University league tables

The_One_Who

I agree that the parents should be involved in discussions, but they shouldn't do everything. The parent isn't going to know what sort of course content grabs the interest of the student, or what sort of clubs/societies they are looking for. Perhaps more importantly, the parent will not get the same "feel" of the place.

Anyway, as already said, course content is important, as is the library resources (something a lot of students don't look at); the social aspect is important, and you may want to consider the gym, it's facilities and its prices since they vary widely. I'd also look to see how active the department is with current research, and whether they are doing any work that is interesting, since you'll often find a lot of crossover between current work and lectures.

bambinaUK

Most parents I deal with have not been to University and therefore do not know the process involved. It's usually only when they start having to divulge financial information that they suddenly realise they should have had at least some input.

When I talk to parents I normally advise them that the student must be 100% responsible for choosing the course, but that they need to be involved in making them attend open days, choosing accommodation and that they need to read-up on the finance side of it before they have to fill out all the forms for student loans, especially if they are self-employed.

wintersunshine

The_One_Who wrote: »

Whilst I agree with most of the above, it should be the daughter who is doing all the research and legwork, not her mother!

OH Yawn


Never heard of "Team Work" hun?


By the way, some of us adults have more wisdom than the average 16 or 17 year old. (Not all of us of course, I'll give you that.)

Dunroamin

wintersunshine wrote: »

OH Yawn


Never heard of "Team Work" hun?


By the way, some of us adults have more wisdom than the average 16 or 17 year old. (Not all of us of course, I'll give you that.)

The voice of a "helicopter parent", I fear.:rotfl::rotfl:

The_One_Who

wintersunshine wrote: »

OH Yawn


Never heard of "Team Work" hun?


By the way, some of us adults have more wisdom than the average 16 or 17 year old. (Not all of us of course, I'll give you that.)

Hun? That's not patronising and overly familiar at all.

If you had actually read my posts you would see that I agree with parental involvement in the process, but when it comes to narrowing down universities and courses (because in a lot of cases what is a great university will not have a suitable course or a suitable environment), it should be being done by the prospective student. If for no other reason than they will be the only one who can find what they want.

It's got nothing to do with "wisdom", it's to do with simple interests and being able to get a general "feel" of a place.

melancholly

Even if parents have gone to uni, things change and fairly fast. It's always worth finding out what the situation is now, rather than relying on information that can be out of date in only a few years.

The most important thing is for the student to choose the course and the uni, although clearly the parents will usually help inform that choice. Students who come to uni because they were told to and didn't engage with the decision process aren't invested in being there. It shows! Or they realise that this isn't what they wanted and either stick it out, resenting the parents or they need to change courses or drop out and reapply. That's a costly decision, even more so with increased fees.

As ever, it's the student who has to do the work and pay back any loans. They need to make the call.

wintersunshine

Dunroamin wrote: »

The voice of a "helicopter parent", I fear.:rotfl::rotfl:

At least I have kids. Why exactly are you here? :rotfl::rotfl:

wintersunshine

The_One_Who wrote: »

Hun? That's not patronising and overly familiar at all.

If you had actually read my posts you would see that I agree with parental involvement in the process, but when it comes to narrowing down universities and courses (because in a lot of cases what is a great university will not have a suitable course or a suitable environment), it should be being done by the prospective student. If for no other reason than they will be the only one who can find what they want.

It's got nothing to do with "wisdom", it's to do with simple interests and being able to get a general "feel" of a place.

The thread was about University League Tables but you had to make it about parents...why???? What exactly is your problem????

and you have no kids either....

wintersunshine

melancholly wrote: »

Even if parents have gone to uni, things change and fairly fast. It's always worth finding out what the situation is now, rather than relying on information that can be out of date in only a few years.

The most important thing is for the student to choose the course and the uni, although clearly the parents will usually help inform that choice. Students who come to uni because they were told to and didn't engage with the decision process aren't invested in being there. It shows! Or they realise that this isn't what they wanted and either stick it out, resenting the parents or they need to change courses or drop out and reapply. That's a costly decision, even more so with increased fees.

As ever, it's the student who has to do the work and pay back any loans. They need to make the call.

The thread was about University League Tables but you had to make it about parents...why???? What exactly is your problem????

and you have no kids either...

PaulW1965

melancholly wrote: »

As ever, it's the student who has to do the work and pay back any loans. They need to make the call.

My son is going to uni this autumn and I have witnessed absolutely nothing to suggest that he and his peer group aren't picking their own courses or unis. I mean: zilch, nil, zero, rien, nada. You seem to be suggesting that there has been some large-scale shift in attitudes but I've wittnessed nothing like you suggest. Have you got any evidence to back up your pov? It seems to be little different now than it was when I went to university.