University 2020 :5: Results day approaching and beyond

[MillicentMartha]

Old thread
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/3855474-University-2020-4-The-wait-for-grades-and-better-days-ahead?pg=40

Less than 3 months to go until we have a better idea what the future has in store for our DC. Let’s hope that even if most lectures are online that accommodation is open and they can move up, across or down to their university towns and start their student life.

We should have been in the middle of exams, instead we have this strange limbo of lockdown. It could have been worse, though.

Dds school arranged for them to have sessions with an Alumni each week so they have been given some basic advice about what to take etc... Which included keeping appliances like smoothie makers in their rooms and also choosing unusual designs on crookery so that they could distinish them easily (rather than have everyone with the same starter kit).

I brought a new set of saucepans last year which I have not used so Dd will take a few of those... Over the last year I've brought her a great smoothie maker, waffle maker etc and she's been baking and cooking more so we have brought things like a new rolling pin, measuring jugs etc... She's got a full cocktail set with an array of glasses which I treated her too for her 18th. She's got a large collapsible washbag already... So it will be bedding etc that she'll need.

She's doing some Challenge 25 work at the moment so she's accumulated quite a few cigarettes and vape capsules which we haven't got a clue what to do with because she or her friends don't smoke...The alcohol she's needed to purchase is coming in handy and she may end up with a stock for Uni...

IME of dc1 going, once they have their accommodation confirmed they link up on social media and "talk" to others in their flat before they go. Mostly for social reasons but also useful for "I've got and iron people are welcome to share, does anyone have a sandwich toaster?" type conversations.
I do remember taking a box into ds's kitchen and there were 7 bottles of washing up liquid lined up along the windowsill, as everyone had thought to bring one
Bed sizes vary - some have singles, some 3/4 and some double, so if you want fitted sheets you'll have to wait.

Things that have been useful for my older ones :

• Collapsible airer - partly as they have heart failure when they realise how many beers or bottles they could buy if they don't tumble dry stuff..... partly for stuff like sports kit that doesn't go in the tumble drier..... partly to keep towels aired..... and als when you come in on a very rainy day. Emphasise to them that mould grow on damp things and air whenever they can
• Door stops - these are really important in halls. If you have your door closed, then people don't stop and chat, or even just say Hi as they pass by, and it can be really lonely. If you are settling in and have your door propped open, it says "say Hi as you are passing"
• Extn lead... / 4 (or 6) gang....... don't forget our teens plug a lot of things in
• a fleece or soft blanket. Halls are usually overly warm, but they do still like to curl up with a familiar blanket. It also can double up when friend stops over
• extra pillows or cushions (as above). Remember there's no armchairs in halls so when they hunker down to watch netflix or a film or have a chat with friends they are sitting on beds leaning against a wall - extra pillows / cushions are good
• photos. Halls vary in what is allowed (in terms of pin board or blu tac) but do print out a few photos of family / friends / the dog to personalise the room
• Empty tubs (tuppaware if you want to spend, or we use empty takeaway tubs)...... remember when they cook, it will often be for one, so useful to put the rest of meal in fridge or freezer for another day.
• glasses. Even if not for the pre-drinks, mine all appreciate having a pint of water / squash / milk etc on a regular basis
• 'emergency kit' - everyone will be unwell at some point. Pack a box with paracetamol / other pain killer / Night Nurse or what have you, as well as the wherewithall to deal with cuts. Also useful to have small sewing kit in there (not only to sew a button back on, but for the fancy dress creations)
• a bucket..... I know, not at the front of your mind, but soaking muddy sports kit / bolognaise spilt on favourite top / blood is very useful, even if they don't ever need a sick bowl.
• useful to have something easily carriable for laundry as don't have machines in their flats - big IKEA or Sports Direct bags work better than a wicker basket

Haha @oneteen jammy job!

@Newgirls I think wellies are for winter beach walks and for the Welly Ball which is one of the big ones IF it happens. Maybe they will try to do an n outside ball if indoor not allowed.

There are lots of sales on at the moment.. Mark's and Spencer have up to 90% of clothes.. I assume this will be the same for home furnishings etc once the top floors of stores open on the 15th...

Excellent info here thanks gang! Am making notes. Will get wellies 😂, door stop, laundry bag, extension lead etc 👍👍👍

Cheap printer. Fairy lights that run on batteries. The sticky things for walls that don't cause damage (can't remember their name). Command strips ???
Bath mat for outside shower.

I got DS1 a cheap box of kitchen stuff from Argos. Really cheap saucepans, utensils, baking trays, cutlery etc. Most of it was ‘missing’ by the end of the year. Really don’t buy anything too nice. DS1 is on to his 3rd frying pan. Or give them your old stuff and buy new for yourself. And they’ll need about a billionty teaspoons.

If they end up with a 3/4 size bed, Dunelm do fitted sheets. Not much choice of colour. I think it was cream or teal!

I have learnt to get patterned crockery. The more naff the better. Much more likely to find it at the end of the year than white stuff. And by chance patterned is often cheaper.

The mattress topper was DS1’s best present. It came home a week before him one year and, gosh, he found out how horribly uncomfortable the bed was without it. It’s really hard to get 3/4 sized ones though. It also makes a great guest bed if they have a friend too ‘tired’ to go home.

This sort of thing

That looks like a great set @MillicentMartha.....

DD has a 3/4 sized bed in her room so I'm making notes on this. I mentioned to her about starting a list of things to take and she commented that it's quite soon. Nothing wrong with starting to get organised!

That Argos set looks great, thanks Millicent! I remember dd absolutely refusing to talk about uni or buy anything until after results day in case she jinxed it. We had a fun time after though going to dunelm etc. I have started collating stuff for ds, but he's really not interested in any of the finer details like duvet colour etc. I mentioned cooking Utensils and he just said he'll probably get most of his food from the on site greggs so he's not worried.

Love the Greggs comment - too true. I have bought dd a copy of the green roasting tin. Not sure why really as she wants catered halls. I think I just need to do something! I watched the virtual tour of St. Andrews on their website so now seems more real to me.

DD absolutely loves cooking so it seems she will be taking almost everything from our kitchen! Definitely the slow cooker but she bought that anyway. I have visions of her cooking for her entire flat because she’s really, really good.

@MillicentMartha

Can you remember what mattress topper you bought?

Here's a funny one

DD college rang yesterday left messages about transport arrangements to college for next week.

She nearly flipped, thinking she had to go back in. All I heard was this panicked shouting 'mum' from upstairs 😄

Was all a misunderstanding, but my goodness it was a shock.

She's so done with further education!!!

Just to say the Argos set is really cheap stuff. Not ‘quality’ products! But when half of it went missing I really didn’t care!

@thesunwillout It was a memory foam mattress topper from Dunelm, nice and thick. Trouble was it was for the single bed he had in first year but he had a 3/4 size bed in second year and a double in third year! He bought himself a double mattress topper from Ikea In the end. If DS3 has a room with a single bed at least it will get some more use.

Dds last session with mentor at school today she's doing a presentation on infectious diseases! There is one further session on Friday with the Trusts HR department who are running a two week course on things like job applications and CV writing etc.

The friendship group had a lovely afternoon with Pizza and Proccesco in the park to celebrate one of the girls 18th yesterday... Its nice to see them out..

I managed to get hold of Dds school A level results last year by subject... They are OK...but the trend over 3 years is very poor eg last years cohort performed 19 percent better in the top grades.. Mainly because girls moved from IB to A level but this won't be taken into account. Crossing fingers that all will be OK.. I would not want to be the head of Chemistry who can probably assess 6 or 7 girls at A*A and there are 5 potential Medic/Veterinary applicants and 7 Biomed/Biochemistry/Natural Science/ Chemical Engineering.... Out of the 12 there are probably 2 weaker girls but apart from one complete star the others are very similar in ability with strengths and weaknesses.

Did they mix her up with a Y12?

I think with smaller cohorts there’s a bit more leeway with grading. Statistically it doesn’t make sense to restrict them to previous years’ results. Only 12 doing chemistry is a small group.

My school’s sixth form have 120 doing chemistry. It’s the most popular subject after maths - 150. 220 in Y13 in total. That’s fairly large for a standard sixth form but even DS’s state comp have 40 taking chemistry out of a sixth form of around 160.

Crossing fingers then... I somehow got the impression that leeway would apply to subjects where there were 10 or less students... DD should on mocks be in the top 3/4 but there are some very hard working girls who do poorly in exams.. The girl wanting to do Chemical Engineering needs an A but only achieved D in mocks yet her classwork is always around AA.. I feel for the HOD... DDs school has such a wide spread of subjects 7 girls have taken Classics this year whereas there were 0 last year... Same for Latin... I think most subjects will have 12 or less students apart from Maths, Biology and Eng Lit...

The guidance doesn’t specify what they consider to be ‘small’ just that the weighting of centre assessments compared to the standardisation model will vary according to the numbers taking a subject in a particular centre. Hopefully there’ll be a sliding scale rather than a cut off. DS’s school has plenty taking maths but less than 10 taking FM or CS.

I'm like Kingscote. Until I know DD is ranked in the top 350 out of 700, preferably in the top 150, for maths, I won't be buying a thing in case I jinx it. I know it's irrational, but it sounds as though we'll have ages to go shopping between results day & drop off anyway. A lot will depend on whether she needs to clear out her room completely each term and whether there is much storage space. Carrying her sports kit home by train will be difficult enough, let alone a mattress topper.

There are only 4 taking Philosophy and Ethics in DD’s cohort. All straight A students. I’m sure ranking them will be difficult.

Surely the boards will have to moderate at a school level if there are not enough to do it at a subject level. There must be plenty of small schools with subject cohorts below 10, so the boards will have to look at the grades awarded across the school as well as in the subject in conjunction with GCSE grades for the cohort to see whether it looks like the school is inflating results. Fascinating statistical exercise, but clearly stressful for those relying on it to work fairly.

@JufusMum

There are only 4 taking Philosophy and Ethics in DD’s cohort. All straight A students. I’m sure ranking them will be difficult.

2 in French. Dd2 better at writing and reading/friend better at speaking at listening. Made their mocks almost identical marks, Both predicted A.