St Andrews

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DD has received a very good offer from St Andrews. She loves the look of the course and is very keen to go there. Aside from the course she loves the idea of a small town, has no interest in nightlife as part of the "student experience" and loves the quirky traditions.

Does anyone have any experience of being there and the extra expenses that could be involved such as the extra cost of travel, formal dinners and the like?

We are a low income family in an economically deprived area. She is part of a very small 6th form - 12 in the Upper 6th. Her school is not in special measures but is holding on by the skin of its teeth! They are very keen for her to go to St Andrews but she is not going to be their responsibility!

We will support her as much as we possibly can but I am worried that it will be a lot more expensive than a less elite university.

Any thoughts?

Hope everyone’s doing ok and keeping safe and well. DS has been taking the voluntary lockdown in his stride - doing some studying and laundry and they’ve had corridor movie nights with a takeaway. Some good news - he applied to be a student ambassador and has been accepted so he’s excited about starting training next week.
Bad news - We were hoping to visit at half term but are now in a local lockdown so not sure if we will be able to anymore ☹️

Well done to your dd @Dahliafairy that's fab news for your son but so frustrating re half term. If it's any consolation I think we will be locked down here for at least part of October as Scottish schools are on half term in various localities for most of the month. Can't see the Scottish government wanting families traipsing across the country during those weeks.

Yes, I have a feeling we probably won’t see DS until Xmas!

Yes, I am also expecting a lock-down for the last 2 weeks of October, with travel restrictions all over UK.

Student ambassador sounds good, are they the people who showed us round on Open Day? What else do they do?

Yes, they do the open days but also take part in widening participation initiatives. My son is very excited to take part - ambassador training starts tomorrow!

www.st-andrews.ac.uk/students/ambassadors/

I’m worried about the half term lock down - I think dd will just come back and stay back til next year. Not what we would have wanted. I know others will stay though and embrace it all.

@Newgirls how is you DD getting on socially now? Have the Wardlaw girls found potential close friends?

Somebody on the FB group has posted that her DS in DRA has caught it. Here is her post and it may explain why the university wanted to take drastic action to separate bubbles on Friday:

Unfortunately we found out yesterday our Son has tested Positive 😢so he may be the student you have heard rumours about in DRA. I can confirm this is sadly true. He has been in isolation since last week as the NHS phoned him to say he has been in contact with another student who tested positive they had been watching a film together. He has had no symptoms other than he felt tired and clammy hot. He was tested Friday night and results came back first thing yesterday morning. He will be isolating for fourteen days, all relevant people who have had contact with him in the 48 hours since Friday when he began being hot have been notified. He wasn't around anyone other than his housemates in that time. The University are really looking after him and communicating with us. He hadn't left the house since March, has been the most scared out of us all during lockdown and followed all the guidance so it's really upsetting that he's now caught it, but he's okay. He's no other symptoms today and he is still smiling, me on the other hand I'm an emotional wreck!

I read that too and explains it really doesn’t it. Sounds like all handled well but not sure what a uni can do. It can spread so easily with tourists, students commuting from Edinburgh etc. How can they contain it really?

Dd is socialising with neighbours. It’s only been 2 weeks but I would hope she can meet up with coursemates soon as that might give her more reasons to stay? She was just getting more buoyant and now not again. I really wasn’t expecting it to be so tricky for her as she’s done loads of things away from home before and makes pals easily. But it is early days still.

Are there any other neuroscience people in Wardlaw? DS is lucky because medicine is a big course and there is another one in his bubble and some more in the hall.

She hasn’t mentioned any in uni hall - there are 35 of them during neuroscience so you’d think a few nearby ish? I will gently encourage going to find them next week! Trying not to hover (taking it all out on you lot!)

Sports centre reopening tomorrow so I hope that means this mini lockdown won’t be a constant thing

@Newgirls that's fab about the sports centre! I will let dd know as I think will give her a wee boost.

@Newgirls have you heard that there is a suspected case in old wing of Uni Hall, so a bubble is isolating whilst they wait for results? DS said that if it is positive, anybody who ate a meal at the same time as the person who has it will have to isolate. Apparently they check the QR codes to see when you were eating. That seems to make a nonsense of the bubbles - can they really isolate half the hall when somebody tests positive?!

Fingers crossed it is just a cold!

Not heard that monkey - agh sounds grim.

I think if it is in two halls already then surely they will need to rethink being open at this rate. It’s only been 2 weeks. Might all be home sooner than thought at this rate

I think they will see how effectively they can contain it, loads of schools have bubbles isolating - DS2's school have had to send Y11 home to isolate for 2 weeks. Will make face-to-face provision more difficult.

I agree with the poster on Mumsnet who thought that it would be helpful if the university put up a dashboard with the latest stats. Stories of fresher parties all over UK, it is a very difficult thing to manage, but I think transparency and explaining why rules are applied is critical.

On the bright side, DD claims the first she heard of any actual face-to-face parties was when the announcement was made yesterday. So at least I know she's doing what she's told!!!

DS said that DRA is Party Central so not surprised that if the virus is anywhere it would be there. He seems to think AMH is very sociable, but hanging out together in common room rather that parties.

I know I am voice of doom at moment but it only takes one from uni hall or anywhere else to meet just one student from dra and off we go. I really hope this is a cold. So likely as so many around and most tests are negative. But shows how easily it can impact on them all

DDs concerned as people she knows in ABH are friends with the party goers in DRA and have been in her kitchen...
She and her bubble are being very good but there has certainly been mixing between halls.

So, after latest announcement, households can't mix indoors, but 2 households can mix outside, or 6 people from different households if they are 18 or younger (unlucky for my post gap year DS). I think the rules mean that people can't visit home, particularly if they are Scottish, not sure whether they would stop you visiting family in England. They specifically said that non co-habiting partners can visit each other - nice human touch which I think means DS can visit his GF as planned this weekend.

Yes slightly softer than I was expecting. So we could visit during reading week as long as we stay out of their halls. Although could change?!!

Maybe the shock of this past weekend etc will help reduce the party behaviour

Yes not as bad as I was expecting. We have booked a couple of nights in St A in a couple of weeks so I think that will help dd and I can also go up in reading week a couple of times to break it up for her if needs be. At least we can still go for a meal or a coffee and as she has 7 months left of being 18 she can meet outside with up to 6 others. I dont think she can mix inside though with 6 others from different households( in a hospitality setting) but will need to check. Hope all your DC are ok? Some sports still seem to be going ahead dd going to badminton. A other distraction is nake off starts tonight, I can see that as a bubble bonding session.

Oh I will mention the badminton - forgot about that

Visits will help won’t they

I think it may be difficult to visit them at half term as I am expecting a 2 week lockdown at the end of October - Nicola Sturgeon says they are still considering it, and I think that if numbers are looking bad in a couple of weeks they will do it to coincide with half term. So if you are thinking of booking accom, make sure it is cancellable!