DCs off to uni—anyone want to join?

[Ineedcoffeenow]

Now DD has got her grades needed for uni, I’m starting to get my head around that she’s only got 4 weeks before she leaves. I’m going to miss her so much! But im also very excited for her to have the uni experience. Hopefully it will all go according to plan.

The preparation (aka shopping) will
start soon.

Anyone else also going through this?

We are going with buying the essentials - bedding, towels, crockery and cooking supplies. Will buy some food when we get there and will add to any items she needs once she’s there. It’s a compromise of sorts because DD will want to take loads of stuff and will definitely overpack. I’m not hiring a van to transport her and a load of stuff that she won’t need or use but the option of getting what she needs once we’re there, even if it’s ordered and ready to collect won’t work for her and I need to try and make this as stress free as possible.

Be careful if you’re going shopping at somewhere close to the halls. There’s a good chance there will be very little to buy, unless you go early.

For food shopping? Maybe I better just buy essentials here and take them with us.

I share your worries! Ds is another who has never been to a pub or a party and really has no interest in doing so. He’s far too busy doing stuff he’s interested in!

He would have loved to stay at home but his subject is not offered locally.

Plus his university has quite a party reputation.

He’s convinced it will be fine. That not everyone will be the same and he’ll make friends with shared interests same as he has at home. He’s a really nice guy and he’s very easy going and sensible so I’m hopeful but I do worry that the whole culture of the place will be too much for him.

@swaninbay Oops though just realised this is Scotsnet and I’m in Northern Ireland but I still share your worries!

It’s just my experience that lots of people have the same plan and clear the shelves at local shops. But that’s just what I’ve seen where I live. Might be different elsewhere.

The one thing you should apparently definitely take is the best mattress topper you can afford!

Yes! I’ve seen the mattresses in the halls and they look awful—plastic covered. My challenge is that the bed is. 3/4 double (4ft) so it’s not quite so easy to find suitable bedding.

My eldest also had a 3/4 and we went with double sheets and mattress protector so he could use them in subsequent years - most student flats are double beds from what we’ve seen

@HerdMentality did the sheets move around/slide?

Not that he complained about but he’d sleep upside down. Think lots of hall beds are up against a wall so I guess you could just make sure they were well tucked in.

I’ll go with what you’ve said as knowing my luck . . . there will be plenty on the shelves here so I’ll buy what I can to take with me. I’ve no doubt it will be a takeaway or going out to eat for the first couple of nights anyway 😂

Im sending another dd to Queen Margaret halls in Glasgow so from what I recall a mattress topper is essential and the pillows and duvet were pretty poor so we replaced when we got there.this year I’ve bought double flat sheets and double duvet cover- the one provided is dull and functional so she’s chosen something she likes.

Tbh I’ve bought all this now for dd2 from Dunelm with the 10% student discount and from M&S with a 20% Sparks as I recall spending HOURS in IKEA and Sainsburys when we arrrived and they were mobbed. Just wasn’t a nice way to spend the day.

Halls also didn’t provide a bedside table so instead of constructing something from IKEA on the day I have a found a second hand bedside unit to bring in the car. Lamps also not provided and they help make the room more cosy. so I’m buying a study lamp and a bedside lamp.

I will be doing a basic food shop before I go and together we’ll make some spag bol / pasta sauce that she can portion and freeze on arrival for when she needs a taste of home. We’ll go out for tea on the night she arrives and lunch the next day and then leave her to enjoy her first Saturday night as a student!

Mine is going back for take 2. He started at Glasgow last year and loathed it, it was actually very detrimental to his mental health. He’s going to Strathclyde which is where he’d wanted to always go anyway, he just picked Glasgow in the end as it was on paper “better”. He’s going into halls this time as opposed to commuting, which I am hopeful will give him a good experience, although we do live reasonably locally.

Ir will be two weeks pm Saturday for DD. Need to start shopping dor bits and bobs soon.

I know I need to step away and leave her to figure things out, but I’m so excited to see what she’s studying and how to do it.

Halls also didn’t provide a bedside table so instead of constructing something from IKEA on the day I have a found a second hand bedside unit to bring in the car.

I would recommend getting a set of plastic drawers from somewhere like B&Q as a bedside table. We got secondhand wood (chipboard) bedside drawers for my DC and have cursed the weight every time he has moved,

I wouldn’t particularly recommend IKEA - we found better and cheaper from large supermarkets. However if, in subsequent years, you buy from IKEA for student flats then I recommend their toolkit for putting furniture together. Also IKEA do sell second hand stuff though it can be hit and miss.

Dropping DC1 back for third year next week, and DC2 the week after. Looking forward to reclaiming our dining room from being a storage depot for DC1s stuff over the summer.

Don’t forget drawing pins/map pins for their notice board, laundry nets for washing can be good when throwing everything in a large load together, cushions/blanket to make their room cosy, and if there aren’t under bed drawers then under bed storage boxes are helpful.

DD has two weeks to go. Fresher’s week activities are booked (at the cost of £80 bloody pounds—it wasn’t that expensive when I went to uni). She’s going out now to start shopping for stuff.

Lots of jobs for her to do, too.

I’m thinking that we may have to do a second run through to her for the rest of her stuff. We have a medium sized car, but all 4 of us are going down so it’s going to be a squeeze. I’m not going to miss out on settling her in!

She’s found out that the building she’s in had the lift broken all year. I’m really hoping it’s been fixed as she’s on the 6th floor!

Just moved DC in to a third floor flat with a broken lift - we were glad it wasn’t the sixth floor!

Anyone’s kids simply commuting but not staying?

Can anyone tell me the sort of budget they are expecting dcs to live off at Edinburgh uni? After halls are paid for how much do they actually need - that’s a reasonable amount?

You would struggle below £50 per week if self-catering, be able to splurge and have a lot more nights and meals out on £150. Plus they need to buy books, some clothes etc and text books are expensive (cheaper second hand though more of their stuff is online these days). I would go somewhere between those two depending on your budget if you are supporting them. Obviously if you are very well off and expect your DC to access ‘the finer things in life’ then the sky’s your limit!

Also remember at Edinburgh or other Scottish unis, once they move in they can apply for a young Scot card and get free bus travel across Scotland until they are 22. (If already in Scotland they should already have this)

DD is going to Edinburgh Napier so not quite the same, but we are going for £100 per week, which will come from her loan. We’ll cover the accommodation. I hope she’ll be able to live off £50 per week, but that mat be too ambitious.

Sorry, that was meant for @Edinburghuni