Oxford and Cambridge current students

[sandybayley]

Nearly filled up the old one...

DD has a Mac Book and iPad with a pen. She is currently experimenting with digital Art - selling to Bit Coin billionaires has its attraction I guess.

DS1 fchemist) has a laptop along with monitor and keyboard. I think there is a PS4 in the JCR (bit that he's been in there).

He's not a gamer but if he were I'd try to dissuade him from taking a console to university. Too easy to waste too much time on it!

Both DC use an Apple laptop in conjunction with a monitor and an iPad. (DD is a scientist and DS humanities). Neither use Apple pens although DS thinks he will when live lectures are a thing,. Both have printers in their rooms. Neither are gamers.

@Lazyboysmum You definitely need a laptop, whatever else you take. D1 just took her HP laptop, her phone, and over ear wireless headphones. She's doing a History joint, so it's all essays, no technical stuff or drawing so her compact laptop is fine. They had an introductory session on the 'Oxford style' that has to be used - font, footnotes etc. All her lectures are recorded, all her classes and tutorials are on Teams. All her work is sent by email so she wouldn't have needed a printer - in any case there are plenty in college.

Iirc, they sent information through regarding what tech was recommended - quite a bit of info comes through after places are confirmed after results day.

She did take her new Switch Lite with her, but don't think she had that much time to play on it! We've got family subs to Netflix and Spotify which she can use on her phone and laptop - that forms the bulk of her entertainment. She sometimes has a Netflix movie party with her friends.

My son is studying law and has an ASUS laptop and an iPad. He uses his iPad as a second screen for his reading.

This seems to work well.

He doesn't know anyone who takes gaming consoles.

dd is a keen gamer, who wisely chooses to leave her consoles at home. If there's a campaign on, I get roped into doing quests for her.

When lectures were in person she took notes by hand. Now they are online she uses a graphics tablet and a second monitor to take notes. I'll have to have a conversation with her about what she wants to do if lectures return to in person next year.

DS1 and DS2 both got cheap, basic chrome books for uni and these have been fine and all they need for their subjects (English and History). neither has ever been into gaming or social media however, so don't really want anything more than a chrome book provides and they've been enough for supervisions/ tutorials and typing essays.

DS has the laptop provided by DSA (he paid extra to get a faster model), and a five-year old Chromebook. He uses the laptop in his room, and takes the Chromebook with him to practicals (when they are actually happening) because it's smaller, lighter and less valuable.

We have offered a second monitor and/or a document reader for virtual supervisions, but he says he doesn't need them.

DS plays tabletop RPG (one session a week in term time, more in vacations) but that can be done on a laptop. If his course is anything to go by, there wouldn't be time in term time to do a lot of gaming.

DD has a laptop stand and highly adjustable desk chair provided by DSA (she had a spinal injury aged 15). The chair is fabulous and comes home with DD at the end of each term. We have become adept at manoeuvering it up and down staircases and into the car!

DS is a Physicist. He has a laptop which was fine for the first couple of years. He got an A4 iPad and pen this year which is great. He can write straight onto it.

DD has an HP Envy laptop & in iPad Air which came with a free pen. She takes notes on the iPad and uses the laptop for tutes etc. Ahe's just dropped her Netflix subscription but loves Disney plus. She's never been into gaming and I don't think any friends are either.

Thank you all so much for your helpful advice. Sounds like he will need to accept that gaming isn’t going to be very compatible with uni life...

Question for @whiteroseredrose and @Hoghgyni as your DCs have iPads: could DS get away with only using an iPad - if we got the pen and a keyboard to go with it, then I was hoping he wouldn’t need a laptop as well. Or are there circumstances where the iPad wouldn’t work?

Atm he just has a PC (which I’m now hoping he won’t take with him!) and his phone. We had planned on contributing towards an iPad Air for his birthday....

DD is studying PPE, do the laptop helps for essays.

Will he need to do any programming?
I think for note taking an ipad would be good. You can use OneNote with it.

Ds managed with an iPad, monitor and wireless keyboard for 1st term , doing PPE, we bought him a laptop for Xmas because he was doing some sort of module in term 2 which it would be useful for. He’s found the laptop much easier for essays etc so while it’s possible to manage with just an iPad he’s glad to have both now, he often works on the laptop while the iPad is screening lectures etc.

Hi @lazyboysmum. I don't think the iPad would be enough on its own. I think it's more instead of writing notes in lectures. The laptop is the main thing, the iPad a nice extra (and a 21st birthday gift).

DD has an HP or equivalent laptop. She uses a college printer. She has managed 3.5 years like this. I wouldn't rely solely on a tablet. The only gaming she has done is on her phone or on our ancient Wii at Christmas.

If she gets an end of term report, she never shares it. I know roughly how she's getting on. She has had postcards from the Master of her college for the last 2 years following her great results, so I just let her get on with it.

She is home at the moment, and very nice it is too to have my laundry-maid cum cook helping me out. Sadly, it's a fleeting visit as she has a report due in a couple of weeks and although it's written, she doesn't want to risk our dodgy internet for uploading it. According to her tutor, the existing rules still apply so she can go back whenever she likes. Hopefully, there will be better news for everyone shortly...

Hello all. I'm trying to deal with my screen time issues (!) so haven't been on here much but just wanted to pop on to share the lovely news that DD1 has passed her Classics Mods (actually Prelims because they were cut down so much). Such a relief -- and she got a decent mark as well. Phewwww.

DS1's termly reports were... mixed, however.

@PantTwizzler is your DS finding things more manageable now? Has he been able to access any guidance or support?

This term DS borrowed DH's work iPad for one supervision each week so he could use it as a virtual whiteboard. If he is allowed to return to Cambridge next term, there is 0% chance of him taking DH's work iPad with him, so he'll have to find another solution (perhaps balancing his phone on something above a piece of paper).

Thanks @Ironoaks. He’s had contact with the disability resource centre but hasn’t booked in the support sessions yet. He has a fatalistic attitude to how much anyone can help him, alas. He has twigged that some of his problems are caused by everything being online. But not all.

The BBC have an item on their headlines saying all students in Wales can return to face to face from 12th April.
I hope we follow, in at least allowing those remaining back to uni. It seems quite astounding that there is no news for our students yet.
dd says that international students are getting quite anxious.

Have to write a PS that DD has just had an email from her tutor saying that she was borderline distinction/first in most of her papers and he was recommending her for an Exhibition...!

I'm gobsmacked and so is she!

(Adding this experience to the Underestimating My Daughter file.)