Oxford / Cambridge - current students support / chat thread 2022

[DadDadDad]

Continuing a thread for anyone who wants to talk about their sons' and daughters' experience being a student in Oxford or Cambridge. (Or nephews, granddaughters, sisters, uncles - or if you or they have now graduated but you want to share your thoughts - all are welcome!)

Some of us on this thread go back to I think to late 2019 when our DCs were going through the admission process. A lot's happened since!

Over to you...

I second/third/fourth or whatever the idea that Maths undergraduates at C used to be told their ranking, but it was verbally and might only have been for those who got firsts in their final exams. That was in the days when the quickest way to find out your exam results for all years was to look at the boards outside the Senate House. I may be imagining this, but I also think they were published in The Times, possibly just those who had got firsts.

The reason I think this is that my Maths student boyfriend at the end of his first year went abroad with a group of fellow Maths first years before the results were published. As I was still in Cambridge I was charged with letting him know, but they had already found out because the local consul had a copy of the paper. My memory is not very good, though.

Yes, @Yalz , class lists for lots of subjects used to get published in The Times. I might even have a copy with my name on. I definitely have one of the class lists that they throw over the balcony at the end of reading out the results.

For those not familiar, while Senate noticeboard was the way most results got published, for Part II Maths the tradition was to assemble inside the Senate House, then someone in a gown (presumably the chief examiner) would appear in the balcony and read out the results: Wranglers alphabetically, then Senior Optimes, then Junior Optimes. When he finished, he would then pick up stacks of printed results and throw them over the balcony for us to catch - yes, arcane, but as the past week has shown, strange rituals have some value in marking these important moments. Photo here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematical_Tripos
with a bonus photo of a real (enormous) wooden spoon.

Wranglers alphabetically, @DadDadDad ? I didn’t know that.

Definitely each class alphabetically (remember rankings have not been officially announced since 1909 apparently) - the story was that one year, the examiner had read across the columns of names rather than down the columns, so people who were expecting to hear their name based on being next in the alphabet had the brief shock of thinking they had missed the class they were hoping for.

Oxford results in early 1990s were pinned up in Examination Schools by Class and alphabetically in each class. Tutors were allowed to give you your individual paper results verbally but not in writing. I was also told I was in top third of the 2.1s. It was only 15 years later when I needed a transcript to register for a PhD I saw my results for each paper written down though Oxford doesn’t provide official transcripts- only very official looking unofficial ones. Don’t ask!

Im pretty sure rankings were posted on the intranet for those who hadn't opted out. They've stopped chucking papers over the balcony at senate house now since covid.

As a first time uni mum can I just ask how all of your dc pack for going away? I was assuming ds would pack his stuff in a suitcase and boxes but it suddenly occurred to me that he’s not going to have room to store these and if we take them home with us he’ll not be able to pack at the end of term til we arrive to collect him?

DS packs light but he's not one for worrying about personalising his room! 1 suitcase of clothes, 1 soft bag of assorted bits, (shoes, wash bag toothbrush charger, last minute odds and ends) 1 box of books, 1 box of kitchen stuff (he self caters) 1 large daypack with laptop and stationary, 1 laundry sack and 1 monitor. Suitcase and bags go under the bed, boxes go on shelves in his room. He has got it down to an art and we can load/unload in about 10 mins flat!

...with lots of screaming, swearing, last minute riffling through the laundry basket, pronouncements of how they're not going to miss us and they'll only be back because of the pets, while we continue to fill the car with suitcases, giant laundry bags, boxes, plants!

😳😳😳
I have a feeling this will be us!
We’ll take the suitcase then and I guess we can always bring it home with us if he doesn’t have room to store it under his bed.

Clothes, towels, bedlinen etc pack up small in vacuum storage bags - then can fit more in a single case / box

IKEA bags which we leave with her as they told up small. She's usually packed them all when we turn up to collect. We can't leave the suitcase though so that gets packed when we arrive to pick up...

DD always stashed boxes & suitcase in the aforementioned lockable cupboard during term time, but that may be unique to her college. She always had tons of stuff at the start of a year and a fair amount at the end of each term. When she came home in March 2020, she was in a college building that was too shabby to be let out to visitors so was allowed to leave everything in situ. I arrived to collect her and realised the boot was only a third full so we called DD2 whose lectures had all moved online and 90 minutes of driving later, DD2 and all her stuff joined us.

Oh the plants! Lovingly placed in the footwell behind the driver's seat and fussed about constantly. To be fair both DDs seem to have green fingers but they will soon need their own conveyance.

One huge box of plants, vacuum packed bedding, a couple of IKEA bags full of cushions, throws etc, boxes of books, a couple of bags of clothes, sports kit, more books, some random pots & pans...

DH will do a second trip with her bike and things she left behind. I discovered earlier that I have some IKEA flat pack boxes to take back for the BF as well, who is in a minimalist college which provides little by way of furniture.

@HewasH20 is the BF taking back actual furniture??

Hanging rail and some storage stuff by the look of the IKEA bag.

Sensible lad. DS could do with a small storage unit for clothes but won't let me buy one!

Anyone know if Clare College (C) has beds which can accommodate under-bed storage boxes? The ones we have used to be the DS' Nerf gun arsenal at one time and are now to be re-purposed for the more serious matter of a maths degree that starts in a fortnight's time.

It will depend on the University accommodation.

DS packed a lot of stuff in stackable boxes that all fitted together so took up little space. Also soft stuff like bedding was in storage bags which also folded down to nothing.

Fortunately you could park outside his accommodation.

DDs college required quite a walk from the car so she had everything in a number of wheelie suitcases that could be wheeled 2 at a time. We left some with her and brought some home.

May I ask the Cambridge parents a question?

DS's college isn't doing timed arrival slots on Saturday and there doesn't seem to be any information about parking/drop off points that has been disseminated to the students (he had a briefing today). How manic is parking on drop off Saturday in Cambridge? Is it better to go earlier or later? Or is that a 'how long is a piece of string question'?!

@Panicmode1 I think it depends on the college. DD's college never did drop-off slots but we knew there were around 30-40 spaces on the college site, maybe more. Can your DC ask their college parents? Alternatively, stop & one parent + DC drop, other parent parks in park & ride & buses in. Happy to chat by PM

Thanks so much @Malbecfan -but he doesn't appear to have a college parent..! However, I have managed to book a space on someone's drive through the 'just park' app and it's about 3 minutes walk from the college, so I think that's probably solved the problem - we can park, go and pick up his key etc, and then find out if/where there is an unloading slot, unload his stuff, return to park the car and then stroll back for Freshers Tea. Am feeling far more relaxed about the whole thing now!

@Panicmode1 , if you ever need somewhere to park in C I can offer a space on our drive. It’s close to some colleges but a long way from others, so may not be useful. I can also give some advice on the location of free parking places.

Please contact me by PM - I can’t work out how to send a PM now that I have changed my settings, but can still accept messages.

Near me they have recently put residents parking in, but it only applies 11am - 2pm so there are often spaces outside those times. The idea is to stop commuters filling the spaces every day.

We have a room allocated at last and suddenly it feels real. 1 week to get everything DS has just realised he might need - despite multiple trips out to look at things he has wavered over.
I'm sad about him going but I'll be relieved when it's done and he's safely delivered!
How are all the other freshers doing? Organised?

Exciting petitebleu!

Ds has just worked his last shift for his summer job and has got a proper break for nine days. He's got the stuff we can think of, but I keep saying 'you can always get stuff in Cambridge'. It seems like quite a lot already - 2 cardboard boxes, a rug, a bag for life, and will be probably 2 holdalls of clothes. He's on several WhatsApp groups and is sometimes finding them a bit odd... I feel a really strong drive from him, he's absolutely ready to go, however nervous he gets.