it completely before the biopsy so they still don't have a clear diagnosis), so that is positive. We'll cope.

@SchrodingersKitty sorry to hear that you DH has had a brain tumour. Good that your friend is offering practical support too. Good luck to your DS and hope all goes well for your DH.

Ah you'd already done it, I was still on the other one!

My last post closed the last thread at 1K, joining you here now.

@SchrodingersKitty So sorry to hear about your husband....

DS applied to John Snow (sadly narrowly missed the grades) - I thought it sounded excellent particularly with being in a modern block and so central this year. Hope your DS enjoys himself at Stephenson - is that self-catering too?