freshers week etc

basketmaker

My son is going to Strathclyde University in September and is trying to work out his budget and is wondering how much people spend at freshers week. He has been on the website and they are selling entry passes for freshers week for £38 or for freshers + first semester for £58. Are either of these worth buying? Do students go to enough events to make this worthwhile?
Also, he will not be 18 for a few weeks after he arrives, is this going to cause him a problem with getting into events/enjoying himself if he gets in?

currynchips

Wouldn't buy any tickets - there will be plenty of pubs, bars and clubs desperate for his business. Cheap drinks, cheap or free entry, offers galore. I'd advise even if he does need to go out every night, to have at least half of his drinks before he goes out. It's much cheaper and more fun too!
Also buy some frozen pizzas etc to eat for lunch the next day, otherwise he'll be thinking Subway for mid-morning breakfast, Burger King for lunch and the local pub for dinner.
As for him being 17.....if he's got a student card and looks similar to 18, he should be ok. Bouncers seeing an NUS card won't check the dob, but they might check other things.

RachelRa

currynchips wrote: »

Wouldn't buy any tickets - there will be plenty of pubs, bars and clubs desperate for his business. Cheap drinks, cheap or free entry, offers galore. I'd advise even if he does need to go out every night, to have at least half of his drinks before he goes out. It's much cheaper and more fun too!
Also buy some frozen pizzas etc to eat for lunch the next day, otherwise he'll be thinking Subway for mid-morning breakfast, Burger King for lunch and the local pub for dinner.
As for him being 17.....if he's got a student card and looks similar to 18, he should be ok. Bouncers seeing an NUS card won't check the dob, but they might check other things.

I thanked you and I didn't mean to. He should wait until he's 18. It's against the law. My father is an Ents Manager at a Uni.. and I worked on the bar in one of the venues.. freshers week is prime time for police checks.. It's the time all the local kids try and get away with getting in under age. It's the staff and managers which get it in the neck (oh.. and the boy if he's caught). The bouncers aren't breaking the law (in most situations under 18s are allowed in the building - law-wise), but it's the bar staff that are by serving him. It's really unfair to put us in that situation.. and I hope that they have the balls to ID at the bar too. It is their job, after all.

What a terrible thing to encourage.. it's only a few weeks to wait.

currynchips

You are very welcome.
Why stop young uns from being young uns? Did you never drink before 18? Did you never go to a pub underage? In fact, have you ever dropped litter, turned without indicating, gone before the green man?
He's in the most exciting time of his life and your advice is 'be careful Sandy!'

Voyager2002

currynchips wrote: »

You are very welcome.
Why stop young uns from being young uns? Did you never drink before 18? Did you never go to a pub underage? In fact, have you ever dropped litter, turned without indicating, gone before the green man?
He's in the most exciting time of his life and your advice is 'be careful Sandy!'

However, he should be careful not to get other people into trouble. I mean, if a bar sells alcohol to an under-age drinker, the people who work there can lose their livelihoods.

And I have to say that university offers many activities that are a good deal more exciting than drinking. Personally, I only took to the bottle some years after graduation: as a student I didn't have time to waste in bars.

currynchips

There certainly are plenty of other things.
End of the day, bar staff are told to check, so shouldn't ever get themselves into any bother. Not the underage guy looking for fun's fault.

Bamber19

Bar staff have a duty to ensure they don't serve alcohol to under 18's. If they don't bother checking they have no right to blame it on the 17 year old. As for the youngster getting it in the neck, they'd get chucked off the premises and nothing else would happen, simple as that.

Back on topic OP your son should look at what events are on and decide then what he is going to go to and see how much they cost individually. If he has friends going to the same uni they should discuss it now. I was only 17 when I started Uni also and union staff weren't too interested in asking any questions but that's not to say they wont. Strathclyde do check ID's on the door but this seems to be more for the sake of ensuring those who go in are students and not so much about age. If he gets past the door he's home free. The place will be mobbed and no-one on the bar will be checking ID's, if they happen to then "I've left it in my jacket" no sale then a minute later someone else can go up and buy the round for him. He's lucky he turns 18 soon as other pubs and clubs in the city definitely do ID people, I had a good few months to wait before I could got most places. He should head to the Ark, a student bar just round from the union, good palce for a long day of drinking and eating and busy enough usually agian that ID shouldn't be a problem.

littlebird22

I'm at university in Scotland and they check absolutely everyone's ID (it's normal for people to go to uni at 17 in Scotland) especially at the beginning of term. I was 18 when I started uni but the rule at Stirling is that 17 year olds can go in the students union but they have to surrender their student cards at the door which means that they can't buy alcohol once inside. They have no chance of getting into a club in town though, although most pubs will let them in and only check ID when buying alcohol at the bar.

FreheitOverture

Thing is, I remember that I hardly ever went to the union on Freshers Week, it was just too packed. If his new friends want to go elsewhere he may not be able to follow. It will be a problem getting in to pubs and clubs in town as student cards are not technically valid forms of ID, mine doesn't have my DOB on, just name, Student Number and expiry date. Therefore they tend not to accept them

mymatebob

currynchips wrote: »

You are very welcome.
Why stop young uns from being young uns? Did you never drink before 18? Did you never go to a pub underage? In fact, have you ever dropped litter, turned without indicating, gone before the green man?
He's in the most exciting time of his life and your advice is 'be careful Sandy!'

As opposed to your advice which appears to be "Go ahead break the law and have fun"

Where I live crossing the road without waiting for the green man has yet to become a criminal offence.

The_One_Who

If he is going to a university ran freshers' event then the bouncers might 'tag' those who are under 18 to prevent the staff from serving them alcohol. Your ID card will probably have the date of birth on it too so clubs will knock him back.