University 2020 :10: Empty nests warm vests and covid tests: uni parents 2020

[sammyjoanne]

Carry on from MilicentMartha's University 9 thead
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/a4025020-University-2020-9-And-theyre-off-making-hay-while-the-sun-shines?msgid=101075411#101075411

lol thanks DadDadDad :)

What does pmk mean?

Pot Meet Kettle?

Hopefully not 3,4-Methylenedioxyphenyl-2-propanone: a ketone often used as a precursor to MDMA...?

Place marking I think.

person most knowledgable lol

Agree about the heating issues - mine needed to go back to their heated student accommodation - it is freezing in our house! Only the logburner in the kitchen saves me from hypothermia!

dd just got an email saying lectures will be online until April 12th now (Southampton).

Edinburgh saying same except for a limited number of courses.

DD thought that this might happen. When DH dropped her back in Edinburgh on the 29th of December (she only came home for a week) she said see you in May. Her job is continuing plus one of her international flatmates came back so after 3 weeks on her own in the flat she's now got some company. Actually sounds as if quite a few people have come back (mainly those in private accommodation where there is no rent pause).

There is indeed no rent pause for most students so it is all a very complex situation caused by the state's lockdowns. What a mess and the magic money tree seems to flow in all kinds of directions other than students and their parents.

Quite Xenia. I can’t believe undergrads are having to pay full fees for this year - so many courses are dire value - no labs, no studio work etc. Not saying teachers aren’t working hard before we go down that argument again but am sure if they were undergrads they’d understand

I don't have a problem with the tution fees for my dds course. She's had 12 lectures this week, a 1hr tutorial, 3 hour workshop and she's got an online lab to do (the online labs are difficult) but I think if she was at uni she'd probably prefer the online lectures. She had weekly f2f tutorials and labs last term. I think it very much depends on the course/uni.

Dd2 seems to be getting quite a lot in terms of tuition, recorded lectures and online seminars and 1:1s with tutors for both languages regularly.
Dd1 isn’t getting as much.

I agree with you for my DSs course. They've made a real effort. Lots of live lectures and group projects. Changing the course dramatically to fit the situation. However they are a department who regularly gets teaching awards. Well worth the fees (which are paid by the Scottish government not us).

My DD hasn't been so lucky. One of her subjects is 2 hours a week of powerpoint slides (no audio) and a 1h a week tutorial which is dominated by a few students.

Hi - wondering if I can possibly get some hard info on private student rents please - trying to sort out DD for next year. If you don't mind sharing, please could you indicate the weekly rent your DC has signed up to pay his or her landlord next year, plus location if possible? Seems to be more expensive for DD in Lancs than Cambridge or Kent so far. Thanks! Looking for a mixed house of three to four.

@BCBG ds is paying £105 per week including bills in an 8 bed flat next year in Lancaster city centre. Dd is paying £120 inc bills in nottingham (in a much nicer house !) . Dd paid £90 last year for a house but it wasn't great and didn't include bills. Think we ended up paying £13 a week on top for bills

@BCBG DD paying £80 in Notts, but this is her 3rd year there and the landlord has not raised the rent (he's a gem). Refurbished last summer so all new and shiny. But tiny old miners cottage (7 mins walk from med school though).
DD in Bristol will be paying £145 a week from Sept - I needed a bit of a sit down for that one. 7 bed house 10 mins walk from Uni. Prices vary a lot !!

@BCBG DD paying £100 per week including all bills in 3 bedroom house in Bowerham area of Lancaster from September. DS pays £330 per month excluding bills in 4 bedroom house in Cardiff. There are huge regional variations and even within the same city.

Dd paying 90.00 per week, Warwick not Inc bills (present students pay 10.00 a week for bills), 5 bedroom house.

DS paying 120 a week including all bills in Durham - very nice house for 8, walking distance to library and SU and sports centre. Oh, and it has 2 washing machines and 2 driers!!

@BCBG

Hi - wondering if I can possibly get some hard info on private student rents please - trying to sort out DD for next year. If you don't mind sharing, please could you indicate the weekly rent your DC has signed up to pay his or her landlord next year, plus location if possible? Seems to be more expensive for DD in Lancs than Cambridge or Kent so far. Thanks! Looking for a mixed house of three to four.

Hi BCBG escapecampus.co.uk/all-listings/?rent_range=&bedrooms=4&department=residential-lettings The one on china street looks really nice, quite modern and near the judges lodgings. Stirling Road one also looks nice. My DD is £102 per week, and not far from the one on China street.

www.lancasteruniversityhomes.co.uk/searchResults/All still looks like they have some left.

DS rent for his room in a 6 bedroom house, 10 minutes walk from campus, inclusive of bills will be £95/week. That’s the same as his halls in Leeds.

Son in Bristol (or rather here in London so not using his room and
course 100% on line this academic year - post grad law) paying £146 week plus bills (or rather I am paying it out of income taxed at 42% +)

Thanks everyone and also @sammyjoanne for the links - looks like Bristol tops the leaderboard right now!

Yeah my cousin is a 3rd year at Bristol and pays similar rent prices.

DS is in the middle of end of semester exams. 1 down, 3 to go. Hard with maths to do online. It looks like they are mostly online question papers which you answer on paper, scan and upload. 3 hour exam with 30 minutes to scan. First one he had 5 minutes to spare with a couple of IT issues. Nerve wracking!

No sign of a house sorted yet. They have a reading week after exams when they’ll attempt to get somewhere. I can’t imagine house hunting is anything like normal this year, so hopefully there will be some good places left. I don’t know what budget they are setting. Older DS had a room without bills for £80/week in Coventry for a typical student house.