Mother of student needs help

nemo183

Sorry, I haven't read all this thread, but as the dad of a new student, I'd suggest you get yours organised asap in the idea of finding a part time job the moment he arrives.

This, in my case, meant intoroducing my eldest to the whole "work" concept - don't laugh!!!!

Seriously, I few quid coming in every week makes a lot of difference.

stingyscot

I'm just coming to the end of 8 years as the mum of a student. A couple of things:
Point out that supermarkets reduce their chilled food with 1 day to go before 'sell by' and that it's usually in its own separate cabinet - worth finding.
Don't buy text books before starting. 1st year studennts study some of their subjects for only 1 year, and then want to sell the books on, but make sure they're still on the current book list, and are the correct edition. Check if there's a second hand book shop, look on hall and dept notice boards for books being sold, and use student web sites/ chat rooms to buy used books.

student100

nemo183 wrote:

Sorry, I haven't read all this thread, but as the dad of a new student, I'd suggest you get yours organised asap in the idea of finding a part time job the moment he arrives.

This, in my case, meant intoroducing my eldest to the whole "work" concept - don't laugh!!!!

Seriously, I few quid coming in every week makes a lot of difference.

I'm not sure, I'm more in favour of working for money during holidays where possible but leaving term-times for uni work and persuing other interests - initally getting to know everyone and settling in, and later taking part in societies etc. It's good to become an active member of the student community rather than someone who is just living and working in a different city and happens to be a student at the same time.

Unless you're working one night a week in the hall bar or something which could prove to be both sociable and lucrative.

Savvy_Sue

zcaprd7 wrote:

This one guy would get sent food parcels sent from home and once they ran out he would just steal food from the communal fridge until the next one arrived!

I trust no-one was ever tempted to lace something tempting with laxatives or something like that?

My DH was at uni with someone who posted his dirty washing home every week unless he was going home for the weekend!

I blame the parents - no way mine are leaving before they're house-trained, and they know it!

eml_3

Most of the students we see are working part time. If they don't have a job, it would be one of the first things I would suggest. It depends on the course, as some students are studying pretty much 9 - 5, but many universities have job shops which advertise casual as well as part time vacancies.

Budgetting and planning is the other advice I would give. I see a lot of students who just haven't realised how expensive their accommodation is going to be. With a loan of around £4000, if your halls cost £3000 or even £3500, you are going to struggle for money. Quite a few universities allocate beds in privately owned halls, which may have nice facilities e.g. ensuite rooms etc but can be very expensive. With private accommodation, including private houses, there is no easy way out of a contract once you have signed it, so it is important to be quite sure of what they are doing before they sign.

Also, remind him to phone home at least once in the first few weeks. Every year we are contacted by anxious parents who have not heard from their children since dropping them off at university. It is usually because they are having such a good time they have forgotten to check in at home but all we can do is try and contact the student and ask them to ring their mum, so reminding them before they go might help!

Oh, and remind him to steer clear of credit cards and store cards - quite a few seem to target students and unless you are very money savvy, they end up being an expensive way to borrow money.

Savvy_Sue

eml wrote:

Also, remind him to phone home at least once in the first few weeks. Every year we are contacted by anxious parents who have not heard from their children since dropping them off at university. It is usually because they are having such a good time they have forgotten to check in at home but all we can do is try and contact the student and ask them to ring their mum, so reminding them before they go might help!

That is probably the best piece of advice received so far, from a Mum's point of view ...

Of course it must be easier now so many of our little darlings have mobile phones, but nevertheless, if they want to avoid the embarrassment of their tutor telling them to "Phone Home", remembering to do it themselves is a good plan.

Mind you, in my day, the only sensible way to keep in touch with our parents was by letter! Payphone was always busy, and expensive, and it was pot luck whether they'd get an answer and find us in if they tried to call us on it.

And for semi-pc-literate parents with broadband, I recommend getting to grips with some kind of instant messaging ... That way you can see your offspring are still alive, and possibly even engage in 'conversation' with them!

Unless someone's stolen their id ... No, let's not think like that, that way madness lies!

lyniced

When my husband was at uni, his mother told me he rang once in a whole year and that was to ask how to boil potatoes!! So if his father is anything to go by, our son probably won't be contacting us much. I'm guessing this is what most parents go through.

jenyorkshouse

Many students find themselves paying through the nose for crappy rented accommodation for 4 years, just because they only know one small part of their university town and are keen to live in walking distance of class.

However this can be completely irrational and a little bit of exploration can cut your costs in half or more. Besides which, you will get more benefit of living in the big city and understanding your new community, than if you choose to restrict yourself to the student ghetto.

For example, in Leeds, the UK's most popular student city, a room in a student house in Headingley or Hyde Park will most likely set you back at least £250 and quite possibly more. In the friendly ethnic neighbourhoods of Chapeltown or Harehills, however, a whole three bedroom house can be rented for about £300, and of comparable quality too. And its only a twenty-thirty minute bus ride from university and ten minutes into the town centre.

In Glasgow, most students live in the West End which is horribly overpriced and many landlords flout the multioccupancy laws, forcing students to turn their living space into a third, fourth or fifth bedroom to afford prices. Just looking across the river to the South Side you'll be able to find much better quality accommodation at about 50% of the price of the West End - and because of Glasgow's excellent subway service you can still reach the uni or city centre easily.

zcaprd7

nemo183 wrote:

Sorry, I haven't read all this thread, but as the dad of a new student, I'd suggest you get yours organised asap in the idea of finding a part time job the moment he arrives.

This, in my case, meant intoroducing my eldest to the whole "work" concept - don't laugh!!!!

Seriously, I few quid coming in every week makes a lot of difference.

I diasagree with this also - it is essential that when you go to Uni you get a 2:1 or more, anything less and the whole three years will have been a 'waste' of money.

If you are brainy enough to do the work and get a part time job then fine, otherwise it will cost a great deal more over the rest of your life with lower salary...or not a graduate job at all.

lyniced

zpcard - Did you work during uni? My son wants to find a Saturday job, but thats all. He works on Saturdays at the moment and finds that enough.

By the way, what degree did you get? Is it true that anything less than a 2:1 is failure?