Parent of a Student

Mikearm

OK I'm a Dad of a 17 year old and she hopes to go to Uni next year.

Can any of you recommend a site for Parents of Students to get the information WE need prior to the big day??????

I might be panicing but no one in my family has gone on this far in education so I want to be sure I don't mess it up for her so any help please.

I know my daughter it's either Uni or X-factor .... I've heard her sign so help me get her to Uni .....))))))))))))))

viru.doshi

Hi,

Information for parents and students at http://www.ucas.co.uk/

(I'll add more if i find any later.)

steve_cov

The union at many universities will produce an Alternative Prospectus, which often has invaluable info you might not find from the official prospectus, such as what equipment is provided in the kitchens (and saving you unnecessary expense such as the ironing board and the gas stove etc!)

Warwick's latest alternative prospectus is excellent - http://www.sunion.warwick.ac.uk/documents/web/alternateprospectus.pdf - much better than when I edited it (back in about 1758: it was produced on parchment with the aid of a quill...)

juno

You can come to TSR and ask questions there. We're all helpful, and don't bite! It is primarily a site for students, but there are many older members and parents.

Otherwise, Studential might help.

Eoin_McLove

https://www.prospects.ac.uk is one of the best student/graduate websites, with lots of information on all aspects of university life. :beer:

glenstan

start saving tins a few weeks before she goes to uni , things like basic household cleansers and decent loo rolls go down in the estimation of students, having put 2 daughters through uni , i found letting them know the very least money i could allow them, helped them to budget on what they could expect. the weeks i could put more away i saved and took down with me as a suprise. I was amazed at how they learned to live with a lot less than i anticipated and they never went without

pavlovs_dog

you are always more than welcome to ask questions here. there are lots of students (both undergraduate and post graduate) and parents of students.

we've all started off in your position, so there's no need to worry about asking a 'stupid' question; the only stupid question is the one you dont ask :beer:

Skyhigh

If you mean she wants to go to Uni this coming Sept then if she hasn't already chosen and applied via UCAS she really needs to get a move on

If not, then just make sure she applies early enough for the following year - the later you apply, the less chance you may have of getting into a Uni as they may not "get to your application" fast enough

UCAS is a good service, but be aware they they DON'T have to use UCAS nor can they 'only' apply to 5 Uni's like the UCAS service limits you to.
She can directly approach Universities by calling them up, its a much more direct method but requires a bit more work.



Alot of this is for both parents and students.

Many colleges do trips to Uni fairs, theres often one at Leeds Uni (not MET) where you have about 50 stalls, one for each Uni, with people to ask course questions and all with propectives'.
(Although bringing so many back weighs a ton).

Let them go through the prospectives' on their own and maybe offer to go through them with her.

When it comes to open days, sure go with her but be aware that they will often seperate students and their parents, as there is limited time and they want to be able to take the students around - answer students questions without their peering parents and also allow parents to ask specific questions (finance, housing, policies) when together.


Aside from that, just stick with her, let her choose and go through things on her own first.
Theres really nothing worse than an overbearing parent (I'm not saying you, or anyone here is, but I know people with them!), who won't let their son/daughter have the responsibility to do it own their own, make their own informed choices (or not..) and just do it.
[ Sure be interested, offer help but never try and push them ].



:!:

juno

Not many universities will allow direct applications, unless you have special circumstances (ie transferring from another uni, mature applicant etc). Some courses like the arts, nursing, drama etc have their own application system though.

With UCAS you can apply to 6, unless you're doing any type of medicine when it's 4 (but you can use the other 2 spaces for non-medicine courses if you wish). Then there is also Extra and Clearing if the first 6 options don't get the desired outcome.

Mikearm

Thanks for all this great information ......

It will September 2007 she goes but I am trying to get her to do the ground work whilst she is on Summer holiday then hope there is not too many panics once she goes back to college.

I knew I could always get help here with out feeling too stupid so I will be back no problem, after all when I give her the right answers I become super Dad for a short while and all Dads love that ....

Thanks again, and congrats to those who have all finished and have their degrees ready to take out into the world .....

Mike.

viru.doshi

You're welcome, and yes, there is no such thing as a stupid question.