University Campus or Home?

Wyre

I have my own views on this, but I thought I would ask my lass, who has just completed her first year at uni.

Now bear in mind my daughter is quiet, not out drinking/socialising all the time, a long term boyfriend etc. She automatically turned round and said that living away from home was the best thing she did.

In her view, she made better friends with people on her course as they could go back to each other's places with no worries about upsetting parents/siblings, they worked well together and helped each other out with course work. There was no pressure to look after anyone but themselves - no chores (other than what was needed to survive and get the deposit from halls back) or parents/siblings disturbing them or asking them to help out/do things.

She says she learnt to budget properly, to look after herself properly, to make friends in both her halls and her course, to get along with people she was living with - even if she didn't like them and thought them slobs (I have to agree!).

Yes, we did talk about it alot, yes there was a course nearer but would actually have cost a fortune in commuter costs. She also shares a room with her two sisters at home so work would have been an issue as would coming in at all hours, having people round and so on. Her boyfriend hated the idea, really tried to talk her out of it by saying they would never see each other. In reality he spent a lot of time in her uni town with her, and when they weren't together there was skype, texts and phone calls.

Noone knows your daughter like you do, but please let her make her own decision, regardless of your views. Don't assume that because she is quiet she will hate it, or if she is outgoing she will love living away. Let her know you will support her no matter what. As a parent, it's the only thing you can really do.

securityguy

stebiz wrote: »

What I mean is that course for course, a Business Degree at Exeter (Top 10) would in my eyes be no better than a Business Degree at Manchester (Top 40).

And compared to London Met? You did, after all, say "all universities".

Edit to add: achieved admission tariff at Exeter: 456. Manchester: 410. London Met: 218.

Obviously, students with A*AA+ at A Level and Students with CCD at A Level are exactly the same, and it would be invidious to make any assumptions about the relative qualities of the course.

Career after six months: 80% Exeter, 64% Manchester, 37% London Met, so even if you aren't convinced as an employer, most are. At the most extreme: LSE (509 admission points, 82% career after six months), Bedfordshire (171 points, 26% career). Why would someone who lives near Bedford, but has the admission criteria for the LSE, go to Bedford other than to make it three times less likely that they'll get a decent job?

Dunroamin

MrsDrink wrote: »

Hahahaaa and what's wrong with Lincoln :rotfl:

The fact that you need to ask.....

Dunroamin

gardner1 wrote: »

And gain 20k plus debt

You're not going to lose £20k of debt by staying at home - you still need to live. You'll save the hall fees or rent which is unlikely to come to more than £10K over a 3 year degree and possibly far less.

Loz01

I lived at home during Uni and saved thousands - the place where I went to Uni is extortionate for renting and my friends were paying hundreds a month for one room in a 7 bedroom house. By the third year, everyone was coming up to me saying they'd wish they'd done what I'd done and lived at home! I know its not for everyone and some people dont get on with their families etc but I think its a very very good idea to save money (plus I preferred paying rent to my own Mum who needed it rather than to some landlord)

cod3

Dunroamin wrote: »

You're not going to lose £20k of debt by staying at home - you still need to live. You'll save the hall fees or rent which is unlikely to come to more than £10K over a 3 year degree and possibly far less.

My neighbour's daughter is in uni halls in another city. £89 a week, but only available 39 weeks a year. For the rest of the year she comes back to her family home. I guess the cost depends where the halls are.

TheEffect

I think it depends on the person and their family.

I'm going into my final year in September (taking a year out ATM) and moved away to university (120 miles away). I lived in halls the first year, a house with friends the second, rented a flat in the third (it all went wrong and I dropped out).

If you go to a university close to home, have a good social circle or are willing to put the effort into making friends, and have supportive family that you do not mind living with, then I'd say by all means live at home and save the money. You haven't got the worry of money, bills, rent etc.

If you want to be pushed out of your comfort zone, want to be more independent and generally be pushed into an environment where you have to make friends/do things for yourself, then moving into halls is a great idea.

I really do think it depends on the person. Some of my friends lived at home and went to a local university and loved it, while others wished they moved away. A lot of my friends also moved away for university and have loved that, while a few have also found it's not what they wanted.

Sit down and have a chat. Work out the best route for you/your child and then go down that route.

I loved halls and made some life-long friends. I also enjoyed living in a big student house the second year, but got a little annoyed towards the end as I had to sort bills/rent and was being messed around by other students. I HATED living on my own in the third year (thought it would be a good idea after being messed around with bills/rent the previous year) and it became too much.

Almo

OP, you obviously have your own opinion and it is coming through very clearly in your posts. Bearing in mind your recent thread about your daughter's trip away, it is really the money that is your main concern or is it her being away from home?

I'm surprised that you truly think all universities are equal. There are two issues there: whether they really are (I'd argue they aren't) and how recruiters perceive different unis (I don't think they'd choose London Met over Bristol, all other things being equal). In many ways it doesn't really matter whether the course at London Met is just as difficult as at Bristol, it's the perception that matters. You may rail against that as snobbery but it's reality.

I adored uni, I went away as did all my friends bar one. I learned a huge amount, met lifelong friends, had some entertaining jobs and just generally loved those three years. Admittedly, the new fees are a bit daunting to many but I still think there is a huge amount of value in going away to uni. I don't think it's the end of the world for someone to stay at home by any means but my advice to someone would always be to go away.

I'm sorry if my comments come across as harsh, they're not meant to be. You're obviously a very caring parent and your daughter sounds like she has her head screwed on, I'm sure she will do well at home or away.

Loz01

Another factor for me was that I already had a part time job that suited me and I didnt want to give that up to move away to Uni where I knew it would be a struggle to find a job (which it was, huge town but 100000's of students meant not many jobs readily available) - my job was only in M&S but it was hours that suited me and it paid for my petrol to get to Uni.

southoftheriver

I would advise her to live in halls for the first year, and then she could move home if she wanted or move in with friends. The people who lived out of my course did struggle to integrate in the same way in the first year.