Son refused halls accommodation..

Minxz

Hi.. me again!

Son no1 got his letter today, saying they wern't offering him student halls accommodation( Oxford Brookes) and he's had a right 'wobble', saying that he doesn't want to live with a landlady etc, as he won't get to know people, and might not go if he doesn't get halls!! (Arghhhhhh!):mad:
They sent a list of accommodation, where he can rent if he gets put on the waitng list for halls, so looks like he'll have to do that- has anyone else experienced this, and do you know if you have a long wait?
they sent a form to post back asap( it's aleady in the post) where he'll be put on waiting list for halls, first come first served.. but do many kids really move about that much and leave their room in the first week or so.. freeing up rooms for others?? Or is he likely to be stuck on rented room for the entire year? ( it's also a lot more expensive)
can you rent a room on a very temporary basis, so if he was offered a room after say 3 weeks, he could leave and move into halls?

Thank you in advance

stephen-richard

You would be surprised how many people drop-out in the first couple of weeks, so places do become availble after a short amount of time. But if he gets private accomodation in the meantime it could end up costing him a little bit as most tenancy agreements for student accomodation are usually for the whole academic year, dependent on the contract/landlord he may lose his original deposit if does leave before the contract is up.

inamabilis

what sort of accommodation are they suggesting?
It's not an ideal situation but he could try looking on facebook for housemate wanted adverts in marketplace for his unis network (or groups) - at least that way he'd be living with other students from his uni.

Minxz

Thank you both
They suggest either Uni shared housing, which costs £200 to book( non refundable) and you can't go on the waiting list and have to stay there for the 43/46 weeks, or find a landlord from a short list they sent out, and get a room with a landlady.
I think he'd be best off in halls, as with a landlady9 many of them are families with a spare room) he isn't quite 'being independent' if you know what i mean, and it's just like moving from one family to another.
I'm going to make some calls today and see what we can do- i just hope we don't have the same problem when the other son gets his accomodation offer in a day or so too!
( I never realised how stressful it actually is getting 2 sorted for Uni at the same time!)

mr_rush

check gumtree.com for flatshares.

System

Check the universitys website & T&Cs, most unis offer a guaranteed halls for first year students, provided they apply before the deadline.

Or phone the admissions/accomodation office yourself and explain the situation. You will get drops outs, many students make friends and move out into rented properties.

bmth123

its a while since I was at university (1997?) but back then I was unable to secure a place in university halls and as a 'young' 18 yr old it was decided best that I went into private halls (run by some religious organisation but for university students of any/none religion). It worked well for me in terms of safety - I was in a large city having moved 300miles from home in a relatively rural setting - but I was tied in for the years fees and to be honest I would have been much happier in 'normal' halls. On the plus side I made a lot of friends at the other universities in the city as well who lived at the halls so had access to many more events at the other unions!
I was very surprised though to see how many people who had been allocated halls accomodation moved halls or dropped out altogether soon after the term started and so people were able to move around, i guess it just depended on the contract you had.

In your circumstances it is probably worth you considering what other accomodation is available (any privately run halls etc?) and then how independent your son is - it is probably worth a chat with the university accomodation office to see how high dropout rates are and consider whether it is worth considering short term lodgings/flatshare in the hope of moving into halls later.

Whichever he chooses, just reassure him that university will be what he makes of it - people live in all sorts of different places and he will still make friends on his course, in the union, at clubs & societies, etc

silvercar

This happened to friend of mine, they took short term landlady option until a hall place came available.

International students are guaranteed places for their whole time at uni and places are kept back for them. After the first couple of weeks of term, when it is obvious that they won't all be taken up they are released. If you keep checking with the accom office, you should get a place.

Also every uni has a drop out rate. first years have committed to renting their hall place for a year unless they find a replacement, so places will come up this way.

currynchips

Halls aren't all that good. A small box room, often a shared bathroom, small dining tabel. Fire alarm set off by a whiff of a cigarette, people coming and going at 3 in the morning, loud cars outside. Studying, sleeping, eating, relaxing, reading, all in the same room - and at an often higher rate.
Some will enjoy, but it isn't like you read about it the brochures.

stephen-richard

currynchips wrote: »

Halls aren't all that good. A small box room, often a shared bathroom, small dining tabel. Fire alarm set off by a whiff of a cigarette, people coming and going at 3 in the morning, loud cars outside. Studying, sleeping, eating, relaxing, reading, all in the same room - and at an often higher rate.
Some will enjoy, but it isn't like you read about it the brochures.

Firmly believe that halls are what you make of them. I had such a good time in halls in my first year i opted to stay in halls again for second year.

Ship

That's a shame he's not in halls for his first year, but not the end of the world.
I was at Brookes from 98-02 and had the best years of my life. Halls were great for the first year and shared housing just as good the years after.
You could go and check out the notice boards in the university and students union for adverts looking for extra students to share a house. Far better than a landlady option IMO.

Second and third years usually club together and rent out a 4 bedroom house, they often have a room spare which they advertise on notice boards.