The Ultimate Guide to Student Accommodation
Believe the hype. University will be one of the biggest experiences of your life. It will also be one of the best and will probably be the first time in your life that you are going to move away from home for a long period of time. As such, finding somewhere to live if you are choosing to study away from home is kind of a big deal, especially as you are now about to become in charge of your own finances for the first time. So what types of accommodation are there and what should you opt for? We take a look in our Ultimate Guide to Student Accommodation. It’s ultimate.
Halls of Residence
Halls of residence are university owned properties where most of the students living in the vicinity are first years. The halls are run by an onsite manager who ensures all student’s problems are dealt with, from issues with bathrooms, heating, postal deliveries, and streaking, to name just a few. There are often also halls representatives who support the manager. They live in the student accommodation and are onsite at night when the manager is unavailable. Wake them up at your peril – unless it’s an emergency, or you run out of M&M’s.
When searching halls of residence websites at your institution or when visiting on an open day you will find there are a variety of options available at a variety of prices. At universities across the country you will find en-suite rooms, flats with shared bathrooms and disability friendly rooms. En-suite rooms are more expensive, and although you have your own toilet and shower room you will be sharing a kitchen and social area with other students. The advantage to having an en-suite room is the avoidance of embarrassing situations (no-one wants to wait till their flat mates have gone on a night out to go to the loo). It’s also handy if you’re prone to spending hours in the shower. Standard rooms with shared bathrooms will obviously be less expensive to rent than the en-suite equivalent, and disabled bedrooms will vary in price across institutions around the country.
You may also have a choice between campus-based halls and off-campus halls of residence. There’s no right or wrong choice to make here. Some people prefer the ease of campus-based halls as you’ll only be a stones-throw away from your lecture halls, making it ideal for rolling out of bed and straight into lectures. Not advised, but possible. Off-campus halls is probably the better option if you think you’d like a bit of a break from the university atmosphere. You’ll constantly be bumping into people you know in on-campus halls, which can be great, but can also be a bit annoying when you want a bit of time to yourself to focus on work, think about the meaning of life, or just get away from the really annoying guy/girl from downstairs.
There is no set cost for specific rooms across all universities and, as would be expected, prices vary across the country and at different institutions.
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If you’re looking to live at the best student halls of residences then you might want to look at our article: Top 10 Student Halls.
University owned houses
Halls of residence are not necessarily the only form of accommodation owned and run by a university. Some institutions also have university owned houses which are a step between halls of residence and private rented properties. They can house a number of different students in their own bedrooms where they can be expected to share other rooms. Although there isn’t a manager on site at all times with this type of accommodation as there is with halls of residence, it is easy for students with any problems to contact maintenance or advice lines when necessary.
These houses are often reserved for specific groups, sometimes these will be international students or postgraduate students, although not always, so it’s worth investigating. Houses and apartments like these are often situated in estate-like areas which allow the students to create their own little network and community – group barbeques and street football are common sights.
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University-approved Housing
University approved housing is not university owned like halls of residence. The properties are owned by private landlords who are approved by the university which means that their properties are recommended to students by the university.
This type of accommodation is very popular for students in their second or third year because they have already found housemates through living in halls of residence previously. Rent will vary depending on where you are located in the country, how far away you are from university or the city centre and can include extras such as internet, gas and electric. Landlords run their rented houses differently, some will include bills at a set price and others will expect you to deal with bills yourself when they land on the mat. Be warned though, the offers of ‘all-inclusive’ often work out more expensive than organising everything yourself.
You can often find houses which will hold anywhere from 2 to 10 people in some places. When living in shared accommodation such as this you can expect to be sharing a minimum of one bathroom, one social area and one kitchen with your housemates.
Due to these properties being approved by the university at which you attend it may be possible to seek support from them if you are having problems with the landlord.
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Private Rental
This type of private rental works similarly to the previous accommodation we mentioned, but the properties are not university approved meaning you will not find them advertised at your university housing specialist shop. You are more likely to find these types of private rentals through local estate agents or on their websites.
These properties will allow you to move in with the number of housemates you want to, as mentioned with university approved housing, but the university will not be able to support you if you have issues with your landlord. If you are going to rent privately it is important to understand what is included in your contract in relation to what is included in the rent costs and what you can be expected to pay yourselves or are responsible for. You may also require a guarantor. This is usually a parent who can guarantee that you will pay your bills on time and agree to pay for you should you fail to pay on time.
Renting privately often works out much cheaper than living in university owned accommodations such as halls of residence because private landlords are offering a competitive rate to draw in your custom. The more you can get for your money the better! Make sure you go and view the property first before signing for it though. Expect some clothes on the floor, but decline the place if you spot mould on the ceiling or dead animals on the floor. Or the other way round. Or anywhere. Dead animals don’t contribute to a good living environment.
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Living at Home
If you aren’t studying at a university which is a million miles away from home there may be no reason to move out at all. If it works out to be more beneficial for you financially to live at home and commute then why not consider that as an option? If your parents are happy for you to live at home while studying for your degree, and with the current economy in mind, you may find it the more realistic option. It does mean there is more money for alcohol, books and T-shirts with TV’s on. It also means your mother insisting you ‘pick your clothes up off the floor’ and ‘you live under my roof you live by my rules’.
Living at home also means that you don’t have to move in with a bunch of strangers (unless you currently live with wolves and don’t know your biological family), and if you’re extra lucky, it means your parents may still feed you on a regular basis.
If you do decide to live at home the main drawback is that you may be surrendering your opportunity to fully experience what it is like to be a student.
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To Sum Up
Where you’re going to live while you’re studying for your degree is hugely important. If you get it wrong you’ll regret it until the day you die and everyone will laugh at you. Ok, well maybe it’s not that important, but it is kind of a big deal. You need to feel comfortable and safe; you don’t want to get a few months in and wish you’d made a different decision, which has been known to happen. People have spent several months in halls of residence and not seen eye to eye with their peers and have returned home to the comforts of family life. It’s not the end of the world if this happens, and you certainly won’t regret it for that long, but trying to get it right in the first place is always a good ambition!
The location of your university and your accommodation will play a huge part in how much you can be expected to pay in terms of rent. If you are moving to London or other big cities you can expect to pay more than you would in more rural locations. The way you plan to finance your living arrangements can play a huge part on your decision. If you want to avoid getting into more debt through student loans towards accommodation then it may be an idea for you to consider living at home and commuting.
If you want to spend your student nights going out clubbing with other students and stumbling in late from a night on the town then as a potential first year undergraduate you may be looking at halls of residence where you can meet like minded students and take advantage of that atmosphere.
Now it’s time for you to make a big step in your life and possibly make the big move into student accommodation! Enjoy, and thank us later!