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 came home Friday, he is less than an hour away so no painful journey. He has brought everything home and said he didn't use half of it, which considering how little he took was quite some feat! After a few initial wobbles about which college he had chosen (not old or pretty) he loves it and feels it suits him well. He seems more confident, has made friends and his tutor gave him an excellent report and said he was on track for a first so all in all a very successful first term. I just hope he's not too bored being at home!

@ErrolTheDragon, I think you are right but the Corolla doesn't fit in the instrument I play on its trolley, which is my preferred method of carting it around. Since Covid, I have only played one socially-distanced concert and made one recording, so maybe it's time to stop...

Hats off to your DD though. I thought NatSci students worked hard but yours is in another league!

I asked DD about the PhD funding and she is only considering fully funded options. There is a group at Cambridge that she is keen to join and they have made encouraging noises to her. However, she won't hear until results day. She is also considering going abroad, so it may be that next year both DDs will be studying abroad. Apparently Germany charges 300 euros as opposed to £20k here. I will ask DD to show me the numbers when she has surfaced and gone out for her grandfather's newspaper on her bike as she rashly promised last night!

Against my better judgement, I posted a reply on the giftedness thread (advice for the parent of the 6 year old asking what A-levels they should take next after they enjoyed their initial five subjects).

I had to edit my reply several times Ironoaks

I'll be keeping a keen eye on the phd chat I think, that's dds thoughts at present and that's a whole new ball game.

I missed that one... give me a clue so I can bask in the golden glow.

OYBBK - my advice is only if she really loves the subject. I did mine b/c of parental expectation and not having a job to go to. Hated every second of it. Still do. I only finished because I am the most stubborn person I know & I didn't want to give my parents the satisfaction of saying "told you so" as they fanned the fires of sibling rivalry.

@Unescorted: If a child already had A level Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Biology, and Chemistry...

Ahhhh ... I think I engaged a couple of months ago at age 3. Always good to get the Christmas update mind. Do you think the child is the attic picture?

Unescorted - she really loves the subject.

I can enthusiastically recommend doing a PhD. I loved my time and wouldn't change anything. The combination of intellectual and personal freedom was intoxicating and I really didn't mind the lack of money (not sure I'd be prepared to go back to those times, mind you, but I was young and carefree). Is it a science subject OYBBK? I think it makes a big difference. I was part of a large, sociable science department so it was very convivial. It would be different if you were stuck on your own much of the time. I can't say there weren't huge challenges (experiments going wrong, supervisors taking their time to give feedback etc.) but it was worth it in the end. And it stood me in good stead when I finally entered the working world (not academia, I didn't love my subject enough for that).

I too am looking forward to the discussion about six year old PhD students. I mean, what else should they be doing with their time? Actually I rather enjoyed that thread and was interested to read about the younger versions of some of the DC on this board.

She's Maths. No experiments to go wrong Still in third year though, so it's jumping the gun a bit. Time flies so fast.

DS got his supervision reports, they all said the same thing:
Industry: good
Progress: good
Interest: enthusiastic
Estimate of term's work: 2.i, 2.i/1 or 1
The comments were insightful and gave the sense that they have got to know him (apart from the supervisor who said that DS's work is neatly presented, who presumably got DS mixed up with someone else).

You might wonder how I know the content of DS's reports now that he is an adult... he was unable to work out how to open and view them, and asked for my help. 😂

That’s a solid result for the first term @Ironoaks. Well done to your DS.

@OhYouBadBadKitten, time really is flying by quickly for our third year DC. DD is quite relieved that she has the opportunity to extend her degree to four years and put off the “what next?” question for a little longer. Happy to report that she found out today that she got a First in her (postponed) Part 1 Finals.

OYBBK that is a good reason to do one. Good luck to her!

Iron good start he should be proud of that. DD didn't even use the "help I can't possibly open an attachment" excuse. She sent me a screen shot - I am guessing she is proud of her progress.

I know our DC are , you know, amazing but are they really ALL on track for an upper 2.1 or 1 as seems to be the case?!

That’s an interesting point @hobbema. DD is one of seven on her course at her college, and she is the only one to have been awarded a first in prelims. This is the first time she has been awarded a first in exams but these are the first exams to “count”. External examiners are used to ensure consistency across all colleges for Part I and II Final Honours exams whereas First year exams and collections are not moderated externally, for DD’s subject at least. I hope that makes sense!

Maybe they're being kind to them as it's been such a difficult term, hobbema - but if so it backfired with D1, she said she didn't know what the '1' was out of haha, and sorry there's no way of that not sounding like a stealth boast. She's done hardly anything else this term but work though.

Well, going by their finals results (most recent for 2018 I found here:
gazette.web.ox.ac.uk/statistical-information-university-oxford ) - the great majority (over 90% in many subjects) get a 2.1 or higher, with more than a third of students getting a First. Very few 3rds.

And he's home! Tricky roadworks on the High Street and a blocked road meant I couldn't get to the door but a lovely gang of freshers ferried his stuff to the car. Several other parents in the same position!

Sausage, mash and apple crumble for tea. And his old history teacher (who loves him very much) has invited him for her Christmas quiz tomorrow (DD is in her class this year).

Oh and he has his college puffer jacket 😊

Are his initials on it?

Oh yes! He has quite unusual initials 😉

DS has also acquired a college puffer jacket embroidered with his initials. 😆

One of my first tasks after DS arrived home was to help him remove the mud from his college puffer jacket; mud that had been acquired when the jacket was cast aside to facilitate skinny dipping in the Cherwell..

DD is home but self-isolating due to contact with a positive case. Her boyfriend is coming and standing under her window in the rain so he can chat to her by phone while they gaze at each other. It's very sweet.

That is sweet! And a tiny bit heartbreaking too.

That is true devotion @PantTwizzler! Rotten luck for your DD though; hope you all stay well.

Beware that puffer jackets tend to multiply, especially if your DC are predisposed to sports stash.