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    DS is going to uni in Sept going to do forensic computing, has looked at Portsmouth loved the uni computing facilities top of the range didn't see accommodation traffic delays meant we missed the tour, he loved the proximity to the shops and night life from most of the accommodation but is now thinking he will get fed up with being in such a built up area and is looking at the student village, self catering, out of the city on the coast. Been to Gloucester, The Park Campus, accommodation we saw was tiny, no student communal area in the flats and no eating area in the kitchen hopefully there are some better ones, he loved the green open space of the campus, Cheltenham is not far to walk to but he thinks (sorry if you live there) its for old people. Also been to Bristol UWE, Frenchay Campus, loved the uni and accommodation but in quite a built up area business park opposite, didn't see any shops within walking distance. Any one got DS or DD at any of these what do they think of uni, accommodation and night life. Thanks.

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    It's hard isn't it my ds is hoping to go in September too. His first choice is Leicester. Found lovely accommodation. Flat with own bathroom, kitchen. Building has a gym, lounge, X box's computers and printing facilities!! And from September a cafe and eating area very reasonably priced and based over 48 weeks. The catch is first instalment has to be paid begining of July (before he even knows results! ) and it's £1700 and that's not including the £500 non refundable deposit! No way we can get that for July. Other accommodations are £500 first installment to be paid in sept ( before grant money) but are for only 41 weeks and actually work out more expensive overall. All accommodation is 10 mins walk from town centre and uni. So no transport needed. But I permanently have a stress headache at the moment!!! Knew it was going to be hard but not this hard x

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    My DD is looking at uni's, starting in 2015, I'd better start saving!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kiddleywinks View Post
    My DD is looking at uni's, starting in 2015, I'd better start saving!
    Mine too!! She is looking at Liverpool and Manchester after living in a small village in Wales. However DS went to London when he first got there he said he was never coming back to Wales he now says, after 3 1/2 years, he will be home when he finishes!!! (another 2 1/2 years to change his mind though!

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    We're looking at Leicester, Birmingham, Carlisle, Buckingham, Liverpool, and a couple of others I can't remember lol. Talk about the 4 corners!
    Birmingham's looking like the favourite at the moment, with Carlisle a close second....

    Worked out if I put £30 a week away now she should be ok lol

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    Quote Originally Posted by tulip0803 View Post
    Mine too!! She is looking at Liverpool and Manchester after living in a small village in Wales. However DS went to London when he first got there he said he was never coming back to Wales he now says, after 3 1/2 years, he will be home when he finishes!!! (another 2 1/2 years to change his mind though!
    My son started in Liverpool in Sept he is loving it. He is in Opal Court which is 10 mins from Uni. 5 in a flat with a large kitchen/dining room/living room with TV included. They all have an en suite room and the rooms are a decent size. There is a gym and swimming pool on site which costs £9.95 per month to use. There is a laundry as well. There is also a large lounge down stairs not sure he has even used it! He has made friends with people in other flats though and I know they do spend time in each others flats and cook together as well. His flat is £110 a week we paid £150 Deposit when we booked the room and then no more was paid until the student loans had come through and the payment date in Jan and April are after the student loan has been paid. There is a lidal over the road and a small market where he gets his veg from, yes he eats veg!!

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    My DD going in Septemebr too. What a minefield. I had no idea how much time, effort and thought /planning needs to go into it. She has offers from Portsmouth, Oxford Brookes, Canterbury, Bournemouth and Reading. We visited so many! They all turned into one in the end.

    We looked at Portsmouth amongst others. Did all the tours for accomodation. I have to say I was not bowled over by Portsmouth accomodation due to location. That said, I know they're all much of a muchness. Was a bit worried that it was too Built up as you said. We also thought the facilities were excellent at Portsmouth and for us the calibre of teaching staff was fantastic. However, DD just did Not click wth the area.

    DD is hoping for Bournemouth. We all loved it and knew straight away it was the place for her. The accomodation was the best of all we had seen. just need the results now.

    Sorry cannot help with any of the other UNIs, maybe someone else will be able to

    Good luck

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    I know, we I didn't go on all the visits I let them go on their own and then went to the Candidate days when they got their offers. I could then look at accommodation.

    What I would say is get on and book accommodation as soon as you get results in August. Be prepared to fight if you don't get your first choice. My son gave three options all of which showed availability and all of which were ensuite self catering and on campus or as near as. He was offered Catered for 3 miles out with a bus that cost over £300 a year and no option to eat his evening meal on Campus if he had a late lecture, tutorial or club, he had to get back to the accommodation or miss his main meal. It was also £25 per week more expensive then anything he had applied for. I rang the accommodation people and said we couldn't afford the extra plus the bus and extra food if he didn't get back in the evening and they said they would see what they could do. The week before he was due to go up he got a call and was offered Opal Court and I am so glad. His course is fairly full on, lectures every day plus lab time and tutorials and he spends a lot of time in the Uni Library, belongs to a couple of clubs that are early evening and it is so much better being 10 mins walk away. He and 3 friends have found a house via an agency in the Uni and it is the only place I have heard that will book the house for £70 per student, it is an insurance policy so if the fail or decide not to go back they only loose the £70 and the 3 left aren't responsible for the rent while the fill the room. The house is still only 10 mins walk from the campus.

    The other thing my daughter recommends is for your sons and daughters to get onto the website called The Student Room which has forums for many Universities and may give an opportunity to talk to current students about accommodation etc. It is also worth looking on FB to see if there is a group for the Uni you want and/or the course.

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    liverpool is the place to be!

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    Thanks for that rickysmiths will have a look. Don't think we can wait till August to book his accommodation as already some are showing signs of being booked up!! My dd was also supposed to have even going to uni this year but has been suffering with depression so has decided to take a gap year to recuperate. She is going to the local 6th form upto now to do a year of AS levels. Just to keep her hand in
    I'm so glad would not have been able to fund two going!! I'm annoyed with myself that I didn't look into accommodation costs before. Would of been more prepared! ! Some of the accommodation at Leicester has better payment timetables. So loan payments will have been received to make the instalments. Only problem is these accommodation blocks as my Dh described were not worthy of letting the dog stay in!! Apparantly not very clean, battered and not enough room to swing a cat! He's off to Leeds applicant day on sat so decisions to be made after that. He's also applied to.Edge Hill and our local Man Met. This is a back up in case he doesn't get enough loan/grant. We've already figured out that if the gov.uk calculator is correct once accomodation cost are deducted he will have a max of £40 a week to live on!!

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    My d starts York in September.

    As we ( he!) only get the minimum loan it doesn't even cover accommodation costs let alone anything to live on.

    his choices were to either stay at home and choose one of 2 'commutable' unis - or take a year out , work , and save up. he chose the year out , saves about half of his wages , and as he has a guaranteed place intends to go up before all the other students and try and find a part time job up there.

    Ds1 chose to stay at home and commute. In reality he stayed over with friends much of the time anyway , so worked well for him ( apart from the bit here he actually had to study!!)

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    I've already started putting £30 per month away for both children (3&7) ready for when they go to uni/leave home etc.. Forward planning.
    love Sarah.

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    Quote Originally Posted by vickylou View Post
    Thanks for that rickysmiths will have a look. Don't think we can wait till August to book his accommodation as already some are showing signs of being booked up!! My dd was also supposed to have even going to uni this year but has been suffering with depression so has decided to take a gap year to recuperate. She is going to the local 6th form upto now to do a year of AS levels. Just to keep her hand in
    I'm so glad would not have been able to fund two going!! I'm annoyed with myself that I didn't look into accommodation costs before. Would of been more prepared! ! Some of the accommodation at Leicester has better payment timetables. So loan payments will have been received to make the instalments. Only problem is these accommodation blocks as my Dh described were not worthy of letting the dog stay in!! Apparantly not very clean, battered and not enough room to swing a cat! He's off to Leeds applicant day on sat so decisions to be made after that. He's also applied to.Edge Hill and our local Man Met. This is a back up in case he doesn't get enough loan/grant. We've already figured out that if the gov.uk calculator is correct once accomodation cost are deducted he will have a max of £40 a week to live on!!
    Gosh you are lucky my son gets £18 a week over and above paying his rent so we have to give him some extra. He has a large drawer in a freezer so when he comes home I fill a freezer bag with bags of butchers sausages, bags of mince, I make up Chilli or Bolognaise, bacon, and I usually add a couple of blocks of cheese and butter. This helps with the food bills. So far since September I have given him £550 and he hasn't used all of it. I will probably give him another £100 to see him through to the end of May when he finishes. So on average he has had just under £40pw to pay for food, laundry (about £4 every 2 weeks) and going out paying for clubs (interest clubs like debating society)etc. You shouldn't have to give your son anything except the odd food parcel.

    I am surprised about booking accommodation so early. My daughter went to Lincoln Uni 3 years ago and she couldn't book anything until she had her results, she may have registered an interest but certainly wan't allocated anything until after results. The same happened for Liverpool last year couldn't apply until after results day and my daughter has just got a firm offer from Brunel and has no results to wait for (she did her A Levels 3 years ago) but can't firmly book accommodation until August.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Roseolivia View Post
    I've already started putting £30 per month away for both children (3&7) ready for when they go to uni/leave home etc.. Forward planning.
    Yes we took out a Unit Trust when our son was born and paid £25 per month in we have a fund of £8000 now to use if we need it because from Sept we will have two of them at Uni though my daughter has been working for 2 years and has saved quite a bit herself. We have yet to apply for her student finance but she should be on a similar level to her brother and she gets London weighting because Brunel although in Uxbridge is classed as as a London Uni so she should have about £30 a week left for food etc.

    If we don't need the money for Uni it is there towards a car or the Deposit on a flat or to buy specialist stuff for work or a new computer, whatever.

 

 

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