Oxford and Cambridge current students discussion thread

[sandybayley]

Starting a new one as we filled it up!

Can't believe DS1 will be home in 2 weeks. Must remember to adjust the Ocado shop for when he's back. I suspect we may end up with a few days of his favourite meals 😊

DS didn't have to buy any textbooks as his college have a grant for this.
He drinks very little alcohol; last term he had one (free) glass of wine at the matriculation dinner.

In non-pandemic times, a student who drinks alcohol and/or enjoys a night out could quite easily spend a lot more.

I'm marvelling that Ironoaks' DS was able to keep to such a modest budget. I'm afraid that my DS (O) spent a considerable amount more than that on top of meals and accommodation, even in a pandemic, although I'm not sure how much of that was nice to have versus need to have.

Congrats on your DS's offer @ClarasZoo, and well done for enduring such a long, agonising wait.

I'm not party to much detail on DS1's spending last term. It was more than £50 a week but it less than we'd budgeted for. Socialising seems to have been limited to trips to Tesco for alcohol and crisps and trips to Primark for fancy dress.

Things are looking hopeful for a return to Oxford in Week 5 for DS1. Just a glimmer of hope at the moment though as it doesn't pay to get overexcited. I'm already thinking about an afternoon out of my local area for an essential car journey. Too exciting.

How is your DS today @PantTwizzler ? I've found will all my 3 that whilst they've all been down recently the low moods haven't persisted too long. I hope that's the same for your DS.

PantTwizzler, that sounds very difficult for your DS and I hope things improve for him soon. Some courses are so much harder than others when they're just online.

DS1 (C) - who was really looking forward to his first supervision of the term with the new supervisor - was disappointed to find it cancelled at 3 minutes notice today and he won't be given a replacement supervision either. Everyone else except he and his supervision partner had a supervision this week. However, his essay had good feedback and he understands that the cancellation was unavoidable but it's sad that he'll miss one of his only supervisions this term, given he's having to miss every other part of the student experience too. He's still hoping, valiantly, that he'll get back his essays from last November from his other supervisor but is realistic that it doesn't look like this will be any time soon....

I've only been a postgrad. at C but have never come across anyone with similar experiences with lack of essay marking. Is this just a Cambridge 'thing' for undergrads. that sometimes you just don't get your essays marked - or at least not for several months?

DS2 (O) is getting to grips with double the number of essays that DS1 has this term and still ahead of the deadlines each week. He was very pleased with his college collections mark and is just missing being able to be back at university.

Both of them talk about looking forward to being back next term but we can't know what the summer will bring of course. Neither spent much money during their first term and it was mainly on sandwiches from Tescos I think, as their colleges don't cater for every meal. There were no proper 'formal' events at all for DS1 (C) to need any formal wear and very few for DS2 (O) either.

Loved seeing the dog photos BTW!

DD spends considerably more than £50 per week. She does however get a bursary for materials.

Iron thanks - DD gets a slight widening in a stairwell with kettle, microwave and fridge. It is not advised to buy anything that needs to be cold as it keeps tripping.

DD has had an email to say all teaching will be online for the remainder of this term & studios will remain closed. DD is staying home for the foreseeable. She is also being encouraged to apply for the COVID hardship fund to cover having to buy materials at retail prices. I am not sure is this is college, university or department based.

@sandybayley, I feel immensely cheered by your post. A glimmer of hope indeed, but it's something. I can empathise with the excitement of an essential car journey outside your area: my trip to Oxford at the start of term may well be the highlight of my year so far. Fingers crossed for your DS and fingers crossed for mine too because I'm sure he will be happy to see the first year chemists (and other subjects?) back in college.

@mutterphore, how unfortunate about the cancelled supervision. It must feel like the frustrations of the first term are continuing but as there was a good reason for this particular cancellation, let's hope that it is a one off. Weird that it couldn't be rescheduled though. With all three of you at home and with distractions of normal life on hold I imagine it's easy to dwell too much on these things so it's good that your DS1 has a relaxed attitude to it.

Snap, yes - DS1 is very mellow about everything and completely understanding about the supervision cancellation and also the lack of marking and return of last term's essays. No idea where he gets this relaxed attitude from!!

He really likes the new supervisor - although he's never yet 'met' him or had a supervision, as the supervisor is very complimentary and conscientious with detailed and helpful written essay feedback - only a few days after DS1 handed in his essay - so really quickly compared to his other one. DS1 felt inspired afterwards and fired up for the next essay - so that's very good. I hope he can 'meet' him next week and the supervisor said that he'll give them a little extra time in supervision next week to make up for the missed supervision. He just can't fit them in for the missed supervision.

DS1 also gets on very well with last term's supervisor - who has now also taken over the other paper for this term, at very short notice. There'll be 4 or 5 students to one supervisor in that Zoom session each week, which again feels so very different from my own undergraduate experience of one or two students to one tutor (at Oxford, so Cambridge may just do things differently). Hopefully, each week that the DOS sees his students, he'll be reminded about all their unmarked essays from last term and may eventually have time to get them done and returned.

I must say that so far DS1 and DS2 have had a very good experience with their tutors/ supervisors in terms of their friendly, positive personalities. In my day (around 40 years ago now), tutors and supervisors were often fearsome, patronising, sarcastic, super-critical 'dons' who seemed to believe that each tutorial was about putting the young upstarts in their place. The duty of each student was to 'fight back' with some new and extra reading/ research they'd done, to parry the intellectual blows and remain undeterred.

Nearly all seemed inhumanly superior to me and it took three years to forty years to reach any kind of sense of equality!! (I'm exaggerating a bit of course!). By comparison, all DS1 and DS2's supervisors and tutors seem to be lovely, warm, personable and positive and this is really helping during this term of remote learning.

Hi @ClarasZoo and well done to your DS. DD budgeted for £70 a week last term; she did go for a big room ( reasoning that she’d be spending a lot of time in it as a History student so worth the outlay) so rent was higher than some of her pals. Ate in Hall most days and managed fine. The only reason she spent 4 days living off black coffee and free mince pies from the Christian Union for the last 4 days of term was a serious Heffers habit !
Only outlay was a gown for formals and Matric , about £50 I think.
Most of her college are wfh.

DS spent approx £35 per week on top of accommodation. His college is fully catered but two weeks into term he started making his own lunches to save money. Gown cost £40 and he wore a dark suit for the couple of formals that took place. Cost of formals was borne by college funds last term. Very few students permitted back this term so he is at home.

Ah thanks for the info. I hope that they are allowed back soon!

@ClarasZoo DD is very frugal. She eats a vegan diet when in Cambridge so spends around £25 pw on food. She gets lots in Sainsburys in West Cambridge and fruit/veg from the market. She sings in a college choir so in normal times gets a free formal dinner per week. She also got a cheap bike from the recycling centre at home which we took down and every 6 months or so, DH gives it a service.

Her gyp has a fridge, 2 ring hob, microwave, kettle & toaster. She has a small slow cooker and a blender. She has developed her cooking skills and can whip up a decent meal from basic ingredients. She has cereal for breakfast and takes wraps and/or home-made soup for lunch when she's in labs.

Her college used to have a minimum spend on college catering per term, but that was scrapped last year. Her main treat was Sunday brunch which was a social occasion more than anything and cost around £3.

We don't give her any money, but she has her loan and a couple of bursaries and seems to eke out her funds pretty successfully. It all depends on how your DC want to sort out their food; a catered college will probably be more expensive than doing your own thing. DD was always a fussy eater so planned to self-cater anyway.

Once DD got her grades, we ordered her gown and had it sent to our house. DD said that lots of people were desperate to pick theirs up on arrival, so she was glad that was one thing she didn't have to worry about.

@goodbyestranger

DS4 WhatsApped me an exquisite photo of Christ Church Meadow this morning but I don't have the know how to transfer it to MN. DD4 sent one of the RadCam too a bit later. A few years ago one of the others sent the same image where someone had drawn very prettily into the snow: 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?'

I have one at ChCh, but currently at home. I am now wondering why, if they can return?!

Thank you for the tip re the gown! But yes, we will wait for the grades first!

@ClarasZoo, different Cambridge colleges have different undergraduate gowns. I don’t think this is true at Oxford, but I don’t know.

When I bought an MA gown those sold at Ryder and Amies were half the price of those at Ede and Ravenscroft.

DS1 got his Oxford gown in freshers week. His household made an outing of it to Shepherd and Wedderburn and got them together. I was tempted to get it beforehand but I'm glad I didn't.

Thank you! Yes there seems to be a different gown for everything! Some are blue even!

Both DC bought their gowns before going up. DD (O, third year) hadn't visited her college beforehand so she went to Oxford for the day after A level results and bought her gown, cap and ribbon then. Oxford have two styles of undergrad gown (if you include scholars gowns) and they come in different lengths.
DS (C) ordered his gown online before going up. It is cheaper from the porters lodge than in store. At his college, gowns come in one size and it is very long with long droopy sleeves. Luckily he is very tall and long limbed. It drowns his sister!
DD has worn her gown numerous times in Oxford, for matriculations, formals, mods, prelims, some tutorials, chapel choir etc. Gowns seem to be worn less frequently in Cambridge but this may have been due to Covid and less opportunity to wear them.

AnnaMagdalena my own DS isn't at ChCh, he was merely taking a turn :)

If your DS falls within the government exemptions, as interpreted by ChCh, then he can return.

As it happens DS is a lab based research student so the guidance doesn't apply.

DS1 and DS2 bought their gowns before they went to university. DS2(O) wore his a few times for Matric. photos, the one Formal Hall and possibly for a choir event too.

DS1 (C) never got to wear his as they didn't have a proper Matric. of any kind or any photos and no Formal Halls. However, I managed to get both to change into suits and gowns for some family photos the other day, which was nice, so at least there'll be some home-based recollection that DS1 Matriculated at all. DS2 has a great full First Year Class of 2020 photo and some individual ones taken at college.

Stop press! DS1 (C) actually got back one of his essays from early last November! Hopefully the rest will be marked and returned soon. He can barely remember writing it. He had his first supervision of term with 5 students in the same group - which seems to me more like a seminar than supervision - but it must just be the Cambridge way.

@mutterphore, good news that DS1 finally got an essay back!
We have just received a very creative whole year group matriculation photo for DS (C). It was taken from the top of a building looking down onto the lawn of the old quad where the students are standing in their socially distanced household groups looking up. Each household is named below (as well as each student within the household) which is a nice touch.

Once DS's place was confirmed, we ordered a college-specific gown and a college hoodie to be posted to us. The weekend before he left, he put on his suit and the gown so I could take a photo. This turned out to be for the best, as his cohort still haven't had an official matriculation photo due to the pandemic.

At his college, the branded merchandise seems to be very popular. This winter's item of choice is a college puffer jacket embroidered with their initials. Ryder & Amies sold out very quickly but agreed to do a bulk order for the Freshers, so DS managed to get one. He also has a couple of face masks with the college crest on.

@ofteninaspin that's a lovely way of managing to do the matriculation photo. DS did get the formal meal (sitting in their households, divided into several sittings to enable distancing) but no photo.

@ironoaks, I was very impressed with DS's college last term. They really promoted the "household" concept which enabled formals, and other events, to go ahead almost as normal. DS did all his socialising within his household and they had their evening meal together in hall every day. They are now reduced to having a weekly Zoom call together and DS says last term feels like a dream!

@Ironoaks - in years to come I think the college face masks will be something our DC find in a cupboard and think, that was 2020...

@goodbyestranger

AnnaMagdalena my own DS isn't at ChCh, he was merely taking a turn :)

If your DS falls within the government exemptions, as interpreted by ChCh, then he can return.

As it happens DS is a lab based research student so the guidance doesn't apply.

I am thinking he can return on the grounds of my mental health