University life for freshers (2019/20) - we're hopping towards Easter with a pandemic to avoid **Title edited by MNHQ**

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I described my symptoms over text to a friend, who said that the daughter of a friend of hers (a medical student) had exactly the same symptoms and had texted positive for corona virus. the symptoms are mainly an odd scratchy sore throat (it felt at first like something was stuck to my soft palate), a tight chest, and odd periodic facial hot flushes. As far as I can tell, I don't have a constant temperature, and the wracking cough I had for two weeks previously is pretty much gone. If it is corona virus, and started when I got the sore throat rather than the cough, I think the danger period for it getting worse is in the next few days. So rather scared, but trying to stay upbeat.

Oh dear, @SchrodingersKitty hope you are ok, but please let us know. I have just picked up my DS. DD in transit but hopefully home tomorrow as she has realised that not much is open in Newcastle.

I think next term it would be a goodwill gesture by the universities to offer reduced price accommodation. They make an enormous amount of profit from student accommodation and a reduced fee would be an acknowledgement of the reduced service students are getting and the financial hardship most of the parents will be facing after this.
I think a 50% reduction in accommodation fees would be reasonable for next term - given many a student could justifiable say I’m going home to do everything online and won’t be using the halls.

If we go into lockdown like my friends in France will we be allowed to travel to collect our children?

I don't know the answer to this, but one of the reasons I had DD come home last Sunday rather than the original plan of waiting till tomorrow was because I didn't know at what point travel would be restricted here in the US and everything was changing so fast. I also wanted to get her home and in (mostly) isolation with us before the virus really started to spread.

@googlepoodle I'm with you. Paying 50% would be acceptable for all parties. The best compromise really. Agree that universities do indeed make a huge profit out of accommodation. I'm sure I read that based on inflation, the average room in halls nowadays should cost just £60 per week.

Take care @SchrodingersKitty. Hope you can take it easy for the next week or so.

My friend in Germany says the hairdressers and brothels are to remain open

Just seen latest comma to Nottingham students via link on Facebook.... looks like they are recommending everyone goes home ... if they want to stay they have to fill out an online form

@Alicatz66 mine coming home tomorrow. Will be glad to have her back but feels so sad that they are missing out on so much. She has no clue what's happening with exams yet. I'm still teaching so probably massively infectious. We have less and Jess staff every day and won't be able to continue fir much longer.

If this does go on for several months (as seems more and more likely) what are your dc going to do once online lectures cease for the summer break? I’m assuming that there won’t be many summer jobs going even if there is not some sort of curfew in place.

No idea @Decorhate volunteer locally?

That is my thought too but depends on how much mixing with others is allowed. Ds at Bath has just heard there will definitely not be lectures after Easter @MrKlaw

@mumsneedwine . Can't really collect mine till Saturday morning so I hope he can stay till then ... it's bloody chaos here .. I've had hysterectomy last week and bladder damaged so I'm trailing a wee bag till next Monday .. cat bitten by his arch enemy, DH and DD working from home !!!! All I need is DS now with a ton of laundry !! On a serious note do you think we should get them to bring as much stuff as possible back now ? .. he's in Broadgate

I’ve told ds to bring as much of his clothes back as he can. We will drive down at some stage to get his bedding & kitchen stuff.

@Alicatz66 mine has a house which she has already signed up for next year so bit easier for her to leave things. But I've told her to bring anything back she might need for the next 6 months. If things are left no one else is going to be moving in so should be fine to leave peripheral stuff.
I'd like to stop teaching now. Am exhausted as covering for so many colleagues who are off. Classes of 60 today - self isolation is not happening for me.

If they stay put, assuming accommodation etc stays open and it includes vacations, can they not volunteer locally to uni?

@Alicatz66 mine also has her car so can bring herself back. Just want her home now.

@LIZS think lots of Unis have told them to go home now, before restrictions are put in place like rest of Europe.

Am banging my head here, we can go collect son in car, he says nah, he will come home on train and go back when he feels like it for all his stuff.

A good number of the students in ds’ halls flat are from other countries. I think it will be too quiet once they return home for ds to want to stay there.

It's so weird seeing everyone here having all the conversations that I was having about a week ago with all the people on DD's university parents fb group... and btw, that thing has been a life saver, almost literally.

I’m one of our school first aid staff. So it’s lucky me that gets up close with thermometers and feverish children. Sent 2 home today with fevers of 38+. Still fully staffed luckily.

Volunteering is good yes, but the problem is for some students that they depend on summer employment to make up the difference between loan and 'real' cost of living, where dparents can't make up the shortfall - not for 'extras' but basic costs like rent. They will be quite hard hit if they end up volunteering rather than being paid.

22 weeks of term time at uni for my first year DD since sept 2019 minus 6 weeks of strike action means that it’s cost £9k of tuition fees to be there for 16 weeks at a cost of £563 per week 😱 and that's without the accommodation costs 🙈

Not my fresher son, but other child has phoned up in tears because they have been told not to go in again & are effectively off now for 6 months. She is worried about the long term effect of this on getting a job etc. Plus final year will be tough if they assess on two years worth of learning at the end. I’m hoping she will pull herself together once she gets over the shock & finds something constructive to do

It is a shame for them - university is built up so much for the dc throughout school years as an amazing experience, and to effectively finish the 'living away' part of the year in mid March must be a huge shock - especially when they think about the costs.

Yes i suppose it falls into the 'if that's the worst problem you've got' category - but i do sympathise with their disappointment.