Wimbledon College of Art interview - help

silvercar wrote: »

Student debt is only paid back as effectively a tax on income after graduating. If you don't earn enough to pay it all back it is written off. Martin Lewis has written about this on the main site. Please don't fall into the trap of thinking this is a debt in the same way that real debts are a burden.

I know all this - I've spent much of my working life saying exactly the same things to potential students.

However, in this particular situation, paying an additional 9% in tax (on top of all the additional problems inherent in this situation) seems completely unnecessary, particularly for a student with a weak grasp of the financial aspects.

meer53 wrote: »

My daughter has been to interviews at 5 different Uni's, for every one, she had previously been to all their respective open days, one uni (her first choice) she went to two open days there, (i went to one with her) before her interview, to make sure that she was choosing the right one. I don't understand why the OP's daughter is going to an interview at a Uni which she has not even visited ?

Not all universities operate in that way, and even if the WSA does, it may not have occurred to the OP's DD to even consider applying there if the college hadn't suggested it. By this time, it's either interview or don't pursue the application.

meer53 wrote: »

Surely if they're aware of her mental health issues, they wouldn't recommend a Uni so far from home ? As her parent, i would be advising her to look closer to home too, IMO the interview will be a waste of time and money.

How her current art school is behaving in relation to her MH issues seems normal to me. Your DD is 20, unless it's been established with them that she lacks capacity (in the technical sense) to make her own decisions then they are probably correct not to involve Mum in their recommendations. Why they've recommended this one remains a mystery to us all: I'd also be gently encouraging staying close to home, but it is tricky!

Putting student loans for course fees on one side for the moment, if you!!!8217;re worried about the cost of getting your daughter to and from her interview, have you considered how much more expensive living costs will be in outer London than Scotland?

Its a problem that has been around on MSE for a couple of days. Might be Apple related.

My son has ASD and anxiety. He went to a uni that was in London but only an hour away. Went to so much trouble to get him in there, applied for DSA, endless form filling. Even bought him a mattress because the one the uni supplied was more like cardboard. I did have to pay a deposit for student accommodation, which i expected and saved for, and had to pay his expenses in the first three weeks til his maintenance loan came through. Its definitely affected our finances. For the first time for decades I have an overdraft. He also spent his first maintenance grant in a month, inspite of agreeing to let me have it so I could give him weekly amounts.

I went over cooking skills with him but could do nothing about things causing anxiety. And it looks like he has got himself into a very negative mindset and is going to leave. There have been numerous times I have had to go and bring him back home because of something in the accommodation provided causing him anxiety (loud parties) even though i tried to get him to get effective help from a distance (called security, tried to get him to call security).

I think I would have been better asking him to delay starting and worked on problem solving skills being built up. Unfortunately, because its ASD he has, he's very ego centric and can't see outside his box. He hasn't engaged with support services supplied by the university at all.

And now he's leaving. Not helped by him getting a gf outside the university who has ASD, so his mind has closed up even further. But nothing I can do. Breaks my heart, but I guess its part of growing up. I think he just isn't ready as yet. I also have had to do some long and hard looking at my parenting skills (maybe I over protected him too much because he has ASD so he was less equipped to cope than he would otherwise have been).

Of course, he said before joining that he was determined to make this course work, that he recognised how suitable the course was for what he wanted to do. But its all come to nothing. I'd advise using your judgement as to whether your daughter really can cope with University life and study. It could be the making of her. She could be ready. But she might not be.