Thrills and spills of studying in London

[stoneysongs]

A thread for supporters of DC heading to London unis - was originally going to be UCL which seems very popular this year, but expanded at @Needmoresleep's excellent suggestion.

For chats about moving in, what to take, living in London, whether an Oyster card is worth bothering with, how to do a big shop, where to park at drop off, the dreaded search for 2nd year accommodation etc etc etc

Tagging people I've spotted from the ex Oxbridge thread but all welcome including those with DC currently in London who can share their wisdom and anyone thinking of it for 2025 or beyond

@catmomof3
@lifeturnsonadime
@PotentialUCLmum
@CoffeeMugShot
@space99
@FebruarySmith
@mynameisnotmichaelcaine
@Summertimer

By way of intro I have a DD going to UCL to study BASc Arts and Sciences.

@babyzoomer

If he/she is in Halls at UCL, I can't imagine him/her being alone for long - the whole area is absolutely buzzing. There are other colleges very close by, such as SOAS, RADA and Birkbeck and UCLH is across the road.

There is a massive bookshop in Gower Street. It has a coffee shop, so it might be worth perusing all the books for the course on the shelves, buying a few and then getting a coffee. People are always chatting to each other in there.

https://www.waterstones.com/bookshops/gower-street

The Wellcome Collection is very close, there's always something interesting in there. It has a great cafe and shop too.

https://wellcomecollection.org/

I phoned our surgery to ask about getting it on the NHS when DS was going to uni - the receptionist said she would find out and phone me back, fine.

When she called back she asked who would be getting vaccinated and when I said DS, she wouldn't speak to me about it. He was in the shower so I had to go to the bathroom door and shout "DS CAN THE SURGERY TALK TO ME ABOUT MENINGITIS VACCINATION" and then hold the phone up to the door so that she could hear him bellow "YES". And then she said "no we don't do that here" and that was it! 🤦‍♀️

Thanks for the thread @stoneysongs
My DS will be studying History, Politics and Economics. Apparently he has applied to move in a day earlier, Friday 20th September but needs to wait and hear back to see if that approved or not. DS and his dad planning on travelling lightly and buying most things there.
DS has had both men b doses privately at Boots this summer. You need 4 weeks minimum between the doses so if planning on booking, will need to sort asap.

Yes the first MenB jab needs to be next week for students moving 21-22 Sept. DD only booked today though, and there was plenty of availability here.

@FebuarySmith

Which street would you need to park in, FebuarySmith?

I have no idea if DD has had this jab at school. I will need to get her to check on the NHS app before I book her in for it. Is there no where they can get this for free?

Please can I join? My daughter is going to UCL.

There's an Argos in Tottenham Court Road, which is an easy walk from UCL and the Halls of Residence.

https://www.argos.co.uk/stores/4238-tottenham-court-road

@catmomof3
Definitely ask, but you can't get it for free here, and our DC's age have not been done as part of the NHS standard vaccination programme. They get MenACWY at school but not B. But I am in Wales and healthcare is different here.

Also worth checking they have had the ACWY vaccination because that will be free.

Also it's recommended but not compulsory - meningitis is very rare and lots of people are not vaccinated and are absolutely fine. DS decided the risk was low and he couldn't be bothered so he didn't have it.

Welcome @GMH1974 and congrats to your DD getting a place at UCL.

@stoneysongs I think she's had the MenACWY, but will double check. Not sure I have £220 for her to have the Men B jab though as money is a bit tight with getting stuff for accommodation etc.

Interesting re MenB jab - I've just gone to have a look, but it seems we can't get it done before DD goes as Boots locally don't offer it.

Be proactive.
Dd was supposed to be sharing a flat in year 2 but a friend pulled out. It meant she ended up somewhere horrible.
In yr2 there is v little accomodatio in halls. You have to decide quickly as they go quickly! You'll also need to save to pay deposit and rent in advance. Yr1 is easy compared to yr2!

What time of year is best to start looking @Perplexed20? I've seen people say that London is a bit later than elsewhere. Which is good, because DD doesn't know London at all.

I prodded my DS through getting a student Oyster card (https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/free-and-discounted-travel/18-plus-student-oyster-photocard), but it's worth it. There are a few steps:

1. Order the card (they'll need a photo and a confirmation of student status letter from their uni).
2. Link it their Young Person's Railcard if they have one - they will need to do this in person, at a station ticket office. This will make sure they automatically get a discount on tubes as well as trains, and possibly also on buses (if they don't get one already).
3. Decide whether they want to purchase a season ticket (various options available) or pay-as-you-go. I don't know much about season tickets (yet) as my son has always lived within walking distance of UCL so only used payg so far, for wider travel.
4. If using payg, set up "auto-topup" so the card never runs out of credit. They need to log into their oyster account to do this.

They can monitor journey history via their account (easiest via the Oyster app).

My DS and friends started looking after summer exams (June), spent a few weeks looking, the first fell through, so eventually sorted it in August moved in Sept 1st.

The supply of houses is year-round in London, but they're competing with young professionals and wealthy international students.

One tip worth sharing ... if your DC is at a University of London federation uni (incl. UCL, Kings, SOAS, etc, etc, but not Imperial) then they can use the UoL Housing Service. They advertise a lot of properties directly from landlords, but also provide advice. Their Contract Checking service is very good ... its an online or face-to-face meeting where they step through a draft rental contract line by line, explaining meanings, flagging anything worth noting, and just generally giving lots of useful advice: https://housing.london.ac.uk/get-advice. My DS and friends used that service before signing their contract. Then, later, they also sought advice over a dispute with their landlord, and were helped to write an appropriate letter.

Can I join
My eldest is in her last year at the FRA and my youngest about to start at Greenwich . North stay home so no accommodation needed but they commute into town

That is all so useful @grininbearit thank you. Really glad I started this thread.

Welcome @socks1107

I had to look up FRA but wow it seems v cool. What is your DD doing there and is she starting to think about jobs etc now.

(I might be completely wrong but I think I remember your DD from the A level thread for her year, wasn't there a problem with Falmouth or something - a dim memory and ignore if completely wrong!)

Current DC not going to London but I have 2 older DC in London. Dropping off was next to accommodation but for DC1 DH had to move his car straight away. Some older students helped moving stuff inside. DH hung out in some carpark while I helped carry stuff up to DC's room. For dc2 at garden hall we were able to park next to the building and all off us helped carry stuff inside.
Neither bothered with oyster cards. Dc2 uses the Santander bikes for which she has a year subscription.

Yes accommodation is an issue but I think London is more flexible in that you can get something throughout the year. Dc2 due to start in sept and only this month got a room to move into .

Both already had Santander account so just converted it into a student account.

For the other things I have no idea as didn't get involved.

Have one DC just graduated from UCL and one at Imperial - happy to help with any questions that I can answer. For UoL halls there is loads to do for early start dates- the halls organise loads of social stuff

Daughter at UAL London going into second yr.

Expect to pay accom pretty much all year so budget for that
On move in day pack in easily moved things we used alot of vacuum seal type bags, suitcases and manageable boxes that then can be flat packed etc
We had a supe hot day - take plenty of water
Her halls had trolleys and a system for cars to access the main doors - we all had to wait in a queue and unload and trolley things up - there are helpers, so we had to offload pretty quick and move out pdq so others could do the same as access was very restricted
Look up where you are going on google, we booked some local parking via one of these park my car type aps - it was a church car park around 10 mins walk away cost 15 quid for about 4 hrs.I was dreading drive through London but was OK most of it was 20mph and a bit jammed so plenty of time to work out where you were going and avoid charge zones etc.

I would advise getting offspring to look for job as their next priority before others get their act in order - mine was super lucky, we unpacked, parked and needed food, cafe had jobs advertised and about a week later they offered her a job. 15min walk from home, nice people and a good hrly rate.

Travel mine found out re oyster and YPtravel card but again another one hasn't used it but honestly after the first few weeks she didn't travel much and walks alot.

Big Shop not really a thing in London - she has around 6 metro like stores local to her of big names and one slightly bigger Sainsburies, everything costs more than at home, but she also has lots of little ethnic markets near her and she loves going to them and I think virtually lives off frozen dimsum. But their veg is often cheap as well.

Meningitis and flu might be worth looking into - but check their other vaccinations too, especially after the covid years!

The Halls for my daughter was a shared flat with 6 rooms each separately secure with a key to get in, and a large kitchen/lounge set up, she doesn't see that much of flat mates but did lots of events early on and got stuck in and made quite a few friends in the building who she has flatshared with going into yr 2, some were off her course.

Ohh this is great thanks OP ! Dd at LSE so stopping by to say hi and hope I can help! London is an amazing place to live and study ! Your DCs are going to have a great time !

Excited for our London-bound students! Mine has accom sorted for this year and great to hear it is slightly less complicated than some other places - tho pricey …

Just checking in… thanks for the thread @stoneysongs.

Friends of ours used this firm for their child who chose a Uni eleventy million miles away - they send everything in advance to the accommodation which might help those without a car or who are flying down.
https://www.unikitout.com

We don’t live far outside London so DD already has the Oyster card etc. I’ll chat to my friend who is a practice nurse about the Meningitis jab. Thanks for the suggestion!

We have a slot booked early morning on the 21st. We’re dropping the stuff then taking DD for brekkie and then leaving so she can set her room up how she wants it. UCL freshers week starts from then. Apparently it is £40 for the all event ticket according to DD. We started buying stuff on A level results day - top tip is Habitat at Sainsbury’s for stuff priced keenly which is great quality. DD was a boarder so we have a lot of the stuff already. She was told by a UCL student last year to wait to see what everyone else brings before buying an air fryer/kettle etc. Argos is round the corner to her halls.

DD is also reading History. Contact hours are 8 pw so she plans on getting a job. She took retail and restaurant work this summer to made herself more hireable. We eat out a lot in London so I think she plans on applying to the places where tips are likely to be high 😂