Imperial, London……..Any tips please

What a clever boy to get into Imperial College ! Congratulations ! As someone upthread said, if he’s clever enough to get into imperial, he will be clever enough to work his way through University life . Good luck !

Judging by my (2) granddaughters recent experiences, I think the traditional halls tend to have been replaced by the flat with single en suite rooms and a shared kitchen model. They both looked at several possibilities for accommodation at their top choices. Around £7-8,000 a year seemed to be the going rate. The catered halls seemed to be disappearing.

Congratulations to you DGC.
I sent ours with a tin of homemade cookies, a great ice breaker with those in the other hall rooms.
The beds were awful with very thin mattresses, so a mattress topper is a good idea!
One of ours put the mattress on the floor to sleep on every night!

If they are in student halls, one tip I was given before my two went to uni was to take a door wedge with them. Mist doors to the bedrooms are heavy fire doors and if you wedge them open when you arrive, others will look in and say hello, which they won’t do if the door is closed. Also it’s a very good door security addition as they can wedge it under the closed door if they want to stop anyone they don’t want to enter from getting in.

Again, thank you for your responses, congratulations and tips, some good ideas here and pointers on where to look for more. DGC hasnt been allocated accommodation as yet and I was just wanting to have a bit of a ‘heads up’ as all so new to me and DGC’s parents. Exciting times ahead!! Thankyou.

Make sure he is a good basic cook and can easily rustle up a meal for himself from cheap ingredients, It will make him very popula
Make sure he knows how to use a washing machine
Make sure he knows the basics of cleaning, especially loos.
Make sure he takes up a couple of coffeee mugs and basic cutlery and a few plates. when he goes up for the first time.

The accommodation only has medical students so she should be ok. 😊 They are all together because their academic year is several weeks longer.

Yes I guess for special diets, being separate would be essential. Mamie.

Grammaretto

My 18yr old DGD is due to start university in a couple of weeks. She lives 3 hours away from uni which is 2 hours from me.
She is staying with me just now and has been to check out her accommodation already with her dad, DS. She is really looking forward to her first independent living. She's practical and will enjoy cooking and looking after herself and budgeting. She finds it odd and wasteful that each student is expected to have their own kitchen equipment and to eat separately. I can see her altering the rules!
She has a part time job so has saved money too.
She has a school friend starting at the same time which may be comforting for them both.
This isn't London but I think any new big city will have its own challenges.
As others have said, there will be welfare officers to help your DGC if necessary.

My DGD2 is going into shared university accommodation in two weeks time. It is a flat with six en suite bedrooms and a shared kitchen.
She will be very careful to keep her food, utensils and preparation area separate as she is allergic to gluten. She has a moving-in slot.
Her sister has just finished at the same university so the Ikea trip was much cheaper this time!

My 18yr old DGD is due to start university in a couple of weeks. She lives 3 hours away from uni which is 2 hours from me.
She is staying with me just now and has been to check out her accommodation already with her dad, DS. She is really looking forward to her first independent living. She's practical and will enjoy cooking and looking after herself and budgeting. She finds it odd and wasteful that each student is expected to have their own kitchen equipment and to eat separately. I can see her altering the rules!
She has a part time job so has saved money too.
She has a school friend starting at the same time which may be comforting for them both.
This isn't London but I think any new big city will have its own challenges.
As others have said, there will be welfare officers to help your DGC if necessary.

actually, i haven't been in acton for years, to be fair.

i think the halls are in acton.
not an attractive or interesting area, imo.
allow an hour to travel to college.
given that they are clever enough to get in to Imperial, they'll figure it out. no need to baby them.
agree with poster above: post on MN for specifics.

If you post this in the higher education section on Mumsnet you will get responses from people who can give advice on this particular university.

No member of my family took the slightest interest when I applied to uni as a mature student back in the 1980s. There was no internet then and I had to do all the research by myself. Ditto housing. So I ended up on a tough council estate living with the under class.

An interesting cultural experience. They do say that what does not kill you makes you stronger.

A couple of practical tips for breaking the ice with new people. Take a wedge so they can keep their door open during the day - it will encourage to others that they’re welcome to pop their head round the door and say hello. Put some nice biscuits/cake/chocolates on the table in the kitchen area with a note to say ‘help yourself’.

Don’t expect to know anything that they get up to !!

My Grandaughter was very shy and didn’t find it easy to make friends although very loyal once she did
She joined in an online chat group with others doing the same course and seemed to have made a few friends by the time she got there, she also joined some societies, a skiing one and had a skiing holiday that Christmas and I think it was a wine appreciation society 🤣🤣🤣 hic
She came completely out of her shell, has a lovely boyfriend and now signed up for a Masters

Thank you so much for your comments and congratulations, we are over the moon for DGC. Just coming from a very small town to the bright lights of London and all it entails is daunting for me! DGC is excited and a bit scared. No info on what accommodation has been confirmed yet and the term starts the end of September so little time for planning, travel and making sure all necessary ‘stuff’ is obtained. But of course it will all get done, just thought a few ideas from those in the know would be helpful, so thanks again and keep em coming, I’m grateful.

foxie48

No tips but congratulations, Imperial is one of the top Uni's in the country and the world. He's obviously a very bright young man!

or woman! not trying to be sexist it made me think about a male relative who went there and I must have done a mind jump! My relative did Geology and now works abroad in the oil industry.

Congratulations to your dgc . London unis are quite different from big campus unis with everything on site.
In London the halls and various buildings can be spread out . So the tfl app will be a godsend.
My DD was at University of the Arts London . Her halls were in Old Street and her two main campuses were in Holborn and Oxford Circus . She found the student union wasn’t very active as there’s so much to do in London , but other unis may be different.
The uni will prepare them for life there , and there’ll be loads of stuff online .
Parking will be a problem . We parked unloaded and had to find parking elsewhere . Sundays are a bit easier.

Im sure they will manage just fine. We barely got involved with our dd going to uni as they are deemed adults after all. The university will have loads of info on line.

Wear comfortable shoes and have some plasters at the ready.

don't get drunk in the first week.
avoid drugs.
don't trust everyone and anyone.
be organised.
seek help from the student union and or college welfare office if necessary.
keep in touch with and be polite to tutors, lecturers.

She is anaphylaxis

I had the same thoughts when my French 17 year old DGD got into the university of Dauphine and decided to study the first two years in London. I was able to give her my English friend’s daughter ‘s telephone number who is a doctor and working in London. The family felt less stressed.

Huge congratulations to your GC for getting into Imperial.
The university will point them in the right direction regarding the arrival process for their accommodation.
It’s usual to send them off with their first lot of groceries etc although my son refused to take anything!
I’m sure they will be able to work out themselves the best way to travel to from the halls depending how far it is.

Plenty of advice on Imperial College website ‘information for undergraduates’ depending on which site the accommodation is, the arrival times are all listed. They say that there is very little parking so a quick drop off and then the driver needs to find somewhere to park. Or use public transport.

I’m sure your GC will receive information regarding checking into the accommodation and what to do before they get that far.
They must be so excited!