Views - Defer UNIVERSITY

[swiper]

My daughter is due to start uni in September
We have been given her schedule and it shows all lectures/learning will be online.
She will be moving over 300miles from home and will be in uni digs on her computer doing her learning, this can only be done in the digs not at home regardless of it being online!
I don’t know if we should encourage her to defer or just go for it
What’s people’s opinions?

[mickey house]

I guess it might depend on what she would be doing during the year off instead of going to uni, and what if September next year they are still doing online learning. I might also be concerned if it was my son whether he would get a job and then decide not to go to uni at all.

[vanlou]

My youngest had a planned gap year last year and with hindsight now I wish she hadn’t. A covid gap year is a crap gap year. She was furloughed, then lost her job as they didn’t have enough work. Then struggled to find much else initially. Plus some of her friends had gone to Uni so weren’t around either.
Eldest stayed where she was studying for as much as she could, even with online lessons. She is so glad she did as there have been pockets of an almost normal student life throughout the year. Although she was in her 3rd year so did already know people and in a flat share rather than Halls.

It’s a difficult one - what is she studying?

[storm]

Defer.
Student life is about meeting friends/socialising as well as learning. Friends children have hated the online /away from home experience and have returned home at every chance meaning their halls have been very quiet . The added travel costs have mounted up.
With all the uncertainty many of them have decided to defer rather than return/start.
What's a year in the scheme of things.

[swiper]

Originally Posted by vanlou

My youngest had a planned gap year last year and with hindsight now I wish she hadn’t. A covid gap year is a crap gap year. She was furloughed, then lost her job as they didn’t have enough work. Then struggled to find much else initially. Plus some of her friends had gone to Uni so weren’t around either.
Eldest stayed where she was studying for as much as she could, even with online lessons. She is so glad she did as there have been pockets of an almost normal student life throughout the year. Although she was in her 3rd year so did already know people and in a flat share rather than Halls.

It’s a difficult one - what is she studying?

See more...

She is doing Fashion Management at the London College of Fashion
We have just been sent an email to say the weekly calendar is now going to be updated with “extra” face to face. They have asked her to keep logging on to see the updates!

[marypoppins38]

I would see how much they update it with face to face teaching but having a dd on a course that should have been face to face last year (vet) but wasn't I would say defer if possible. She was studying online, thankfully from home, and she really struggled. She was glad she was in her home environment as I think being away would have been worse for her. Granted, not every teenager is the same though, and many would have enjoyed being away.
Could she not get a part time job in a bar or restaurant (I know many places are crying out for staff at the moment) and defer until next year. She could go with a little bit of savings then and really enjoy the full experience.

[jndt]

My son went last year. His view was what would he do instead? Travel was a no and getting a job was extremely hard last year.

What will she do instead and what if it's not all online or the same next year?

[Ds4ljs]

Eldest spent their first year online. Mainly at home as Liverpool ‘closed’ and for their mental health it was important. Currently they are on the way back from being up there and is very much looking forward to a ‘different’ second year. I asked them if they wished they’d deferred but they said no. I was surprised but eldest said they couldn’t have worked or travelled so it really made no difference. They may take a gap year before with further studies or working at the end of their degree.

I think everyone is different and you will know what suits your circumstances the best.

[Kat11]

I just asked Dd what she would do if her uni was online and she said she’d try and move to a similar course at a different uni that did more face to face lectures as some are much better than others. My Dd is doing criminology and if she’d gone to Manchester uni she’d be mostly online but she’s going to Northumbria where it’s pretty much all face to face.

Kat

[Jaspercat10]

My son is going in September and really looking forward to it, I think even if the lectures are on line at least he will be with kids his age, I know it seems a bit of a waste of money for their accommodation but I think it will be good for him rather than been stuck at home with his old mum... Plus he needs to go and learn some life skills x