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Higher education

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

Original poster

Another path ....... the journey begins

999 replies

chopc · 19/09/2021 22:28

Hello @321zyx @AvocadoPlant @bendmeoverbackwards @BigWoollyJumpers @Braveheart35 @calculatorqueen @ChimneyPot @Dobbyisahouseelf @Eastisup @jano69 @Majaso12 @MidLifeCrisis007 @NCTDN @Notagardener @OnTheBenchOfDoom @Parsonage63 @Pumpkintopf @Peaseblossum22 @quest1on @Peaseblossum22 @SATSmadness @SeasonFinale @Tenpastseven @Vargas @Xenia

Apologies for anyone I omitted to tag

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Pumpkintopf · 22/10/2021 12:34

@bendmeoverbackwards fingers crossed for your DD!

First day of half term here and I have a week off, hurray. Currently sat with DD at GPs where they are trying to get some blood out of her - no luck so far and she's very nervous of needles but drinking lots of water and they'll try again 🤞

Pumpkintopf · 22/10/2021 18:03

Success with the blood draw and DS is unexpectedly popping home for the weekend- happy days!!

Cheers to the weekend everyone Wine

Original poster
chopc · 22/10/2021 18:14

Double yay! @Pumpkintopf !

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calculatorqueen · 22/10/2021 19:10

DS is home for reading week! The journey back from Exeter on the M5 was awful but it's lovely to have him home. He was really chatty in the car. He loves Exeter, his course and flat, so I couldn't be happier.

Majaso12 · 22/10/2021 19:26

We’re going to London see Dd tomorrow. Spoke to her at tea time and she seemed stressed with the workload. She said she hasn’t had time to go over her notes which she doesn’t like, it’s taking a lot of time to just do the 13 lectures a week as well as everything else. One of her lecturers speaks or goes so fast and doesn’t explain anything and says ‘oh and this as well which is chapter 18 in the book’. She said the book is massive and takes ages to find it in the book. She doesn’t like not having time to go over her notes and revise because as soon as she’s finished them, the next lot get released.

Engley · 22/10/2021 19:49

@Majaso12
I think DS struggling too with workload.I think after a long summer it will take adjustment.He pointed out when his teachers and others had said Alevels will be the hardest exams /studying period he thinks that’s possibly not true.
A big learning curve socially and academically.Lets hope they adjustment to the new workload swiftly.

Majaso12 · 22/10/2021 21:06

@Engley I hope so. She said she wants evenings off, but I’m not sure she’s getting up that early to start. I think she gets up at 9 but doesn’t start work straight away, when she said she’d get up at 8 and start by 9. I’m hoping to talk to her about it tomorrow. With A levels she was working in the evening. Someone else’s tutor for the same subject as her said they needed to start work at 8 am and work until 6 pm with an hour break for lunch, not sure that’s realistic.

Original poster
chopc · 22/10/2021 21:26

Am interested to know how the History's DC's are getting on? I think the contact ours are far less and a lot of it is self directed study which would require a lot of discipline and self motivation?

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bendmeoverbackwards · 22/10/2021 21:58

@calculatorqueen

DS is home for reading week! The journey back from Exeter on the M5 was awful but it's lovely to have him home. He was really chatty in the car. He loves Exeter, his course and flat, so I couldn't be happier.
Fantastic @calculatorqueen have a great weekend 😀
Neapolitanicecream · 23/10/2021 06:56

Hi is anyone kids at Woodward campus could say hi to my Dd she’s in a quiet flat and struggling as would like to go out and meet friends thanks

Longtimenewsee · 23/10/2021 09:13

Hi all. Good to hear dc updates . @Neapolitanicecream - I hope your Dd finds her people soon.
Dd also finding workload is massive. So many f2f sessions to get used to ( which is fab .. I am relieved it’s happening ). She is dashing around a lot by the sounds of it as she has modules at different places in the city. She likes to prep for lectures, then make notes. then go over lecture and is finding that all really hard to fit in.
She’s had a illness with a cough ( that they all seem to have caught) and had a PCR (neg) so had food brought to her room while she waited for result. As a parent i was really reassured that had it been positive she would have been looked after ok.
She is loving it on the whole and has thrown herself into lots of clubs which I hope she’ll be able to carry on with …we’ll see. Hopefully they will learn to balance it all in the coming weeks.

Jng1 · 23/10/2021 11:31

What is it with the coughs! DS has come home for reading week and is coughing away! I quizzed him on it this morning and we can't decide whether it's something he needs to get checked out or is just the natural result of the first 6 weeks of uni life!
Of course his GP is now based in Exeter and I'm not sure it's worth having a video appt - presumably they'd want to listen to his chest etc?

Dobbyismyabsolutefav · 23/10/2021 11:54

Lovely to have my DD home I've really missed her. Apparently the train was rammed at St David's on Friday but Exeter to home, via London, was 4 hours so not to bad.

I'm knee deep in washing at the moment as she has been busy!

Pumpkintopf · 23/10/2021 12:02

Hey @Neapolitanicecream - Woodward imperial? DS is at Kemp
Porter so five mins away has loads of friends in Woodward and is very sociable- happy to put your dd in contact?

Neapolitanicecream · 23/10/2021 12:54

thanks @Pumpkintopf that would be great. She has friends at Kemp Porter (and would like to move there, if it was possible !) but needs to make friends as Woodward as it not nice to travel between in the evenings.

Pumpkintopf · 23/10/2021 15:14

No worries @Neapolitanicecream do you want to drop me a dm?

Am currently sat outside a&e with DS. Was shocked at how bad his ankle is A last night he couldn't weight bear at all and was running a temperature and shivering with the pain. 111 confirmed a&e so here we are. He's just had an X-ray.

MarchingFrogs · 23/10/2021 16:15

@bendmeoverbackwards

I paid DS2's fees for his MSc last year at Bristol; the instructions for third parties are linked to from this page, if that helps?

www.bristol.ac.uk/online-payments/

I did have a problem with paying the final instalment (when I authorised the payment in my banking app, instead of the Bristol sit completing the process, it just asked me to start all over again), but my memory is that it was because I'd done something daft in the first placeHmm.

AvocadoPlant · 23/10/2021 19:52

@Pumpkintopf your poor DS, I hope he’s been seen snd is feeling more comfortable now,
@Jng1 the lingering cough is pretty common it seems. hopefully it will start to clear soon,
Do you know what happened to the course mate with meningitis?
We travelled to Exeter today to see DD, pleased to report she’s recovered from pneumonia, but has got a lingering cough….
@chopc DD is a history student and has found the workload has ramped up, a few weeks feeling ill hasn’t helped, so reading week is being spent at uni as she has several essays to complete which under normal circumstances she would’ve at least started the work.
To all those who have DC home over the next week, hoping you all have a lovely time catching up with your DC.

Majaso12 · 23/10/2021 20:42

@Pumpkintopf Hope your ds will be ok.

Had a good day with Dd. Took her out for a chinese meal in China Town and then bought her some clothes! She seems happy and said she is managing to keep on top of the work, but there is such a lot to do. They’ve been given exam questions to do, for practice but hasn’t had time to do that yet. She hopes she can get some time to go over her notes and then do them.

Pumpkintopf · 23/10/2021 20:49

Thanks all, post x-Ray A&E reckon nothing broken but sprained ligament which could take up to six weeks to heal. They’ve just said keep on with the painkillers and keep it mobilised. So he's been working all afternoon/evening as he's another one who's just realised how heavy the workload is! It's come as a shock to all his friendship group by all accounts.

Original poster
chopc · 24/10/2021 07:22

@Pumpkintopf the difficult thing would be getting him to rest the ankle!

My DS has hurt his foot and sadly had to kiss the last cricket trials ......

He is stressed about the accommodation for next year ..... it is so early to choose housemates for next year so he said no when his corridor people asked him as he wanted to wait a little longer but they were so desperate to sign up that he has now missed that boat. It is sad because he would like to have lived with some of them but also with another good friend he already had from school. Anyway let's see how things work out. I just checked a website and plenty of accommodation available so hopefully he will be ok

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Original poster
chopc · 24/10/2021 07:27

@AvocadoPlant glad your DD is on the mend. Several essays? DS said he will have one in Dec 🤔. Will ask him again today. He said he is reading as there is no point attending the seminars without doing so but it seems strange if there is no marked work before Dec or only one a term? How will they get an idea of how they are doing?

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Notagardener · 24/10/2021 07:39

As mentioned before, with DC1 I also panicked about accommodation for year 2 and he (probably his friends)sorted it in the summer term. He kept his options open with 2 friend groups, as it was a bit tricky to find a house for the correct number of people.
Chopc asked about history students getting motivated to work, dc1 is a bit lazy....but would go to study in the library a lot so he wouldn't get too distracted.
Today we are off to London to visit both DC🙂

AvocadoPlant · 24/10/2021 07:49

@chopc that does sound a little odd.
I think these are DDs first group of essays though. Up to this point there’s been a couple of group presentations at seminars to prepare.
But Durham started a few weeks after Exeter so perhaps it’s just a timing thing?
DD is going into week 6 this week, Freshers was week 0.

Original poster
chopc · 24/10/2021 07:50

@Notagardener noted

Those with DC at UCL - could you ask them if Cocktail nights at the union is still a thing? Was Thurs night in my day

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