is there a support group on here for 2022 students starting uni Sept?

[t875]

strugging with the missing my daughter plus she is going to be 5 hrs away :(

I could do with some support! My son has his heart set on going to a mediocre university to do an art degree. Because his friends are going there . Potentially £60k in debt to go with his mates to study something he likely won't ever be able to make a living from. I could cry. Plus, he claims he is transgender, as do all of his college friends despite them presenting 100% male. So I'm terrified he will use this freedom and student loans to buy hormones and cause untold damage to his body.

Have kids, it will be great 😬

My ds is going to Manchester (has a confirmed place - is currently in a gap year). We’re in the SE so it’s a good few hours from us but is a great Uni and a great course. Will miss him terribly however he’s spent most of this year travelling so will be a lot closer then the 5,000 miles he currently is from us!

DS1 leaving this Sept. Also feeling very apprehensive and will miss him terribly. I know I should just be proud of him but mostly I just feel sad....
He is going to do an Art Foundation before applying for an art based degree elsewhere (foundation uni prob not right for a degree great for foundation tho) . Using this year to enjoy his art after without the academic A levels he did besides it which stressed him out. And to decide on the best type of art degree to do... he loves art. It's his happy place and he can't wait to be fully immersed.
@devonianBiatch sorry I can't agree that art is a 'useless' degree. It doesn't rule out any generic 'need a degree' type jobs and creativity is highly valued. I feel for you in all other respects tho. Choosing a uni because of friends and the gender issues sound tough. And worrying.

@Lottsbiffandsmudge

I should have clarified, this degree will be useless to him. He has a very narrow focus of what he wants to draw and in his own words , he has zero interest in doing anything he doesn't want to draw. I asked him to design me a tattoo, the goblin king on the iron throne.... took him months and it was terrible as he just wasn't into it. So who is actually going to commission him? When All he does is the same 3-4 figures in different poses. But he doesn't love these anime figures enough to have made a comic out of them or anything like them having their own fb/ Instagram page.

In college he's managed to make every single project incorporate these anime things and hasn't stretched himself at all really. So going to university is really just a way for him to sit around, caring on drawing and avoiding work. I really didn't mean to diss art as a subject, I've studied it myself and have a degree is creative writing. But I've used it, it stretched me as a writer. I really REALLY hope that this university will do the same for him but I just don't think it will.

@t875 Hugs. You have a daughter that’s confident enough to live 5 hours away. She’ll make friends and have a great time. You had a life before your daughter and you’ll get one back after. But I’m not looking forward to dropping them and their stuff off and coming back to an empty house though.

@devonianBiatch At least he has friends. Mine has none in real life and barely leaves the house.
.You just replace the rear of getting run over when their young or beaten up when teens with trans/ anxiety/ eating disorders in early adulthood.

Yeah i wonder if my daughter will even like the course i think she will and we are very pleased with the uni and the city - so hard, maybe talk to your son about your worries. Im sure he will do great!! :)

Yeah i know for sure if our daughter wasnt going to uni she would 100 percent go travelling so ill take the distance of knowing she is settled (well fingers crossed) with her uni they have got them chatting so they can get to know eachother before going which is good. Good luck for your son!! your round about the same distance as us!!

Yeah our dd done art A level was suprised she didnt follow that. Thats great your ds is doing art, i know what you mean im trying to be positive but im sad like you, think once they go and we then can get into a routine of them coming back!!

Thanks Amperroblue yeah thats a great way of looking at it, she is very confident and looking forward to it. Not sure wether its fully dawned on her yet mind you. I have her eldest sister to keep us company still, i bet she is going to miss her sister goingt to uni too!! Her course was only up north so it wasnt down here SE but she def would have gone far, she will prob look to go abroad i expect too if she can.

My DD is also doing an art foundation ( locally so staying at home next year). Hopefully this will help her decide whether to do art ( probably illustration) or history in 2023. Ive no idea about how easy it is to get into art jobs as Im a scientist, does anyone have experience of this?

Tbh no. I am just pleased DS1 is going to pursue something he loves! I think a lot of artists have more than one job! I know (not well but am acquainted with) 2 graphic designers. One is full time and the other has his own practice and does his true passion, art commissions, as well.
DS1 is keen to explore graphics but also interior design and also would love to be a professional artist. Who knows where he will end up. Next summer will be a long break for him and he might try to get some work experience in a relevant field.
My DH took ages to get his head round DS doing art (even at A level he dropped history to do it kept bio and chem). DH did a banking degree and went straight into his career and is still there but hates it. I did chemistry but never used it in my career.
I have finally got DH to see that not many kids know what job they want to do when they leave uni unless they do medicine etc. I am pretty sure a good art degree from a good uni is as good as a history degree employment wise..... that's how DS1 persuaded DH anyway!!! And art foundation is free so no extra debt (although DS1 is going away so there is cost for us)

My daughter has chosen a course that will probably get her nowhere, she has Aspergers and is predicted A’s, she has turned down offers for top unis to go to a uni closer to home (she will still be in halls). She has no idea what she will do with her degree and doesn’t care that she will be in dept for most of her life. She can’t cook, struggles to even wash her hair and can’t remember to brush her teeth, she has applied for DSA but will refuse to have any personal help at uni.

I will miss her when she goes but I wouldn’t be surprised if she is home within a month 😬, I really hope I am wrong and she finds her people at uni.

My DS might be going depending on results. He really wants to go to his firm choice which is quite near to home. If he doesn't get the grades I don't know what he will do. Not clearing he says. I think a year out would be good for him but apparently it's not the thing to do with maths, so who knows. Glad the exams are over anyway!

all the best for everyones DS DD - i guess also we can never tell with all that has happneded over the years with them in and out of school with lock down etc. Hope goes smoothly for them, but ive said to dd she needs to have a plan B i think it will be travelling so ill take uni anyday! :-) Be nice to keep this thread going for the next months leading up to and beyond

"Slipping through my fingers" keeps playing in my head. This is no. 4 for me - our final child is 18 and her big people are 28, 26 and 25. Two of them are homeowners already. She's off to Crete in the morning for a few days with her boyfriend. It's going to be so quiet around here in September when she (results allowing) moves to the other end of the country - so used to having 6 of us in the house and now it's dwindled right back down. I want to give my children the opportunity to be brave and follow whatever song they want to sing but sometimes it makes me feel a bit sad. And old!

Well ds has received his accommodation offer from Manchester- he has grades already so his place is confirmed, they don’t allocate accommodation unless place confirmed. It all seems very real now!

My DD 17 is the youngest of my DC, 2 DS with their own homes and other DS doing his phD. So it will be really strange when she goes and I'm alone in the house.
She's only going to be in York and I'm in Saltaire West Yorks so not too far. But I must admit I can't help but worry. She was only diagnosed with dyslexia last year and so does have DSA in place, which has been rather good in what they provide to her.
To me she's very young, seems so much less mature than when all DS's went. She's 18 the day before results day.

My DS has just turned 18, he has a physical disability (uses a wheelchair full time out of the house). Applied and received DSA. Is hoping to go to university of Nottingham to study Liberal Arts with a foundation year, whilst living at home. I'm very worried about him going, he's young for his age, not had any of the life experiences his peers have had. If he doesn't get the grades I don't know what he'll do, he needs to be doing something but isn't ready for work yet. The support we've had so far from the university has been very good, I hope it continues.

Sounds very similar to my dd, she has mobility issues but not in a wheelchair (yet). All her friends seem to be getting jobs for the summer and dd just isn’t able too due to her disabilities. She seems confident that uni is the place for her despite not having much life experience and being unable to care for herself. I feel like I’m throwing her in with the lions but there’s not much else I can do. She thrives when in education and when learning and she needs to be doing something. I can’t imagine her finding employment.