Study in the time of COVID-19 (2019/20 intake): lockdown restrictions, relaxation of rules and repeat... And will the Grinch government cancel Christmas?

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Carrying on from our previous thread.

I believe these threads have probably been running since the summer/autumn of when our DC were about to start/in Year 13 (so 2018)?

Bright

Can you coast at university though, even if you are very bright? Unless you're doing a course that's totally mismatched with your abilities? I have always thought that those who get firsts do work very hard for them?

@NewModelArmyMayhem18 not all Firsts are equal though. Some institutions award a higher percentage of a firsts than others which automatically devalues them overall. I know from the experience of my older child that it is possible to scrape by with just enough effort at the right times to get a decent degree. My younger current student is arguably not so “clever” but is a much harder worker, more consistently and so far has got better grades at Uni then their sibling did (both social sciences but different subjects). Let’s see how the hard work vs seat of the pants approach pans out in the end!

I agree @VanCleefArpels about not all first being equal.

And yet people still say that it doesn't matter where you achieve your degree from. I would have thought with a degree accredited by a professional body it doesn't matter, but a history degree from Oxbridge or St Andrews is going to be more highly regarded than one from a university languishing in the 100th place in any university league table.

The one not working is the one having parties in the flat.

People might well say all universities are equal but most people realise that is not so. Certainly for some professions those recruiting tend to have preferences although some are trying to be "institution blind".

Interestingly though, I have family members who are both on the same, much-coveted graduate scheme. Both have firsts but one was at Durham (for Masters) and the other went to a university 'languishing' in a lowly position. Go figure!

I've only just conveyed to DD the advice about not getting tested within 90 days of a positive test and she does not believe me! She had a positive test on 18th September so is still within that time period. Now both DC have said that they want to come back on the same day right at the end of term, and they are in two different places. Logistics...

@simbobs can they both get a train?

@Benjispruce2 they could get a train in theory but DH doesn't want them on public transport and, as his family live not far from DD's uni city, he wants to see them if possible and drop off and pick up presents. DS claims he cannot fit into a bag everything he needs to bring home. We will just have to go in two separate forays. I had thought that one or other would want to come home sooner. On a positive note it means less food to be purchased ahead of Christmas.

@NewModelArmyMayhem18

Interestingly though, I have family members who are both on the same, much-coveted graduate scheme. Both have firsts but one was at Durham (for Masters) and the other went to a university 'languishing' in a lowly position. Go figure!

I don't think where you went to university matters where I work. We used to be Sheffield based when we had an office, and we had a lot of Sheffiled Hallam graduates in our office.

If you want a law training contract with a city firm it would matter, but most graduates aren't aiming for that.

I will be collecting DD. She will have far too much to carry, and I don't want her travelling on public transport. Luckily it is only 2 hours each way.

@Ginfordinner, I went to Sheff Hallam back when it was a Poly

Mine will be getting the train/coach

[quote bigTillyMint]@Ginfordinner, I went to Sheff Hallam back when it was a Poly [/quote]
I went to Leeds Poly

DS will be coming home by train (not sure if coaches are running or not?). If it's as quiet as it was when he travelled in the summer, he will have the whole carriage to himself!

My sister went to Sheffield Poly .. I used to visit her .. I loved Sheffield.

Megabus is still running. At least, they tweet about service delays, which would seem unnecessary if they weren't actually on the road.

@NewModelArmyMayhem18

Can you coast at university though, even if you are very bright? Unless you're doing a course that's totally mismatched with your abilities? I have always thought that those who get firsts do work very hard for them?

Depends. Brightest person I knew at uni (Oxbridge)sailed through his maths degree in 2 years, getting the top first. He could have done only half the papers and still got a comfortable first. He then did a different subject (Philosophy or similar I think) in one year and also got a first. English was also his 3rd language and he was two years younger than his peers. The really odd thing about this was he appeared totally normal and did a lot of extra things including active club reps etc.

With maths it does seem to be more on natural ability than other subjects though.
Year above me there were 3 that got 1st. One worked hard all the time. I remember my first meeting with him, he'd arrived about two hours previously, and one of his friends asked if he'd done any work yet, and pretended to faint when he said he hadn't (actually he apologised because he hadn't!!)
One of the lads worked hard but not that hard, and got one of the top firsts. The other one never seemed to do much!

And from my own experience. I got a comfortable 2:1. I didn't work that hard (having glandular fever in my final year would have stopped any inclinations I had that way) but I covered my work without stressing too much.
However the reason I got a 2:1 was entirely down to one paper I got pretty much full marks on. If I'd had two papers like that I would have got a first fairly easily.
To me, (I remember arguing this with someone) the questions were really an extrapolation of what I'd done at A-level, and I really couldn't see that they were any more difficult and why anyone would think they were, they simply had a couple of extra steps.
The person I was speaking to was saying it was incomprehensible.
However they thought linear algebra was just so obvious that there was nothing to understand, whereas I found it a total closed book. I think I did manage to get into double figures in my paper, but I'm not certain. (and Analysis was almost as bad)

In some subjects hard work will pay off more than others. Could I have got a first? Not sure. Would it have been worth the effort I had to put in to get it? Probably not.

@Ginfordinner I went to Leeds and Mancs a lot too as my friends were there!

@Alicatz66, I love Sheff too snd would happily move back

@MarchingFrogs, DD gets the Megabus to and from uni - just as fast as the train but a quarter of the price!

@Witchend I can't hope to have any knowledge of maths ability (not something I possess) but I would imagine that if you have a natural flair, it probably comes relatively easy to you even at Oxbridge degree level (and beyond).

Good that coaches are running (very few if any were back in August when DS went back up to UEA). For DS there's not that much difference in price or time taken (unusually), so he seems to prefer the train now. It was different when he was on campus and could pick up the coach without having to get himself into the city centre.

Sheffield is a city I've been to only once in my life.

Very detailed advice on UON Facebook page about learning going online from 9th to 18th Dec, getting tests, when to leave , travelling safely etc. For those in houses it asks them to complete a form with all their details and the address they will be staying at for winter break ... offering lateral flow tests ... asymptomatic tests .. telling them where they can get tests ... most detailed thing I've ever seen from them !

Can someone help me ? Ds2 ( currently at home as on gap year) has just told me that he has offered one of his school friends a bed ( I know teenagers !) for a few nights between leaving Uni and flying out to his home which is on another continent .

Normally we wouldn’t hesitate, our home is his home etc and we have known this boy for a long time. But apart from general rules about staying with people, which I know are an issue, I haven’t kept up with what is happening about universities. Apparently he will have had a test and will get a form to say he is ok to leave University which is good on the face if it but do they have to leave immediately after the test result, what is the situation with public transport?

I won’t deny that I am not entirely happy about this but he doesn’t have anywhere else to go and ds will be very upset if we don’t help and to be honest I feel ashamed that I am even hesitating as none of this is his fault so I want to do our best if I can.

Hot off the press, as they say...
Student movement and plans for the end of term - GOV.UK
www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/student-movement-and-plans-for-the-end-of-autumn-2020-term

Not sure it answers your specific query, although I would think possibly the answer is that the university is obliged to let him stay and provide for his welfare, until he can travel directly to the airport.

DD said that she can't see anyone partying a lot on her course and doing very little work doing well. With biomedical sciences there is simply too much learning to do, and many topics build on previous topics like building blocks, so it isn't as if you can wing your way through an essay or just be instinctively good at maths.