University 2020 :9: And they're off, making hay while the sun shines.

[MillicentMartha]

New thread, trying to be upbeat!

Old thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/3996883-University-2020-8-Use-the-CAGs-don-t-use-the-CAGs?pg=40

Exeter don't want the first accommodation instalment until October. I think to give time for maintenance loans to be paid first

DS has to set up a direct debit, three instalments, first due next month sometime. He’s already paid a £400 deposit.

@choirmumoftwo

Thank you for the new thread. DD off to Lancaster next week and booked her moving in slot this morning. She's in a self catered townhouse of 12 so quite a big bubble and hopefully a good opportunity to socialise. DS goes back to Cardiff for final year on Saturday. We'll be proper empty nesters then!

Just to say my son was at Lancaster and he absolutely loved Uni life there, the accommodation is fantastic and the townhouse on campus was brilliant with the large downstairs living area. He really liked the sense of belonging to a ‘house’ .He was in county. I hope your DC enjoys the life there .

@specialted

Any Lancaster parents paid for accommodation yet? Not sure we've had a bill yet

Hi specialted, no we have not had a bill for the accommodation. I believe its due 8th October? Im sure it will come during freshers week and it comes in an form of an invoice so I imagine that appears on the student portal, or via the student email address at [email protected]

@DoLiv63 thank you. DD will also be in County and hopefully sharing with two school friends, though that's not guaranteed and isn't a deal breaker. Lancashire including Lancaster are going into limited lockdown from Saturday so I'm even more relieved she'll be in a bigger household. Still important to go though, our DC have lost out so much and need to get on with their lives.

So Lancasters on a form of lockdown with restrictions. Hopefully it doesnt go too far when it comes to moving to uni (she just wants to get there) and daughters worried about making friends outside her flat, especially her physics friends whom shes been talking too since April lockdown. She just wants to meet up with them.
Hopefully they can book a study space in the library or something if thats allowed.

Urgh yes Lancaster lockdown not ideal. No idea how that will be enforced on campus? Are they going to check if your bubble is a 6 or 8 or 12? Presume college bars will still be open with distancing? I think ds has mostly on line lectures so can't see him leaving his accommodation at all at this point. He has made no effort to join any subject group chats at all. Maybe that's a boy thing? He is highly sociable though so hoping he'll gel with his flat mates.

LIZS - I think that would help. I’m going to see if she can move. Although I’m wondering if her neighbours just haven’t arrived yet. Apparently there was a fire drill at 2am so I’m waiting to hear from if anyone came out of their rooms on her corridor 😀

Looks like dd options issues have been resolved.

@LIZS: same here on the options for my DD. She didn't get the language but got all her other choices so happy and all sorted for next week.

@ClerkMaxwell pleased to hear it. There is apparently a two week window to swap.

Also checking in!!
DD also Durham with a moving in date of 27th (sounds like it's going to busy!)

It seems they have a WhatsApp group for their college and have worked out drop off times and 'think' that those with the same drop offs will be in the same staircase. Anyone know?

I hope so because in the group she has found someone who is a martial artist, someone who likes DC/Marvel, someone she played hockey against and someone who is friends with her best friends twin!

Small world.

We flying to Glasgow ( going to RCS) with DD tomorrow morning at some ungodly hour. Staying in an air bnb. She has a time slot to move in to her halls and I am allowed to go up to her room and help her unpack ( there was word that I wouldn't be able to do this but thankfully changed.)

She has lived away before and is a little older than most 1st years so am not worried about her not coping- it's just so far away from where we live so unlikely we will see her before Christmas especially with all the COVID stuff going on.

Dd went last Saturday and she seems to be fine. However, I'm concerned she's sat in her room a lot on her own. She's quiet and is happy in her own company but I worry she's going to get lonely.
She says her flat mates are ok but I don't think she's expecting them to become her best friends. They meet in the kitchen when they're getting food and did have drinks one evening but I think they go out more than her.
Lessons start next week but just 2.5 hours all week and all online, so she won't get to meet others studying the same as her.
She's not the most outgoing and isn't sure what societies she may want to join and she says you pay for a year which she doesn't want to do if she doesn't like it.
Just feels like such an isolating experience for her at the moment.
I don't want to bring it up with her as she says she's fine but when I message most times she's in her room.
There's almost no chance for her to meet her tribe really and to make friendships. She's stuck with the other four in her flat. How on earth are they supposed to find people that will become their friends?
This should have been an exciting busy freshers week for her but it's been far from that.

@Trufflethewuffle and @BrigitsBigKnickers hope your DC have a great time in Glasgow - its a fab city. I was at Glasgow Uni many many years ago and dd is in her final year there. The weather is supposed to be good this weekend - don't get used to that.!

Dgd off on Sunday and she has her first tutorial on Tuesday. She didn't manage to get a booking for any fresher week stuff that is not online but had already made contact with 3 flatmates and also made contact with those who will be having a tutorial with her on Tuesday do it's a begining of sorts. The 3 flatmates found arrive tomorrow so perhaps they will be there to greet her ( 9 am drop off).
Are there any bridges at all working in London? Am still hoping to avoid Dartford crossing but it looks like I may have to go that way after all☹️ I hate the M25.

My daughter is going to look into the possibility of doing the first term from home instead, just as a fallback if she can’t cope. No idea if that will be possible. Wondering if we can get a refund on accomodation in those circumstances (expect not!)
Snozzlemaid - like your daughter there’s a lot of time alone in her room.

@GaribaldiGirl I think having that as a backup option is a great idea. If she knows she can come home, staying becomes a positive choice. I really think things look up for her soon though.

I'm going to keep everything crossed that everything really is good for dd as she says it is.
I hope she'll say if she's not happy.
She's miserable anyway atm as her boyfriend is in the navy and left on a 3 month deployment a week before she went to uni. So she's had many sad goodbyes recently.

@BrigitsBigKnickers DD is also going to RCS. No doubt our DDs will meet up!

Trufflethewuffle- What course is she doing

Dd seems to have found a group to drop in and out of but has also spent much time alone in her room or online. A few of them sat in the otherwise empty common room last night and met the warden who asked opinions on the exam style dining. There are not even two table tennis bats so noone can play!

@BrigitsBigKnickers it’s clarinet.

@Empra123

And York DD is hoping that York doesn't go into lockdown before she moves there at the end if next week

Which halls at York?

@LIZS

Dd seems to have found a group to drop in and out of but has also spent much time alone in her room or online. A few of them sat in the otherwise empty common room last night and met the warden who asked opinions on the exam style dining. There are not even two table tennis bats so noone can play!

I hope they said it was ridiculous! DS at St Andrews they have just blocked alternate seats, so nobody right next to you or opposite you, but 4 or 6 to a table.