Current Oxbridge students - continued again...!

[Panicmode1]

Think the other thread is full....!

Thanks all - ds is so enamoured with the idea of Oxford that I think if there is a dead rat on the bed when he arrives he will put a positive spin on it. He is also weirdly averse to the idea of mattress toppers for some unknown reason but I may just get one anyway and maybe he'll end up putting it on when I've gone.

He might change his mind when faced with reality!

Exactly - my son asked for a mattress topper after the first term!

D1 had squirrels, a badger and the college cat, they were not supposed to feed any of them. Mattress topper (@AsTearsGoBy your top tip) was an essential.

DD finally submitted her dissertation for her masters in the early hours of the morning. Now we just have to wait for her results and then her university life with all of its lumps and bumps along the way will finally be over.

Huge congrats to your DD Dearover - getting these things out is no mean feat👏

I’m Victorian Mum. We don’t have mattress toppers at home and my DC didn’t have them at university either. One year I was doing 18 round trips with the full room kit so packing light was the only way to stay vaguely sane.

You had third years who had to vacate their college at the end of each term AlsoAnon?

We were fortunate with the room clearing out thing - cobbled things together between finalist DC who stayed for the vac, DC in second or subsequent years who had to live out and colleges who allowed some storage. Mattress toppers squish up anyhow, those were never a big deal.

I’m also quite Victorian - in my case that meant only going at the beginning and end of each year as we live 300 miles away. Colleges can often be quite flexible re vac storage if you live a long way away. And there’s lot you can get in two big cases on the train.

@AsTearsGoBy in fact I think I’m exaggerating as DD1 (4th year) was in a rented house when DD2 was in her first year. But we still seem to have spent lots of time on the M40. And unloading on a double yellow line with 50 other people carriers is not an experience I’ll miss!

I am loving the fact that DD (4th year) has a house this year. It’s a cute little place. Nice on the inside but a bit ‘Young Ones’ on the outside. We’re staying there for a night next week for her graduation.

No more end of term / beginning of term trips this year.

One of her housemates has an Italian mum who has sent her with several varieties of olive oil 😂

How does drop off work? Ds
at small college with no parking! No parking in centre either. Do we drive up, drop stuff off and then I drive around town looking for parking while he waits by the porters lodge for me to come back? Do they have any trolleys or anything?

Flamethrowers you just throw double yellow lines and caution to the wind. It will be fine. Unload and if freshers' reps don't appear to help cart belongings to the assigned room (which they almost certainly will), then you and DC do it as a twosome and once DC is in his room with all his stuff, only then return to the car to find legitimate parking. Once done, return to the room to help unpack/ make up the bed/ be shooed away.

Yes @Flamethrowers what @AsTearsGoBy said is right. When we dropped DD2 at her college this is exactly what we did. We didn’t do the “drive round looking for parking” stage, just dropped her and her stuff in her room, took a few pics then disappeared. Brutal but necessary!

Hello again,

Another question for you seasoned Oxford parents- trying to work out how much spending money dd will need each term to cover expenses (lunch, socialising etc- catered for breakfast & dinner so don’t need to include that).

I don’t have a lot so need to limit but don’t want her to not be able to do things with friends or cover whatever is needed.

Any sharing of workable budgets much appreciated!

We always paid DDs accommodation. She had the minimum loan for everything else. Her college was very generous in funding her sports activities & kit.

Will your dd get a Cambridge bursary? You don’t have to apply for it, or didn’t 3 years ago, but if your household income is lower than something like £65k, there will be a scaled bursary that she gets paid. My income was about £35k when ds first applied for finance, and he got the maximum loan and the maximum bursary of about £5k. He also had savings from his summer job. He didn’t ask for anything that first year except for a bit of spending money in Easter vacation.

I will say that ds is incredibly careful and cautious with money and he was obsessively determined to cost me as little as possible. He did row, which cost a bit and I paid for a couple of bits of stash for that.

Apologies, there is a similar Oxford bursary scheme!

Just dropped my ds off at his college today and feeling slightly bereft 😪 he is already having the best time and is so excited 😊 here's to a new chapter and his next adventure and good luck to all of you dropping off next week I hope all of your yp's are as happy and excited as mine ❤️

Strange mix of bereft and jealous and mournful nostalgia (ex student) and now I’m home just bereft. Child having a fabulous time
already.

@pipgems and @Flamethrowers I know what you mean. However, terms are short and they will soon be back. Enjoy the peace and quiet - at least yours should come back - my 2 are now establishing their careers away from home.

I keep saying I'm bowing out and I really am. However, DD's corrections have been accepted and she has a date for her PhD graduation. The thesis is being bound as I type and she is now sorting out lecture notes for her 1st lecture which is in a couple of weeks. She now has an office too, plus 2 Bye-Fellowships. I can't believe it's only 8 years since we dropped her off as a Fresher...!

@malbecfan that sounds amazing and you must be so proud of your dd I only hope my ds can emulate her success enjoy what you have helped to create ❤️

That is so kind @pipgems , thank you. MN can be so toxic but these threads have always been really supportive. I hope you and all the other Fresher parents enjoy your stay here, and that your students have the most amazing time.

❤️ thankyou

I know what you mean @Flamethrowers. We are dropping DS off for the fourth year (Master's degree) this weekend at a garden flat in North C. that he is sharing with a colleague on the same course. I spent last Saturday helping build his flat-pack desk in his new room. Fortunately we are less than an hour away so can sort the move in increments but parking nearby is now an issue. We were spoiled when he was in hall as that had parking and easy going porters (in the main) so occasional visits weren't a problem with the centre a short and pleasant walk away.