Too many questions - Mum in meltdown

deedums

Hi, my DS is off to uni at the end of the month and I've got loads of questions and no answers! Any help / advice would be much appreciated.

He's going to be in catered halls but hasn't received any info about his accommodation - should he have? Will there be any catering facilities (like a fridge/toaster etc). I can't bear to think of my baby going hungry What about somewhere to wash dirty dishes - do students do this!?

Contents insurance is included in his fees so would it cover his pc & other fairly high value items or would he need to top it up?

There are loads more questions I've been asking but typically I can't think of them now! I'll make a list (to go with ALL my other lists) and post again if that's ok.

Thanks for any help.

Swirlywurly

deedums wrote: »

Hi, my DS is off to uni at the end of the month and I've got loads of questions and no answers! Any help / advice would be much appreciated.

He's going to be in catered halls but hasn't received any info about his accommodation - should he have? Will there be any catering facilities (like a fridge/toaster etc). I can't bear to think of my baby going hungry What about somewhere to wash dirty dishes - do students do this!?

Contents insurance is included in his fees so would it cover his pc & other fairly high value items or would he need to top it up?

There are loads more questions I've been asking but typically I can't think of them now! I'll make a list (to go with ALL my other lists) and post again if that's ok.

Thanks for any help.

Hi there,

If they are catered halls there will be limited food facilities. There may be a microwave, but a toaster depends on the university. Most people bring their own. You'd need to check the insurance policy as some state they will only cover things in certain circumstances.

I'm sure you son can find out things by looking at the website of the halls/uni and maybe posting on an online forum or something if they have one?

hth

jrrowleyws

I bet the insurance will be through endsleigh and be very basic, I know the one cardiff uni uses is this and its about as good as a chocolate teapot.

There will be a kitchen area with fridge and some cooking facilities but it may be quite small due to it being catered accom. TBH you could call the accom office and ask about this and the insurance, would be good especially if it stops you worrying. I know what my mum was like when I left!

jollyanna

One thing to consider is all the electrical items he is taking. My son has to have certification for this (PAT) for all his stuff. I'm told it costs about £2 per item for an electrician to check each peice of equipment to verify it isn't hazardous for use in Halls.

Wolfsbayne

jollyanna wrote: »

One thing to consider is all the electrical items he is taking. My son has to have certification for this (PAT) for all his stuff. I'm told it costs about £2 per item for an electrician to check each peice of equipment to verify it isn't hazardous for use in Halls.

We were supposed to have this, we each filled in the form and then they didnt bother coming to test the stuff!

Dont rely on uni insurance, its awful. I went with equine and livestock student insurance which were very reasonable and covered everything I needed, although I brought seperate computer insurance (and a few computers were stolen but not from halls from student houses).

I was in catered halls, there was a fridge, a microwave, a sink, a kettle and cupboards (an iron board too) but that was it and the catered meals werent brilliant so we lived off take away a lot of the time. A few people brought sandwich toaster (great idea and cheap), a toaster, etc.

NickiM

Can I ask which university he is going to? I know for Durham, well for at least for my college, they sort out who goes where, whereas, some unis enable you to choose what type of accommodation you want (ensuite etc).

My Durham college is catered but from the open day they were tiny kitchens. These had possibly a microwave and a hob, so it was possible to make a snack if you wanted, though obviously not as much as a self catered kitchen would have.

Check what you're allowed to bring, some unis forbid you to bring certain electrical items.

Try emailing the university, looking on website, www.thestudentroom.co.uk has subforums for most universities where you can ask questions.

Good luck!

deedums

Swirlywurly wrote: »

Hi there,

If they are catered halls there will be limited food facilities. There may be a microwave, but a toaster depends on the university. Most people bring their own. You'd need to check the insurance policy as some state they will only cover things in certain circumstances.

I'm sure you son can find out things by looking at the website of the halls/uni and maybe posting on an online forum or something if they have one?

hth

Thanks, it does state in some of the literature he's received that he's not allowed to take any electrical appliances such as toasters, grills etc so we assumed that meant for use in his room.


On the plus side he has now got an email address for one of the 2nd year students and is (hopefully) going to get in touch to ask them!

Thanks again for your help

deedums

jrrowleyws wrote: »

I bet the insurance will be through endsleigh and be very basic, I know the one cardiff uni uses is this and its about as good as a chocolate teapot.

There will be a kitchen area with fridge and some cooking facilities but it may be quite small due to it being catered accom. TBH you could call the accom office and ask about this and the insurance, would be good especially if it stops you worrying. I know what my mum was like when I left!

Thanks for this, it's what I thought about the contents insurance.

I think I will give the accommodation office a ring, the only reason I haven't before is because he was worried they'd think I was fussing (I probably am), so if he doesn't use the email address he's been given I will definitely call them. He'd really like to know what's going to be available but like lots of students going away for the 1st time doesn't want to be seen to be too concerned!

Thanks again

deedums

NickiM wrote: »

Can I ask which university he is going to? I know for Durham, well for at least for my college, they sort out who goes where, whereas, some unis enable you to choose what type of accommodation you want (ensuite etc).

My Durham college is catered but from the open day they were tiny kitchens. These had possibly a microwave and a hob, so it was possible to make a snack if you wanted, though obviously not as much as a self catered kitchen would have.

Check what you're allowed to bring, some unis forbid you to bring certain electrical items.

Try emailing the university, looking on website, www.thestudentroom.co.uk has subforums for most universities where you can ask questions.

Good luck!

Thanks, he's going to Oxford and we've looked at the university college website but it doesn't tell you anything about the accommodation facilities. When my other son went to uni 2 years ago they provided a very comprehensive guide covering all aspects so he had an idea what to expect and it also put my mind at rest!

I'll have a look at the studentroom site and see if his college is on there.

Thanks to you all for your help, it is much appreciated
And sorry for all the individual replies but I'm not sure how to do 'multiple quotes'

ames123_2

The student room is great!

kingmonkey

He wont stave since alcohol contains a lot of calories (and the kebabs have even more!!!)