Uni starters 2024

[radiator2]

The countdown is on. Uni move in has started for some unis and is right around the corner for others. How are we all feeling? Wishing the best of luck to all freshers!

Thank you, everyone is speaking again but it’s still a little awkward I think. I know I’m shocked by how immature some people have been. She’s at a Russell group and is one of 3 in her flat of 10 who’s ever had a job. A lot of them seem to have been quite spoiled, which is where I think the problems begin. DD and her other flatmates who have worked before get on really well but she’s surrounded by people who’ve never worked, been at private school, parents pay for everything etc. I don’t think they’re used to figuring even basic things out for themselves or not getting their own way.

How lovely. Practically impossible to get jobs in student areas

Have a great visit.

It’s a culture shock for her after having worked pretty much full time for the past 3 years.

The behaviour you describe does sound like the typical mean girl nonsense that belongs in secondary school. DD deferred a year, and I've noticed the girls she's made friends with are all one or two years older, too. Sounds like your DD is paying a price for her maturity.

@radiator2 I’m glad there’s a core of flatmates that get on. It’s so hard watching from afar.

Hi, the thread has pretty much ended and our DC are well into uni now. Just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who contributed and supported others. DD signed on a house with some lovely girls, found herself a job and is overall settled. The cliquey group in her flat have fallen apart (long dramatic story) but the main thing is she’s the happiest she’s been there and everything seems to be falling into place. Wishing you and your DC the best.

You may find it pops back to life again over the Christmas hols and at other times. I do hope your DD is happier now with the mix on her course & has made some good friends. I always find in each new year group that the first couple of weeks tend to feel like an episode of the apprentice with some making themselves a bigger version of themselves than they would normally be as they find their feet, before they settle back down again.

I’m still here. Currently have DS at home after her had a series of seizures. He has epilepsy, but these were triggered by lack of sleep. Some of the student union events start at 11pm to 4am - why? This seems very late to start, even a 10pm start would be better. Epilepsy seizures can happen due to a lack of sleep but he doesn’t always want to miss out.
Overall though, he is happy and settled and doing better than we could’ve imagined.

It's a challenge juggling a long-term health condition and independence. Hope he manages to find his own balance soon

Still here! Reading updates with interest and glad that they are positive. I hope your DS is OK @BoreOffAboutYerChickensEmma it must be tough for him with such late starts. Hopefully he will be well rested now.
DD seems fine. I barely hear from her. She's just put a lot of effort into her room, which I am taking as a good sign. House for next year seems to have been stalled by a rift in the group but she was optimistic about sorting something as she's got a group who want to be together.

She's home on Friday and I can't wait. It's been strange her not being around during Advent. She's so into it and embraces everything with gusto. Her younger sister is too cool for all of that at the moment. On the plus side, she has started to tolerate a bit more of my company now that DD1 is away.
I hope you all have happy reunions over Christmas.

@BoreOffAboutYerChickensEmma glad DS is doing better. I’m too old to understand why yoof feel the need to be up all night. I used to do it many years ago, but now I need to be home for 9pm.

Me too! 11pm start for a night out?! Not anymore!

I’m still here. My dd’s last exam is 19th so not home for a few more weeks. She seems happy and thriving.

DD will be home for a fortnight in just over a week. Her dad has been seriously ill for the past few weeks and it will be a very different Christmas to our usual ones. I'll roll with whatever they both want or can do. She'll go back to York before NY & crack on with her masters.

Glad to see some of you are still here, please feel free to continue to chat here. Glad to know your DC’s are doing well. I do hope that the start of the new semester brings DD some more friends, she’s a lot more settled etc now but you can never have too many.

So sorry to hear that. Health struggles are terrible at uni, all the kids want is to be able to do the same as everyone else. I understand some club events being on that late but you’d think the student union would have their events finish earlier. At DDs uni all student union events have to be finished by 12-1am at the latest. Glad that despite this he’s doing well.

This has been my biggest fear. DS had a form of childhood epilepsy which he “grew out of” but because it was often triggered by stress and lack of sleep I’m always worried it will reoccur. The seizures happened in the first 30 mins of sleep and there is a risk of suffocation as a result. It is a worry but he seems to be ok so far.
DS is also at home, it was my sisters funeral on Wednesday, so he came home to travel down to Cornwall with us. He decided to stay because he was planning to travel back this weekend to attend a big rugby match at his old school. Good job he did since a lot of the trains from Cardiff are being cancelled.

@Angrymum22 so sorry. I'll be back home in Cornwall in a couple of weeks. This week though I'll be commuting with GWR to Bristol via a station which had it's roof ripped off earlier. Perhaps not...

So sorry to hear that @Angrymum22 Does he have an antisuffocation pillow? DS has to have one all the time, it is such a worry.

I'm still here too. My daughter finishes next week, she's so ready to come home for Christmas. She's doing well, looking for a house for next year with her flatmates, and finishing off assignments. We had a wobble but I'd already warned her about the pre Christmas wobble so she was ready for it. Can't believe that's the first term done. Have seen a change in her but a good one, she is more confident and gets things sorted. She went to visit her friend in Manchester and dealt with the trains being disrupted, sorts out any issues at uni by herself. Still hear from her very often on the family chat which is lovely.

Glad to hear everyone else is doing ok

@BoreOffAboutYerChickensEmma hope your yp is ok.

DS is being a nightmare in letting me know whether they need to start looking for a flat now, whether he’s reapplied to stay in halls, and now has the realisation that he can just ignore my messages when I asked. Any ideas on the housing situation for St Andrews and how far in advance they should be looking? He’s back next weekend for Christmas and he will be getting pinned down to get an answer on his plans!

I'm still here too! DD has been having an amazing time, enjoying her new friendships and her independence and enjoying her course. I couldn't be happier for her. We text occasionally in the week and Facetime call every Sunday evening for a catch up. She has her 2nd year house all sorted and is looking forward to coming home for Christmas next weekend. I can't believe how quickly the weeks have flown by and that its nearly time to have her back for a few weeks!!

We will have her home until NYE when she is going back to meet friends to celebrate the New Year and then she has exams coming up in January so will likely stay there.

The housing situation is so stressful. I don’t know about St Andrew’s specifically but most unis advise to have a house by Christmas. DD signed for a house this week and they left it quite late and were limited because of that, their house isn’t that nice I think they panicked a bit. Some more properties are usually released in Jan but what some places start to do is individually letting rooms so it’s harder to find a house. Don’t know about your DS’s situation but when DD was avoiding questions about housing it was as she was stressed because she didn’t have a group to live with at that time. I think it’s ridiculous how soon they have to look for houses, it causes some people to panic. One of my friends DD signed for a house on the 12th of October! She’d not even been there a month

DS and his friends sorted a house last week too. @DemocracyR maybe start a new thread asking about accommodation at St Andrews, there’s bound to be someone with some knowledge.