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...

We are very grateful that at C. DS will be just under 30 miles away. St Andrews had been one of his early alternatives. Drop off 9.00 am Saturday. He can't wait.

Haha Malbec no even the A303/ M25 combo doesn’t compare. However DS1 and the two cocker spaniels are with me on the ferry as I type, and it is on the way to the mainland. In fact we’re confident enough of making landfall that we’ve just ordered our fish and chips from the Angel Lane Chippie in Penrith (it was runner up in the national awards to Krispies in the year Krispies came top).

Hello. Does anyone know when tuition and accommodation bills are due? We will drive our son to O on Monday and think it seems odd the term will start without any demand for money. Have we missed something?! (We are self-funding.)

@Inamuddle36 It most likely will vary by college but DD got a fees invoice early September which was due at the end of this month.
Hers shows a credit from SFE so has a nil balance owed.
She hasn’t received an accommodation invoice as yet but thinks that’s due in second week and will be collected by dIrect debit.
I’d contact your DS’ college to check.

@Takox my son was hopeless about getting set up last year (O) and I had to really push him to look at his emails- eventually he got on the night before going but the actual physical card was waiting at college and wasn't posted out in advance - I appreciate it may vary by college and year. Good luck!

Bod card is also used as a payment card for eg pay as you go meals in hall, at D1's college a credit amount for meals on your bod card is part of the battels bill, about £150 per term I think. Good idea, it means you have food money even if finance hasn't come through when you arrive. Excess credits can be sold on at the end of the year.

The St Benet's Hall buildings have been bought by St Hilda's College apparently (@BenedictSlumberpatch) as D1 has read in the Oxford Student, unknown what they are planning to do with them.
www.oxfordstudent.com/2022/09/28/st-hildas-buys-st-benets-halls-buildings/

Thanks, @JulesJules , so the rumour I heard that it was bought by Christchurch Cathedral School was obviously duff information!

DC was in Oxford on Saturday for a service at the Oratory church to mark the closing of Benet's with a lunch afterwards - Ampleforth Abbot and alumni in attendance I gather.

@Malbecfan - did she do anything Materials related in the summer after third year?

That sounds lovely, but sad too. How is he feeling about the move to his new college - has accommodation been sorted out or is he sticking with living out?

D1 is quite looking forward to moving back into college, especially as she'll have her own bathroom this year. I think she's got a pretty good room although she was low down on the ballot so not her first (or second...) choice. She loved many aspects of living out though. Maybe not the many many slugs. They successfully argued for the return of most of their deposit - she was extremely indignant that having handed the keys back after passing the end of tenancy inspection ('It was MILES cleaner than when we moved in') the landlord tried to withhold nearly £300, itemised minutely, eg 'light wipe of fridge £5' This was for a 10 month tenancy which cost the six of them 35 THOUSAND POUNDS. I wish I'd thought of Oxford landlording as a career!

@Ironoaks no I don't think so, but it was the summer of 2020 and we still had high Covid rates. I will double-check with her though.

Interesting conversation with a new intake of graduates with a household name employer today. Only one of the ten had a summer internship with their new employer & all of the rest had had classic summer jobs eg. MaccyDs / hospitality etc. It appears that the value of a professional rather than academic internship may be over-rated. They felt that the benefits were over-hyped.

Budget summit between ds and me tonight- he was looking vv stressed about money so we spreadsheeted it out. Possibly a bit late but he looks more relaxed- funds aren't lavish but he'll have enough. I think. We realised at the last second wed included nightclub fees etc but hadn't included anything for study supplies... but in fact he may not need much.

@PermanentTemporary we have done similar and thought we'd sussed it all, but then we were looking at the accommodation payments and fell over the Full Term/80 nights/70 nights etc and are really confused about it all!

It says Full Term is 4th Oct to 2nd Dec, but he's going up 1st Oct - so that would be 62 nights - and then it says term ends on the 19th Dec, but he thinks he will be asked to vacate on the 2nd....which isn't either 80 nights or 70.

Please can a Cambridge parent shed light on the difference between the term dates and Full Term (is that the teaching time, and you stay either side or something)?! I know that they can pay pro rata to stay on if their room is not needed for conferences....

@Panicmode1 from DD's C college info there is 'full term' which is the period of teaching and then 'Undergraduate Residency Period (URP)' which is the dates for accommodation availabilty. DD is going on Saturday 1.10.22 and full term is 4.10.22 to 2.12.22 and URP ends 10.12.22 - so a week after full term. Not looking foward to having to collect all her stuff in December - hoping she doesn't accumulate much stuff.

Thanks @cosmiccat that makes perfect sense. DS's college has not been brilliant about sending out info that is clear!

DD vehemently didn't want a traditional grad job and hasn't had a typical summer job. She has spent her summers on overseas projects (funded by college travel grants) or working in her tutor's labs, completing a number of Oxford inter-department "micro Internships" alongside. These internships are brilliant. They last about a week and provide great additional skills for CV's and interview material. DD is joining a subsidiary of the UN and is sure her micro-internship experience clinched the job for her.

DS knew nothing about the frenzied applications for spring/summer internships until after he started at Cambridge and he was worried that he had "missed the boat" in a very competitive sector. Neither DH or I had a clue how it worked either. However, DS's first job offer came on the back of a single summer internship so it really isn't necessary to fill every vacation with work experience/internships. Although I do appreciate that securing that single internship takes effort.

Almost there. Suddenly broken in bits. Hope everybody who's dropping off tomorrow makes it through ok.

I just hope that everyone's car journeys to O & C are not overly delayed by the extensive rail strike today. Must make a move soon to rouse the household as drop-off slot is 9.00 am and there is a bit to do before we weigh anchor. Good luck to all DC this academic year.

Can't believe the day has finally arrived...am feeling very emotional about my first fledgling leaving home, even though he's raring to go!

Good luck everyone, safe travels and wishing them all a happy first term.

Oh God I'd forgotten the rail strikes! Action stations here.

Best of luck everyone! We drove down last night and stayed over about 45 mins away. DS talked non-stop for the first hour of the journey, slept then woke up and worried until bedtime. Hoping the lovely weather here helps to get the upbeat mood back.

Good luck everyone! My daughter (starting 3rd year, Oxford) was allowed to move in yesterday because there was an event for her subject at her college in the evening. Both me and DH accompanied her while my younger daughter was at sixth form; this was exactly the scenario when we took her down as a fresher, and so many memories came flooding back of that day two years ago (both good and bad!). I completely understand how you're feeling today @Permanent - feel free to PM me if you need a debrief.
It was pouring down while we were unloading the car yesterday afternoon and for the whole 4 hour journey home - hope everyone gets better weather over the weekend.

We’re going tomorrow. When I dropped off my other 2 DC at their unis, I drove home with this DS who also set up the tech for his siblings. It will be very hard to drive back without him but of course I’m hoping this will be the start of an amazing adventure for him.
Good luck to everyone going today!