University life for freshers (2019/20) - Christmas backpacking (or not) and festive homecomings with all the tinseltastic trimmings!

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Previous thread.

I can't see students saying that they feel unchallenged at Oxbridge/St Andrews/Imperial etc

Dd is at her insurance choice which would be roundly disregarded on mumsnet and she's definitely finding it challenging! No let up from coursework, practicals and exams! Loving it though and at least she can see where her money is going!

I have been reading on the WIWIKAU Facebook page that several people's DCs are bored and unchallenged at university. DD is finding her course challenging as the work ramped up from A level recaps after only three weeks. They are saying that for some of them they cover A level work during most of the first year.

In my view WIWIKAU tends to the bottom end of the university scale (sorry don’t know how else to politely put it!) so this doesn’t surprise me one bit. Even with covering some stuff from the relevant A level (a social science) in order to catch people up who didn’t do that A level, DD has found getting to grips with uni style essays, referencing etc sufficiently challenging. A frankly any student who says university is boring isn’t trying hard enough to find things to do outside the lecture hall and library.

WIWIKAU
I followed that page for 48 hours. Full of mums moaning about how their ds would never cope at uni because their little prince couldn't cook.

Just flagging up that DD isn’t bored or unchallenged. She loves her course just wants to socialise more. She is a rare breed that seems to be able to do both... for now.

Yes he is. Started early Sept so had a longish term.

Dd went a bit overboard in joining things and is a rep for her course so never stops!

Oh and I don’t do Mebook !

@Ragwort - I think your DS is at Nottingham? The David Ross Sports Centre have Too Good to Go lunchtime offers. My DS has got lunch there at a bargain price a couple of times.

benjispruce dd has found that her sports club socialising doesn't seem to be affected by exams, even though she's being diligent and not going.

I’m sure she’ll feel better by the weekend. She’s on 2 sports teams, was at the gym yesterday and in 2 societies. Just a bit of second term readjustment I think. I really dislike uni snobbery though-just sayin’

I really dislike uni snobbery though-just sayin

Well, me too but then dd is at a uni which gets a stunned silence on MNet. Not so much in rl as I've never met anyone who went there who didn't love it.

There is a lot of university snobbery on mumsnet, and I didn't know how to write what I wrote without causing offence, but there are some universities that do a lot more hand holding than others. DD's university categorically does no hand holding as far as work is concerned.

Well some students might need more hand holding. @Trewser I have no real idea of universities as DD is our eldest and we didn’t go. DD only had supposedly good unis to choose from as the subject isn’t offered at most. I think her offers were from UCL, Exeter, Bristol, Manchester and Durham. She’s wondering if the partying would have been better at Manchester.

DD would like to burn the candle at both ends more but she simply doesn't have the energy. She isn't as bright as your DD either Benji and needs to work really hard to get the grades where some students don't need to put as much effort in.

I imagine that Durham has a lot of students who take their education very seriously, and partying is less important to them.

I want DD to have a good social life at university because she doesn't have much of one at home, but I wouldn't want it to be at the expense of a good degree, and neither does she.

Controversial opinion incoming.....

If students need hand holding perhaps university is not the best place for them? This comes from the madness of thinking that 50% of our young people should be at Uni together with the marketisation of the system where some institutions see students as no more than a source of income to justify their existence and offering degrees that are next to worthless in the job market.

The “snobbery” in my view is re alternatives to Uni - we need to go back to higher education being the exception and not the norm

Mine seems to be enjoying work and play .

@blametheparents ... I am messaging DS as we speak re food at David Ross !!!

Ginfordinner - just to update - I had a very informative chat with the learning support dept yesterday who have sorted everything. DS can either get his assessment updated before he starts ( in which case we will pay) or can sort it after he registers, using one of two ed psych clinics recommended by the university, in which case he will probably get the money refunded ( they’ll still doing the budget but have refunded for a number of years apparently). Even if he didn’t get an updated assessment they can apparently do an in house handwriting test in the first few weeks of term which would get him a PC in exams ( the only concession he has needed up to now) but wouldn’t get him DSA. All very reassuring and I was so impressed by how helpful the chap was on the phone. We haven’t finally decided what to do yet but it sounds straightforward.

That sounds good LaBelleSauvage

I think some hand holding is absolutely fine.

Universities have changed, life has changed. Yes, maybe a degree doesn't mean what it did 30 years ago but really, does that matter? At the end of the day more students are being educated in more depth and for longer which is a huge plus.

@Trewser is it a huge plus to have a large debt and not much advantage in the job market though? And yes I get they may never earn enough to pay loans down but is that in itself good for the Treasury?

I dont think of it as debt, and it may not give you a huge advantage but it doesn't give you a disadvantage 🤷‍♀️

I did two different first years in two very different subjects at Bath.

One was engineering based and I had to work very hard, and there was no allowance made if you didn't have (for example) Further Maths A level.

The other one was so easy for the first two years it was ridiculous. It was a highly respected degree, but the maths and economics in particularly in the first year was laughably easy if you'd done them at A level.

I filled my time extensively with other things.

I imagine that Durham has a lot of students who take their education very seriously, and partying is less important to them.
Not really. It was party central in the first term.