University 2020-2021 Part 11: Final Furlong For First year Freshers..........Then Freedom Follows

[sammyjoanne]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/4058013-University-2020-10-Empty-nests-warm-vests-and-covid-tests-uni-parents-2020?pg=20

This is a follow on from the previous part 10 thread.
Named because its heading into the summer term.
''Freedom follows'' as in end of year for summer break, (hopefully end of covid restrictions too)

I also hope that all the DC do well in their exams after such a difficult year...

Dd got her results back from this mornings exam which was the shorter one.. So she's completed that module with a 1st (77%). I think the next three exams are much harder (longer) with lots of lectures to review again. She celebrated with a Pret!

A friend from Loughborough is collecting her this afternoon and they are off out somewhere tonight for a meal etc.. Then its head back down again tomorrow.

That's great news Daisy well done to your DD.
DD has just finished her last week of teaching and is now onto her revision. In this coming week or two she plans to do a full 24hour stint in the library. Been a bit of a challenge set for her by her friends and she's determined to do it. Rules are she can only leave to go to greggs/sultans for food. Been a couple of flat birthdays recently and they have been out to the White Cross and the Study Room outside for food. Has not ate inside yet. Extravs have also been advertised for 1st of July. Grizedale college is Grizechella theme, so hopefully the case rates dont go up too much for that to be cancelled. DD2 on her last week of year 11. She plans to do MOOC in animal behaviour and also the national geographic course (both free courses) in the summer.
Wellwoman will have to have a little drive on the trough of Bowland, sounds really nice :) DD1 exams finish I think its the 3rd week of June. She plans to stay in the townhouse until the 24th of July when her contract ends, so her flat plan to have their freshers party week early July.

Well done to all those doing exams. Sounds like your dd has a huge challenge @sammyjoanne, am impressed! DS continuing to have fun, been out in Lancaster several times and has college football matches every weekend which has been great for meeting lots of new people. He's also been to the gym. No mention of revision or exams but he does do everything last minute

@sammyjoanne. Good luck to your dd with her 24hr challenge... My dd has managed to get her sleeping pattern back to pre uni days for the exam season.. Although she's out with Loughborough friend tonight so it will be an alnighter.

Good to see some normality with sports activities etc..

Thanks specialted and daisy. Great to hear your DS is doing his sports. Just a bit of normality is so good. And good on your DD daisy for getting the sleeping pattern right. I think dd wants to as well but wants to get the library challenge before the exams start so she said shes going to do it this week if she can. She mentions that her flat mates will be popping in at certain points when she's in the library. She's seen other you tubers do the 24hrs and always wanted to give it a go lol. We did watch one of the you tubers do it before she started uni, and they had a week in the library. Even slept there and used their kitchen to cook. So crazy.
She was on facetime earlier and she told me she has 8 exams from 7th of June to 24th of June.

Does anyone’s DC stay at home? Do you charge them rent for their student loan? DD is thinking of commuting to London next year.

@aibutohavethisusername.

I suppose it depends on your circumstances if you are incurring extra council tax etc.

Whilst dd was home during most of term 2 I paid her 1/2 of what I normally pay her.. Her Df paid her the full allowance he gives her (she's definitely not a poor student). She was cooking for me each evening so it was a fair arrangement. Since at uni she's definitely of a different mindset in terms of spending money and she's very frugal apart from some nice meals out... She's saved a lot of money during the first year. Her course is pretty full on so potential earnings from jobs are doubtful going forward unless she gets paid research work.

@aibutohavethisusername, my DS2 stayed at home and got a maintenance loan of ~£7k. I did charge him some money, board and bills, rather than rent as otherwise he’d have had 2x as much disposable income as me. Single mum, low paid job etc.

Thanks @Daisysway & @SusannahSophia it helps to get another perspective.

I got some flack for it on here. Not this thread but on HE. ‘You shouldn’t be taking money from a student’ but I really couldn’t afford it as child benefit, tax credits and child maintenance from his dad all stopped.

Sorry to hear people gave you flack, if DD gets maintenance loan and goes back to work as well as getting monies from her DF then she will easily be able to contribute to the household.

Yes, DS2 still had more spare cash than his brothers who also had full loans but lived away. Some people can’t see beyond their own situation sometimes. As it happens he’s currently living with me for free while he tries to get a job. He has ASD and it’s a tricky job market.

Really does depend on circumstances. You work out what's best for you both on a financial level :)

Dd has her second and one of the longest exams on Tuesday so no relaxing bank holiday weekend... She went to a friends birthday celebration in London during the week but actually travelled there and back in a day (she said she had too much revision to stay over). Still doing amazingly well, she achieved 95 percent in the lab she nearly missed/was very stressed about (perhaps stress helps!).

Great results, Daisy. Stress can concentrate the mind, but it can have the opposite effect as well, so well done to her.

I’ve been for a flying visit to Manchester to see DS and his oldest brother. In between exams for DS, he’s done 3 this semester and has one to go but not until the 9th. It was lovely to be able to take him out for lunch and dinner. I was hoping I’d be able to visit much more often, but this is the first time I’ve got up there since dropping him off in early January. He did come home for a fortnight at Easter, but I used to pop up and see DS1 once a term or so.

@SusannahSophia glad you had a good visit with ds. We dropped in to see ds at Lancaster on our way back from Scotland. We had to drag him out of bed at 12.30! Took him for a speedy food shop and pizza then made our way home after 6.5 hours of driving today. Was good to see the campus busy and there were lots of prospective students being shown round , presume it was an open day or something. Lots of sports going on too and people having picnics by the lake. Ds is happy, said he might start doing some revision next week!

Its really nice to drop in and see them especially when you can have a meal etc...even better when the sun shines too. We took dd out for lunch on her birthday but that was in the middle of April and we sat outside which was a little chilly. I've been working incredibly hard and have lots of work on but work is not near Warwick unfortunately ... So I'm hoping dd will be up for a few days away with me when exams have finished... So we can both chill... Im definitely missing her cooking!

Well done Daisy on DD's Labs. DD would love to get 95%. Susannah and Specialted thats nice to drop in and always thankful when you do a food shop for them too :) Our turn tomorrow, and travelling up tomorrow afternoon with my father in law. He wants to see her campus bless him. Staying couple of nights at the premier inn out of town and got some restaurants booked. She already has us doing a food shop as well lol.
Exams start 7th and shes got 8 of them so she will be busy. The contract for the accommodation runs out 24th July, but she plans to come back a week early. She stayed a week later for the easter break because everyone else was saying they was going to stay (because they missed so much in jan), and it ended up with just 2 of them in the flat out of 12. So she said she wont be doing that again and going a week early.

Have a good weekend @sammyjoanne.

Dds got her 3rd of 4 exams tomorrow.. Apparently this is the exam that everyone struggles with. Last one is next Wednesday.. They are going out to a posh restaurant to celebrate (some of her friends have already finished their exams).

I've been working in Somerset all week and back their down there next week.. Hoping that dd may join me for a night in Bath if she can if she doesn't have anything else planned.

@sammyjoanne have a good trip

All exams done for DS,

I am guessing the themes of the parties by the variety of clothes being bought on my Amazon account...

Hope your ds enjoys the next few weeks @KingscoteStaff.

Ds bit miffed he wasn't able to get a ticket for grizedale end of term extrav. Think the second years were (understandably) pretty quick off the mark as they missed it last year. It'll be going on outside his window but he won't be able to go! Hopefully they'll release some more tickets after 21 June.

Hey @specialted likewise dd did not get a ticket either for extrav. 5 out of the 12 got one in her flat. Website kept crashing and sold out within a couple of mins. Dd went to Pendle witch Tuesday with 13 other physicists and they loved it. It’s the group she chatted to last April and still kept up the online chat and 1-2-1 meet ups all this time throughout the pandemic. We Ate at brewers fayre at premier inn last night on Caton road. It’s not bad . Dd2 is at dd1s place this afternoon and we’re picking them up in the way to water witch tonight. Love that place

@sammyjoanne glad you're having a good weekend. You certainly have the good weather for it! Reassured ds isnt the Only one without a ticket!