The ABC of university life (2019/20 cohort) - Will NewModelArmyMayhem18 forgive me?

[MrKlaw]

previous thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/3701968-The-ABC-of-university-life-2019-20-cohort-settling-in-we-hope

Hope you don't mind - people have pent up comments about cheese graters and traffic cones to get out of their system!

@Decorhate DS got 2 offers that were higher than his predicted, the remaining 3 were in line with his predicted. He got 2 grades lower than his predicted and got an offer from one of the 2 highers.

Good to know @Shimy

My ds also got in with dropped grades but it’s hard to tell if this year was unusual with lower numbers & harder A Levels

DS has gone silent on me - having texted with numerous problems with wifi and masses of work due, he stopped sending anything. I know he is still with us as he forwarded me various emails about admin things, but without comment. I'm sure he is working flat out, and it is great that he is handling things himself, but the sudden silence is rather disconcerting. I might try him again tonight when he should have got the first load of submissions in!

@Decorhate I think the low birth rate played a significant part. The university he ended up at is an RG and they encouraged him to put in an application (spoke to them beforehand) they were infact expecting to be 'scrambling' for students and they weren't the only ones who said this.

@JennyWreny, Chunder Chart - I love it

@Decorhate, tell him to press for higher predictions if he feels he could actually get them.
DD pressed her teachers for higher predictions - she didn't work in Y12! She got the predictions she wanted and applied for unis which were offering those grades or just below. She firmed her highest offer and exceeded it inthe end.

@Decorhate doesn't it depend on the universities too? DS didn't get into Durham (his firm) with a dropped grade but would have got onto the Exeter course he had an AAA offer for (it went to BBB in Clearing). He didn't bother with Clearing though as he was entirely happy with his back-up choice.

I think the birthrate dip in numbers covers 1999 to 2002 (?3?).

@JennyWreny there is a chi fee chart in DD's kitchen too 🤢
@Baytreemum she hasn't thought about yoga but I'll pass on your suggestion. Anything is worth a try !

I think the low birth rate played a significant part. The university he ended up at is an RG and they encouraged him to put in an application (spoke to them beforehand) they were infact expecting to be 'scrambling' for students and they weren't the only ones who said this.

This has been a big factor in the US also. The mid tier uni's here are offering much better financial aid packages and competing for the students they really want. Some bottom tier uni's have closed or downsized.

I would love to know what was behind the dip in the birthrate. Anyone know?

Probably because everyone was having millennium babies and then not ready for the next year to have another. I bucked the trend and had both

juicy0 - I get migraines and here's what I've learnt.

Sumatriptan is an OK med for when you have a migraine. There are different doses. I found the larger dose was too much, and that if I took a smaller dose I got fewer side effects but it still fixed the migraine.

I switched to Rizatriptan a couple of years ago - much fewer side effects, just as effective. It's a melt on your tongue tablet rather than one you swallow.

I usually get 3-day migraines. I take a triptan on day 1, then on day 2, then on day 3. On day 4 I'm usually OK. Sometimes I have to take two in one day, but very rarely.

Sometimes I take an anti-nausea tablet such as Stugeron too.

There are lots of preventatives to try. Anti-depressant (low dose), anti-psychotic, and blood pressure meds. I believe you can also try beta blockers. None of these helped me unfortunately.

More info here www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/preventive-migraine-medicine#1

If you fail all of those you can have Botox injections - these are very effective for some people including my DD's 16 year old friend.

I am in the US and I have Aimovig, which is a monthly injection you give yourself - very new. The NHS has decided not to fund it yet, but there are more new options coming.

It's good to keep a diary of when the migraines happen, what meds you take, and if possible anything that might have been a trigger.

We had a huge storm here last night - the barometric pressure plunged very fast. I woke up at 4am with an appalling migraine.

I also no longer drink wine, as it very quickly sets me off.

Many smells set me off. I struggle with candles, scents, perfumes. Oddly I'm mostly OK with cigarette smoke.

Certain types of heating also set me off eg I have a fan heater and an oil-filled radiator for my home office, but I've had to stop using them because they trigger migraines. My woodburner can do occasionally.

I wear glasses that filter blue light.

Just throwing a lot of info at you in case any of it helps. It sounds like your DD has a GP who wants to help. It can help to be referred to a neurologist (I think for Botox that's required).

My GP also said that being on the Depo shot may well be helping my migraines as it keeps my hormones on a more even keel. Again, very personal.

I hope she is doing better soon. It must be hard to cope with constant headaches, and so unfair when she's starting her new life.

Please can we have a rule that all vom buckets are to be named Boris.

I can’t even bear to look at the news today.

NO POLITICS !

@HoldMyLobster thank you so so much for such a detailed response, I really appreciate it.

Benji
juicy0 the only thing that worked for my friend was oxygen. She had it prescribed in canisters and it was wonderful at clearing cluster headaches.

@ZandathePanda, that was what DD and her flatmates christened her bucket when she first went to uni

HoldMyLobster thank you so so much for such a detailed response, I really appreciate it.

I wish I could do more - migraines are so debilitating. No one should have to suffer them.

I'm trying not to worry, but DS sounded so down and stressed when I managed to talk to him. He is overwhelmed by admin things (his laptop's connection to the wifi keeps failing and the IT guy's fixes aren't working for long), has had all his first work deadlines hitting him at once, and doesn't seem to have managed to fit in anything social since Sunday. It is not even the end of first week for him, so I know things will settle down more, but he doesn't seem to be having a good time at all. He's gone off to formal hall (though no-one he knew was signed up, so I hope he has found someone to talk to).

Like other DCs, the things that would help him - making an appointment to talk to student services, explaining all of the clashes to his tutors, etc - are exactly the things that the dsypraxia makes hard.

I know that I need to leave him to it, and he is gradually whittling away at the issues, but it is making me really anxious.

That's such a shame SchrodingersKitty. One problem at a time and chipping away at them is a way to go. Re the wifi, could he temporarily create a hotspot on his phone data to use to take the pressure off? You may or may not need to get him a little extra data but he can work offline and then connect to upload his work. If he's not using it to watch videos or stuff then it actually shouldn't use too much.

One of DSs classmates on one of his courses has told him who he needs to speak to re student support and he's promised to go. Fingers crossed.

I've just booked a train ticket to go and see ds on Sunday, just for the afternoon, as he's having such a tough week

@Decorhate when my DS applied he started off with a list that all had similar grade requirements, but he then decided to be aspirational so also applied to Bath & Birmingham which were higher than his predicted grades, they both offered him places.
He put Birmingham as his 1st choice but unfortunately just missed on one grade, so ended up going to his insurance (which was at his predicted grade) he was a little bit disappointed on results day, but he was also happy with his insurance, infact if he had not tried for the aspirational, his insurance would have been his first choice, so all good at the end of the day.

Hey everyone...
Really sorry to hear your dd still has migraines @juicy0 how stressful for her, .. the worry about it, is probably not helping them either! Really hope she gets it sorted soon..
my 2 are still good... ds1 is 20 next week, and we were going to visit and take him out for lunch and shopping (he loves to clothes shop) but the good news is he's been selected for the uni novice rowing team so every spare minute is filled with rowing and gym much to his delight! I don't mind what he does, as long as he's happy...
not really heard from ds2 at Durham,... he has had his accommodation invoice through though, and has had a rent reduction for low income families which is great.. my dh is re-training after being ill, so money is definitely tight..I just wish ds2 was a bit more chatty, but he is absolutely conforming to type..doesnt see the point of extraneous chit chat :D

Catching up again.

@AtiaoftheJulii