Current Oxbridge students - continued again...!

[Panicmode1]

Think the other thread is full....!

Thank you so much @Panicmode1 @PermanentTemporary @Penguinsn for the recommendations

Caught up with DS yesterday and he's mega busy as one of his supervisions got postponed so he has three next week. He also has more than 200 unread emails, I think the maths is going ok(ish) but the life admin he is struggling with! Discovered he has to be out of his room by 10am next Saturday so we will bring him home on Friday evening. It seems he is expecting me to go and pack for him but hopefully we can do it together. He is autistic and dyslexic and I think some support is there at C if you ask for it but knowing who/how to ask can be a challenge.

@IThinkImAMathmoMum - a good friend of mine provides counselling / support services employed by Cambridge Uni support services for people exactly like your son. So it is definitely there.

Perhaps it will take a bit of time for him to learn the skills of packing etc. it can be over whelming.

Life admin was a particular trial for my son - he now three years on is much more on the case but his approach was to ignore the emails and then wonder why he didn't have a room in college... I found it very hard to know when to interfere / support and when to let the trip hazards become real...

Last week of term! The first term has gone very quickly.

DS (Cam) has not passed on any information about pickup. I’m assuming it’s just a case of clearing his room and leaving it clean. No idea about parking! Any tips or anything I should be aware of?

This term really has gone fast hasn't it, even though they are finishing later.

I can't help, sorry @SOWK because DS always manages to have a room where he doesn't have to clear anything, so DH is going up later this week to collect a bag, and drop off the skiing kit he needs for the Varsity trip...anyone else's DCs going?! (I was trying not to panic when I read about the bus crash on the way to the slopes in the Pyrenees this morning 😭)

@Panicmode1 NatSci Dd is going to the Varsity trip, she will be going by coach leaving C. I wasn't panicking about it until just now as I didn't know about the crash...She is looking forward to it, as she didn't manage to go last year, as it was too difficult to navigate through the uncertainties of bookings/ groupings/ accommodation etc. as a fresher. Previous to that, the ski trip with the school was cancelled due to Covid.

@SOWK might be worth confirming if your DS has to pack up his entire room or is able to store at least some of his stuff at the college. DD has been very lucky in her first year, she didn't have to vacate her room until summer holidays.

Sorry to worry you @Daysnconfuddled

This will be DS' third trip and despite cancelled planes or some sort of drama (stolen skiis) he has always managed to have a fab time.

@Daysnconfuddled unfortunately we do have to pack it all up; he’s in the accomm block used for conferences/B&B and there’s no lockable storage.

@SOWK it really depends on the college, I'm afraid. There is parking at DD's college, but when we dropped her off as a Fresher, it was crazy. We live 4 hours away (on a good day) so inevitably arrive in the middle of the day when everyone else does. I really hate driving in the dark, so at the end of her 1st term, I booked into the Travelodge at Orchard Park and went to a concert she was playing in, then turned up at her college at 8am the next day to be sure of being able to park. She had a locked cupboard in her room, so was able to leave cooking stuff, her duvet & gown there, so packing was quicker.

It is probably worth your DC asking their college parents about parking etc. as they have a year's experience of it.

For the return to college in January (Oxford now) I'm told they have to move in midweek, so as to avoid extra nights charges and be back for collections before term starts. Is this correct? Does it vary by college? Having to book a couple of days off right after Christmas would be a pain.

TenSheds the options are a) DC goes back to Oxford by public transport with a suitcase of essential items and parent goes the following weekend before full term starts or b) (often cheaper) DC pays for extra nights (but this depends on the individual college and how flexible it is with its rooms/ availability).

Ah, we are in the same boat. Last year was so much easier but DS is happier returning to the same staircase he had in first year alongside the same fellow student he met then. His large blackboard in the car is the main challenge, though.

Bit of a first world problem, Dd just discovered that her ski trousers don’t really fit her anymore. Or they do fit, but she can’t really bend comfortably in them.

Tomorrow is the last day of another intense term, and her schedule is packed right up to the last day with lectures, lab and supervision and a Christmas Formal. I think she has learned to try to keep a balance during term and keep on top of her work, otherwise it easily spirals and she could feel overwhelmed. She is very much looking forward to skiing and the Christmas break.

DS appears to be taking his mind off awaiting post-interview (2 tough hours, apparently, for an. internship) outcome and enjoying the last fortnight of term - as far as we can tell from delphic scraps on Whatsapp

@Daysnconfuddled DH is driving ski stuff up to DS in C tomorrow ...there are 6 of us in the family so if you wanted to PM me we may be able to send a pair up from here that she could borrow 😊

"delphic scraps on WhatsApp" is a description of perfection @Clemenc0! Best of luck with the interview result.

Thank you @Panicmode1 and good morning. I think we may get The Call Home before the weekend. I recall growing up with mountains of ski kit around at home as we lived about an hour from ski slopes and went regularly ar weekends in winter. Not with an equipe as large as yours, though! You have reminded me that DS is sort of organisising a ski trip early next month but we'll see.

@Panicmode1 thank you very much for your kind offer. Will pm.

My daughter wants to come back on Friday rather than Saturday. She also has to pack up everything. She has tutorials until late on Friday afternoon but she's said she will pack up everything as much as she can this week so that it's literaly just moving stuff out and loading up the car.

I can't believe we're at the end of her first term already. I'm anticipating that the city will be very busy on Friday.

@Panicmode1 Thanks for your blessing of good luck. It seems to have paid off as he has an internship next summer subject to usual checks on status - confirmed today. Understandably chipper as a consequence.

Bravo to him @Clemenc0 - that's fantastic news.

(And nice to hear positive internship news - poor DS keeps getting good feedback - scores highly on tests/aptitude stuff etc, but can't seem to get through to the next stage/phase....!)

DS had the same experiences through years 1 and 2 and gave up on internships in 2nd year summer vac. The selection and AI interview processes are corrosive and demoralising. This one is one he targeted in first year and has stuck with since then. He, to his credit I think (I admit to bias), tackled a a minimum wage job in hospitality in London at one of the national museums. This taught him several things: working in a team effectively, respect for all co-workers, promptness, doing it once and how to clean a kitchen properly. I heartily wish your DS all the best in his search. I am sure he will crack it eventually.

He had one last summer (2nd yr summer) for a national civil engineering company but he hated every second. They didn't give him much to do and the stuff they did give him wasn't remotely challenging..still it's a 'name' on his CV - but it doesn't yet seem to have helped! Hey ho...I'm sure he will get there but as you say it's demoralising and brutal.

And doubly rough because DH is going through job searching hell at the same time...although the imperative for him to get a job is slightly more pressing than for DS!

Good luck with the pick-ups. DD is coming home by train on 22nd as she is in a private rental and has a lot of experiments to do/oversee.

For parents of freshers, just a heads up that they will be utterly exhausted and possibly spend the first couple of days just sleeping. Then they will likely work quite a lot of the time to revise and consolidate their learning. The Christmas break was never a holiday for DD1 (nor was Easter but let's not go there yet).

Also, please don't worry too much about internships. Any sort of work experience is better than no work experience. DD1's summer job in year 1 was much more interesting and valuable than the internship she did at a RG uni after year 2. She didn't do anything after y3 due to Covid which was also DD2's y1. DD2 (non O/C) has landed a wonderful graduate position in her chosen field even though she had zero relevant work experience beyond her Masters. Covid and a dearth of STEM opportunities in our area of SW England were to blame. However, she worked in a cafe and apparently dealing with members of the public daily were a big draw for her new employer. Shame she is on shift on Christmas Day, but she is having a wonderful time earning decent money.

@Panicmode1 I am sorry to hear of DH's current situation. I was made redundant in Autumn last year and thought that had effectively pitchforked me into retirement. In the end, it took me just over 6 months to find a job in my rather specialised field. Left me rather amazed since I lurched into my eighth decade in the summer. Slightly exhausting as I am working harder than ever. The best of luck to your DH. I just hope he has got a few years on me. I have high hopes for your DS though but it is irritating when people are under-used in internships. It can be really awful in my profession where 2 years of professional experience are a condition on qualification. Exploitation is common as a result.