Yes, but set that up when you get there. Easy to pop into a local branch and they all offer student accounts.
Figure out how to transfer money as he’ll need pounds (though you can get by for a bit with a US credit card, assuming it doesn’t have foreign transaction fees), not least to pay his college bill. We use TransferWise (now Wise Wise, Formerly TransferWise: Online Money Transfers | International Banking Features) as it has very good rates and low fees.
Also make sure his phone is unlocked so he can get a local SIM, which will be much cheaper.
The weather in the UK isn’t cold (not even German levels of cold in the winter). You don’t need east coast winter clothing, it would be way too warm, my NorCal winter clothing is fine there, I just need more of it. The UK is grey and damp with occasional downpours and snow is rare (a couple of times a year). Think Seattle or Vancouver. A quick drying rain jacket is the most important thing (a Barbour type wax jacket would be typical but a “cagoule” for more consistent rain is also useful), along with waterproof shoes (but “wellies” are only needed in the countryside). He will likely need black tie for formal events, again much cheaper to buy in the UK. Learn to hand tie a bow tie, pre-tied ones are “naff”. Maybe a good present is a book of British idioms
oh, many, many congratulations!! what fantastic news. i am so happy for your son-- especially since he worked toward this for so long, and had to do things like self-study the AP exams-- i hope he feels extremely proud of himself. I can’t wait to hear how his first few weeks are! I think he’s going to love it.
when my son was considering it, i also worried about the distance, especially from CA. but one thing i realized was that oxford terms are relatively short, and so i would see him fairly often, and, once home, for long stretches of time. i think that makes all the difference, especially in that first year.
Ok, so, busy taking notes here… I’ve just booked a vacation rental for drop off and a few days before, made a mental note to have afternoon tea at the Old Parsonage (so pretty!) and am checking flights.
The kid is back home and slowly but surely getting very, very excited. We did some research into the college and Oxford in general - I guess it’s because we are googley eyed Americans but it all seems very delightful.
@Twoin18: he has immediately started practicing the bow tie to avoid being “naff” - especially after we looked up the meaning and origin of the word… Also - life skills, right?
Question: does anybody know how to print out a cc thread (or turn it into a pdf)? maybe @skieurope ? I thought it would make a nice graduation present to print out the original math head threat and this one… but I am having a hard time doing it, as it only prints the first 6 pages and after that only empty ones.
Word to the wise - spend the few extra quid on a pre-tied bow tie as well. Don’t want to be the guy who doesn’t get admitted to exam school for prelims because you don’t pass the sub fusc dress code due to an unsat tie. In those high stress situations, easier is better.
Agree 100% though in other situations like matriculation or formal hall.
When I go to “print” (at least for this thread), it’s showing me 19 pages with text on it. If you’re having difficulty with either page, you can message me your email address and I will send you the PDFs.
Sigh, guess I can’t help myself. Because that’s what I thought when I went back for Trinity term in April (that’s summer quarter for most of you) with just my Barbour type jacket and they had a snow storm and I thought I was gonna die! Don’t send that winter coat back yet…
(Of course, the visiting students from New England were like “Wut!? It’s two inches!”)
Book recommendation for both of you, because it’s both useful and hilarious: “Watching the English”, by Kate Fox.
Though that still makes it Seattle-like weather. We were in Portland OR for Thanksgiving and it was all so familiar: cloudy grey days with temps in the 40s, drizzle and icy mornings, and you were grateful for the occasional cold, clear day.
But it does make a difference where you grew up. When I go to the east coast in fall or early spring, I’ll happily wander round in 40-50 degree temps with no coat, just a suit jacket. I doubt that would be the same for someone who has lived in SoCal their whole life.
You guys are just so full of useful information, thank you. So, a winter jacket and a Barbour jacket, check.
We found a video where some lovely student shows every kind of freshman room in Trinity, which was a lot of fun to watch. All the rooms look wonderful, only thing we noticed were basically no dressers - don’t English students wear underwear?
Another puzzling topic: formal dress. Is that really something the students wear and care about? We found a very fun article about the do’s and dont’s of white tie that made us giggle - lots of pocket watch clutching over American’s sense of style. But… how serious is this taken?
Our English friend who went to Cambridge said it was important. Really?
Same student made a video about loneliness at university - not so fun to watch, I immediately wanted to send the poor kid a big pot of chicken soup (which is good for everything, you can’t convince me otherwise), but also important. It lead to a few good conversations about the art of making (and keeping) friends and the dangers of comparisons, especially if you base your comparisons on Instagram.
And then, for those of you in the know: one of kiddo’s prized possessions is his one wheel he saved his funds for years to buy, a kind of electric skateboard with one wheel. We are discussing if this would be something he should bring to get around? He is afraid it would make him stick out too much and maybe annoy pedestrians, on the other hand it cuts down on time between college and department and it is something he can bring on the plane vs buying a bike. Any thoughts?
@Austennut - thank you for your offer, I am sending you a private message with my e-mail.
There is variation by college, but 1) Trinity is a relatively formal college and 2) there are many, many black tie events and a fair few white tie ones across the university.
English homes without walk-in closets (ie anything remotely old) will typically have a drawer in the bottom of the wardrobe for underwear etc. If not then I’d put them on the floor of the wardrobe.
I think the biggest challenge is going to be where to put it, for example when in a lecture. You probably wouldn’t be popular carrying it into the library for example. There are lots of bike racks, but you expect your bike to be stolen so you buy a cheap, knackered one that’s undesirable. That will make it of limited use. I certainly wouldn’t take it the first term. And one wheel in ice and rain on narrow, crowded streets doesn’t sound terribly safe.
If your son is going with a black suit for sub fusc, there are ways to dress that up such that he doesn’t need a tuxedo. The only occasion at Worcester where black tie was “expected” was their annual Oxmas celebration. But as @collegemom3717 says, some colleges are more formal than others. One of my son’s Worcester friends is doing his PhD at Oriel and he joked that they do black tie pub quiz there. My son never had to do white tie and if that happens, there are a number of hire shops in town.
On the “one wheel”, I would leave it home. Probably a pain to bring it over. So many bikes & pedestrians in Oxford, that it might be difficult to use safely. Plus, given how prevalent bike theft is in Oxford, I’d think a unique items like that would be a target and hard to secure. The second hand “beater bike” is the best option, but that being said, the walk from Trinity to the Mathematical Institute for lectures isn’t that bad. Tutorials will likely be in college for the first year.
On drawers, my son’s first year accommodation at Worcester was ancient. He had a wardrobe. We bought a thing you hang from a closet rod that has “shelves” underneath it.
A tux (“dinner jacket” in UK parlance) is super cheap. M&S (the go to place for British clothes shopping) sells it for 99 pounds including trousers:
Personally I’d get a nicer wool suit for things like interviews and then have a very cheap tux which you wear for dinners where you might well get vomit/beer/wine etc on it.
My college had a tradition of throwing people in the fountain after big events (usually with their tacit cooperation since it was 10 feet off the ground) when the porters weren’t looking, so you really didn’t want to wear nice clothes for drunken dinners.
