Thread 39 - Covid Cohort - Our Adult Children Now Post 18

[CinnamonOrangeCremeBrulee]

This is a support thread for our young adults post GCSEs 2020, regardless of their educational setting, and their results ( or life updates for those who went into work or have had results earlier). It is respectfully requested that all are supportive and helpful to each other. If you want to start a debate, e.g state vs private, uni vs employment please don't within this thread.

Some of us have been here since first thread back in yr10, some will be new. Everyone has been friendly and helpful in the past. Everyone is welcome. It is hoped this will continue. We were previously on the secondary board and then further education, now we shall be here in 'Parents of Adult Children' gulp

Our DS/DD may continue down various pathways ( employment, apprenticeships, higher ed). Be warned there might be lots of 'Uni Freshers' chat this time of year. My experience is that everyone is welcomed wherever, whatever their child is doing we have some in work, gap years , apprenticeships etc too. Lots of contributors with different experiences and always sympathy and support to be had !

@Fruitygal I'm as excited as she is about starting uni! And she's happy with a tiny room. Yes, my third year room was great. My first year room was a shoebox, and my second was an overpriced rented house with three friends (not all Oxbridge colleges provide three years of accommodation although many of them do). I studied Physics & Philosophy joint honours, went on to do a Ph.D. involving both of them plus history, and now I'm a teacher at an independent school. I really can't take the first day off as I'm also in charge of a Year 7 form and their first few days can be bumpy enough without their teacher being away!

@EwwSprouts I think they must be different for different colleges. I know St John's has said that they are slightly independent of the central organisation so have a bit of freedom to make up some of their own rules/processes. As far as I can work out so far this means that you don't pay less if you have a have a single vs a double bed, and no charge to use the laundry or for ordinary formals. I guess it extends to their licence agreements as well.

DS appears to be getting himself sorted. His applemac arrived this week & he’s accessed his timetable & has accessed all the microsoft office apps through the uni.

So think he’s set up IT wise.

He’s private student halls & has been chatting to someone in his flat online.

As we’re local to the uni, he’s going to move in gradually over a week - so next Sat we’ll be starting the move…

He’s received some info on freshers & early bird offers for the Sports Centre & signed up to uni days

He’s just opted to make his bank account a student one so that was easy to do.

All in all, he’s ticked off most things on his admin list without much input from me which is lovely!

There is lots of buzz in Newcastle with both Uni’s on the short list for Uni of the Year which is great.

@EwwSprouts @GoldenRuby i agree I think all colleges slightly different but ours has no signature to sign either so DD sent an email to clarify and I will
feedback anything we get back.

@Northumberlandlass he sounds calm and sorted my DS1 was in private halls … amazing - which uni of year? I know the Times always have a thing in September with their new rankings …. Very exciting for the uni if shortlisted

@Fruitygal he does appear sorted, but he’s also the lad who left his mobile at Leeds Festival last weekend so his ‘adulting’ isn’t guaranteed!

Yes - Times Higher Education Awards 2022 👏👏

Thanks for the new thread @CinnamonOrangeCremeBrulee and the new list @singingstones !
We’re on our annual ‘Swallows and Amazon’s’ trip at a slightly later time this year.
Admin done and sub fusc purchased but still have some bedding to buy and more importantly we need to book an overnight stay before there’s none left…

Universities being investigated for rise in top grades- Does anyone know anything about this?
3 Unis being investigated

@singingstones The original email with the Nottingham hub log on details was in the email acknowledging your application titled "thank you for your application" There is a link in there on 2nd paragraph which gives you log on details (saying that DD didn't work originally and I had to email).

Also heads up email received this morning but it was blocked by school so I had to release it, requesting Photo for ID Card. I also found some older emails in the junk folder (thankfully info rather than requests)...

Thanks Heifer that's really helpful. I have found some login details written down but they don't work, I bet he didn't verify his email address or something. I'll will encourage him to have a good old sort through it all today.

Well I think I've paid something, still a bit confused as the deposit for BP is supposed to be £500 and they only seemed to want £250 on the hub. Still can't get the login to work but I found a link which opened it without the need for a password. He is never going to be able to manage all this 😬

@Shimy think the OfS need to focus on the mess of no accommodation at unis and investigate that as a priority instead.

Some unis are far harder to get a 1st than others but employers have preferred unis …

When I graduated only 2 out of 32 on my course got a 1st and 14 got 2:1 the rest getting 2:2 and 3rds. Nowadays in graduations there are few 2:2s and 3rds.

@Northumberlandlass lost his phone ?!? Love these kids !!

love all these awards ….

I'm going to give DS until lunchtime before I go in and ask about all this. He didnt get back until 4am!😴

omni after paying the £250 that was showing as due I then found an email that explained you also have to pay £250 out of the first terms fees.

So it lists three big payments (one for each term), plus the £250 deposit.

And you have to pay the £250 deposit plus £250 from this term's big payment. You can choose the amount and which of the terms fees you want it to come out of. I hope that makes sense.

@singingstones as DD is catered she doesn't have to pay the £250, so that wasn't showing at all, but I did work out to pay the £250 needed against the 1st instalment (which wasn't actually listed as the 1st instalment as sorted incorrectly), No way would DD have managed any of this on her own. I've told her tomorrow she needs to sort out a photo of so WE can apply for her student ID card as requested, so somethings I want her to do and some Im happy to sort out.

That should have said DD doesn't have to pay the £250 deposit, just the £250 towards 1st instalment.

Thanks Heifer that sounds like I am in the right place at least. Slightly worried as I haven't had a receipt and I can't get back into the hub aargh. I hate this stuff.

DS has his room allocation from Bath. His first choice of location but seems to have been offered one of the very few rooms without a sink in the room. He is not happy but will have to get on with it I guess.

That Nottingham stuff is the highest level of batshittery. DS very hungover but we managed to get into the hub, pay the first 250, we will come back for the other one later.
The photo uploading was really buggy so we will do that tomorrow. Whoever is in charge of their UX needs a right talking to.
Thanks @Heifer @singingstones without you we would have been properly fucked.

I’ve come to the conclusion that all the logging in with multiple authentication is part of the assessment process - if they can get all that sorted, they’ll have no problem with the actual academic degree content!

Yes as far as I can see there's the BP portal, the Nottingham accommodation portal (which calls itself a hub on some of its pages) and the NottinghamHub (not the same hub as the accommodation portal hub). We can get into two out of the three. To ask for access to the missing one he needs his university user account, which I guess is the thing that's coming soon. Very badly designed imo!

YAY I have fixed it 😅
What a bloody palaver, that's taken most of the morning

well done @singingstones I had problems when I first tried to set up the hub for DD as the information they said was there was actually blank - it took them 3 goes for them to send the correct info originally.

For DD so far we have had to use the Nottingham hub, the accommodation portal, Student Finance login, DSA login, Computer equipment supplier login, specialist study skills login, software training login, and shortly I understand DD will be sent email how to access their IT systems and looks like another 2 or 3 logins there. It's mad and no way could she have coped with all that - especially when often things don't work the first time.

@Takeittotheboss My DS also interrailing at the mo. On his own, which makes it scarier - although he seems to have linked up with lots of other people at various hostels. He's a chronic loser of things (takes after me) so I'll be very impressed if neither wallet, phone or passport disappear in his time away. He was very vague on the plan when he left, so it's always very exciting to hear that he's still alive and somewhere new. Hope your DC's trip goes well.

DS wants to take his musical instruments with him to Uni. I can see the insurance is up to £600 but his are worth more. The dilemma is do we take out additional insurance (doesn’t look like our house insurance will cover it) or persuade him to take his cheaper instruments & take down his decent ones for any performances?