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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

2017 seems so long ago, now they're fledgling graduates.

997 replies

latedecember1963 · 06/03/2021 17:31

4 years since A Levels and the wait for August and confirmation of where our chicks were about to fly the nest to.
It's been 4 years that has sprung a few surprises along the way, not least this lovely series of threads.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
11
Parker231 · 22/09/2021 13:06

Congratulations @Haffdonga DS!

We’re back home from the Luxembourg family holiday and DS is now sorting out his packing for his move to Amsterdam this weekend. The house has stuff everywhere. I’ve no idea what he is packing- seems to be a lot more than Uni packing.
Good news about the US travel news. We have family coming to stay from US, The Netherlands, Canada and Belgium at the end of October for DH’s leaving work party. Crossing fingers and toes that there are no changes and everyone can come.

Xenia · 22/09/2021 16:07

Glad people are getting back to normal. I have still not had a night away from home since summer 2019 (partly my fault I suppose) and our 2 family holidays cancelled since then. Hopefully 2021 will be better.

All fine here including my unborn grandchild which hopefully will be a lovely Christmas present for us all. The tubes as ever on our line were dreadful today so they were so late they decided not to go go their first 2 hour session (hopefully they can make up the work) and then got to the next 2 hour one and have the last one ending at 5.45pm so even so a full day and lots of work. I was comparing their law course to mine in 82/83 at the same stage. Most of the subjects are the same but I got myself very distracted reading my diary from 1982/83 - very interesting however.

ErrolTheDragon · 22/09/2021 18:03

Congratulations* to your DS, Haffdonga,* and agree it's good to hear of some normality.

We're away on holiday! A self catering cottage near the exmoor region so we've been doing some lovely walks, the weather is being very kind to us so far.

Carriemac · 22/09/2021 22:19

Congratulations @Haffdonga great result
DS has finally found a room in Bristol so the nest will be empty here again soon.
Our second attempt to go abroad looks more likely now for early October but I'm now packing my bikini yet !

ErrolTheDragon · 23/09/2021 08:00

Phew, that must be a relief, Carriemac. Hope your holiday plans work out.

Parker231 · 23/09/2021 15:12

@Carriemac - hope the holiday plans work out. We found the new arrangements much more straightforward than we anticipated.

Haffdonga · 24/09/2021 19:59

Thanks for ds's congrats everyone Smile

So good to hear of all your various travel plans finally going ahead, freshers weeks, grandchildren and our nests filling and emptying again as they should. Dare I say it? Is it really starting to feel like we might be creeping back towards normal life again?

bigTillyMint · 25/09/2021 08:58

DD still battling on with her MSc diss, but she has a start date for her job now, so is looking at buying office clothes… Grin

Horsemad · 25/09/2021 09:05

When does she hand it in @bigTillyMint? DS hasn't heard anything yet. He's away this weekend with his uni friends.

bigTillyMint · 25/09/2021 09:32

Submission date is 13th Oct I think, but we are going to collect her and all her stuff on 9th, so praying it’s done by then ConfusedSmile

Horsemad · 25/09/2021 20:01

Fingers crossed all goes well
@bigTillyMint. 🙂

bigTillyMint · 25/09/2021 20:27

Thanks!

Xenia · 26/09/2021 07:55

My son has a friend or two still completing their dissertations. Good luck to those who do.

Mine have their usually 10 hours (5 x 2 hour face to face) seminars next week but at least it is concentrated over 2 days a week and they are into the swing of it now. First mock exams are around half term time next month in their main subjects of the year so they have 2 weeks off in October - half term then exams as it were although it is only a fortnight "off" in the sense of attendance at the seminars. I am sure they will be working very hard in that period.

My son's friend did his big move to London for first job this weekend but it was very expensive and not what ie wanted because this lift could not get any petrol at all so none of his things other than a small bag are moved and all the expense he could barely afford of buying congestion charge etc utterly wasted as the move of his stuff did not happen.

Parker231 · 27/09/2021 07:02

amp.ft.com/content/f77fe7ee-6165-427a-8754-e90d22d5689f

Possible changes to student loans

Needmoresleep · 27/09/2021 08:37

Unfortunately FT access is subscription only. Cheap skates may have to make do with the DM.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10031469/Students-face-settling-loans-early-Rishi-Sunak-eyes-plan-boost-Treasury-coffers.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

Xenia · 27/09/2021 11:01

I saw it today too (the FT is the only subscription I pay). I have been saying for years if your children will be higher earners and if you were able to afford school fees then paying the university the fees instead and having no loans might be worthwhile. This does not make me change my mind (although this is not a choice for many of course).

Meanwhile on the home front, all well here. No house guests today for once and twins in physical law school this afternoon for 2 two hour sessions and back around 7pm. I think we will all be happier when we have the result of the resit for the exam one failed earlier this year as we think if he fails a second time he is then thrown off this current course and has one final (third) attempt at the exam and then it's curtains. Mind you he had a dream he failed and said he felt relieved as then he can relax more... so typical of my lot to see the good in the bad and be so laid back. Even so I am sure he wants to have passed this time.

Original poster
latedecember1963 · 28/09/2021 17:01

Just had a catch up read as I've been AWOL with work, my mum and MiL.
Well done to your son for the distinction, Haffdonga! 🎉🥂
All the holiday plans sound exciting. I do hope we're heading back to some kind of normality. The YR children I work with who are mainly 4years old can barely remember what life was like before March 2020.

OP posts:
Parker231 · 28/09/2021 17:49

We’re back from delivering DS to the Netherlands. He’s in a hotel for two weeks but we went to see a flat he has signed a lease for. He started work today and I had a text that everything was good and he’s going out for dinner tonight with some of his new colleagues.

The house is very quiet with just DH, the dog, cat and I. Everyone is coming over at the end of the month for DH’s leaving work party so looking forward to a house full again especially DH’s parents from Canada who we haven’t seen since the Christmas before lockdown started.
Hopefully everyone else is enjoying their new working and studying lives.

Xenia · 29/09/2021 20:53

Netherlands sounds exciting. My son passed his August resit today of part of his criminal law exam (t was the recorded criminal oral he failed by a very few marks last time) so that was a huge relief as it means he passed last academic year's course and will not be thrown off his current law course. he was in a seminar at the time and the results were about an hour late and took ages to load but the whole group were pleased for him and the lecturer so at least he now knows where he stands - can continue his course until next June rather than have to do a final resit in December ( you can only resit twice).

Mine have to have a call with their personal tutor this week or next to discuss how they are getting on and what 3 electives (subjects you choose for next term) they might do. Anyway all going fine here. I think they have mock exams next month after "half term".

Needmoresleep · 29/09/2021 21:00

Congratulations! It must be a huge relief. When do they start applying for jobs? I assume that can be onerus.

Horsemad · 29/09/2021 21:17

Congratulations to your son Xenia, a weight off his mind, I'm sure.

Still no results for DS here. I'm not actually sure when they're due, to be honest.

Haffdonga · 29/09/2021 21:52

Oh well done Xenia's ds! It must have been such a stressful wait. Now he can get on and just focus on his current course. Do your ds have thoughts on what type of law they'd like to go into @Xenia?

Xenia · 30/09/2021 08:45

Thank you. He had never failed an exam in his life. Anyway it is a relief that he passed. He said he could hardly concentrate in the third two hour seminar yesterday - Wednesday is a bad enough day as it stands with 6 hours of sessions. There is a regulatory rule, not set by their institution, that if you fail one exam (even just one of the 2 in this subject) even by the 4 marks he did, then even though every other mark was very good all year your overall standard is pulled down to a "pass" (50 - 60% even though his average was well above that) but we knew that and it is not like a difference between a first and 2/2 of your first degree - no one really asks what grades you got for your law conversion law after a year or two. At least that worry of being thrown off the current course has gone.

One has decided to train at my firm starting next summer which will mean business law (not high street law) and the other might do that too which is fine with me, but he is going to see how his applications go this Autumn - that one has made some good applications and did 3 months full time as a paralegal this summer but not had a training offer as yet (other than from me - I put it in writing to them the other week so we could discuss the terms etc).

Neither applied to law firms whilst at university as had not decided on law (I did in my day however as I read law etc) and applications since then have not resulted in an offer. Anyway I am sure it will all be fine. One of their sisters had a gap year working in Whistler (ski season) and Antigua (sailing resort) and also traveled to Thailand and ended the year in Central America - we joined her in Whistler and in Panama and she had her training contract to come back to after that which was a nice way to fill in a gap year and her only gap year (after 5 years of university including 2 of law school) but that is no likely to be possible in covid times for that son if he gets a 2024 contract and his girl friend is in the UK which probably rules out travel. Anyway they are very lucky they can train at my firm.

Original poster
latedecember1963 · 30/09/2021 13:12

Well done to your DS, Xenia. A big relief for you and him! 🎉

OP posts:
SMaCM · 30/09/2021 15:55

It's really interesting hearing about all these results and our young adults travelling around the globe and getting interesting jobs. DD's big achievement this week was to finally get the internet in her new flat working, after BT kept losing the boxes. She's getting the hang of London transport and trying to find just the right job.