Uni questions

Lokolo

I had 2 shared bathrooms between 7 of us and it was fine. 3 of us were on the same course so working out who got the longest in bed was tough though. The bathroom and kitchen weren't spotless, but they were easily livable in.

My friend who was in ensuite hated it because of the hall mates as they ruined the hallway, the kitchen and god knows what they would have done if they had shared bathrooms.

It will entirely depend on who you get in your hall as to which would be best. But obviously you won't know until you meet them!

Skintstudent

I lived in halls in my first year and I shared with 2 girls and 2 guys, it was fine for us as we were all pretty considerate and on different courses so 3 of us up early for lectures and 2 who would sleep until 2pm :eek:
We had a shower room and a separate toilet and also sinks in our rooms. I found it really useful having a sink in my room and also a separate shower as it meant no one was banging on the door while you were mid-shampoo!

One of my friends was unable to get into halls and lived with a mixture of 2nd and 3rd years and so had to make a bit more effort to make friends as when you are in halls you meet so many people just walking to lectures etc.
Also, in most cases the people you live with in halls you tend to live with in 2nd year and people start looking for houses as early as Dec in first year so you need to have made some pretty good friends.

Basically, you need to find out how many people you will be sharing a bathroom/kitchen with, how the toilet/shower etc is set out (i.e. are they separate from eachother) and whether you want to live with girls/guys/mixed.

I chose not to go for ensuite as it was way too expensive for me and the decision worked well for me, BUT some housemates can be really messy/dirty/inconsiderate so you need to decide what is personally best for you and whether you would be able to handle that situation! At least in halls, uni will come if you complain and can move you/your housemate or evict them so you have a bit more support than in a shared house.

albertdesuja

Hi ,

My suggestion to you is, firstly go for halls room for some time and adjust yourself there.By the time you can save some money. After 1 year it's depend on the situation that you will have more knowledge about the area/location, on basis of that you can easily take your decision.

thanks .

CBH88

popadom wrote: »

Hi

Applied for uni, and if i get in ill have to live at halls or rent. I would like to know from other students 2 things;
1. is it worth paying for ensuite or sink in halls room?
2. Is it worth halls in the first year or look at other things (eg lodging)

Ive lodged before so know how that works. However never had to shared with more than 3 people, so thats why i ask about ensuite, is it a nightmare sharing with lots of people?


Thanks

Personally I would advise going for ensuite if you are staying in halls, I had an ensuite bathroom in my first year and although it was tiny, it was the privacy I appreciated. My boyfriend at the time did not have an ensuite bathroom in halls, and it was generally unpleasant.

And I would definately recommend going for halls rather than lodging in first year, for the experience more than anything else. You get to lodge in the second and third year, but the time you spend making friends and having a laugh in first year is unforgettable- plus, if you don't get on with your housemates there are always people from other halls to befriend. In a house you are stuck with them!

Chillitsphil

This probably depends on the uni... but in my experience the correct answer is almost always halls for first year.

I went to two (Lancaster then Kingston). Lancs I was in halls for three years, time of my life. You always get a mixture of people, so there's someone you'll rub along well with. And living with some people you don't is actually great life experience without the risk of being too on top of them.

If you get a house and the people are horrible/boring you'll have a lot less options.

Halls are noisy... but then if you're a fresher that's kind of the point. I was in halls with mates for 3 years and we had a right good time, no need to bother with the hassle of a house.

When I did my MA at Kingston I went in a house and it was less enjoyable. No banter, no fun and one person I really didn't get on with and nowhere to hide from them. Moved to a second house and whilst it was better as I was living with mates, mess was much much more of an issue than I ever remember it being in halls.

Ensuite is good too if you can get it, although if you're going to be bringing girls/blokes/tutors back to your tiny little room then make sure you've cleaned it. Nobody else to blame for a skanky loo.

Also... living at home is the biggest fail imaginable. If you're going to live at home you won't even have a uni experience, you'll learn very few of the life lessons uni gives you and you won't make any friends.

Good luck!