What you need to know before you start looking for somewhere to live

Accommodation provided by your educational institution

Q: As a first-year student can I live in a University, College or Hall of Residence?

A:  Many universities and colleges offer accommodation provided directly by them (or a nominated partner) to first year students. Indeed, they may well offer some kind of guarantee that they will house first year students, so long as you complete a booking form and return it to them by a given deadline.

Information about university or college provided housing should be available in their main prospectus, on  their web site or in a separate booklet that you can obtain by asking for it. It is important, if you are applying to an institution for accommodation, to follow the procedures properly, it is no good simply ringing or turning up a few days before you plan to live there and expecting a room to be yours.

 

   

Q: What happens if I cannot, or do not want to live in institutionally provided accommodation?

A:  Many Colleges and Universities (normally the newer Universities, the smaller specialist colleges or institutions in high demand housing areas such as London and the South East) do not house all their first year students and students will live in the private rented sector right from the beginnings of their studies.

The institution will almost certainly have a number of special services to help first year students find housing and introduced them to other, similar students and these arrangements can be obtained directly from your institution.

Some students, often who are older or more independent, simply do not wish to live in halls provided by the institution. Again, there may be special arrangements made by the College for them, or they can simply follow the advice given here for returning students, most of whom live in the private sector.

  

Q: What happens if I want to live in institutionally provided accommodation after the first year?

A:  Many institutions house a percentage of their returning students in their own accommodation and there will be a variety of procedures to follow to either reapply for institutional accommodation or to move back into it, these can be obtained from your Accommodation Office. Many final year students often move from the private sector back into University provided accommodation for their final year.

Some institutions definitely do not house returning students, except a few special needs or international students. This is normally made clear during the first year in information provided to you. In that case you will need to look in the private sector after the first year.

Q: What happens if I want to live in institutionally provided accommodation mid-way through a year?

A:  After the start of term a few first year students leave, or some short stay students move to industrial placements or abroad, so normally there are always a few rooms available after the first few days of term. If demand for these rooms is high the institution may have a waiting list or some kind of allocations procedure, but normally these are let on a first come, first serve basis and you can rent then by simply contacting your accommodation office.

University rooms are particularly useful if you only need accommodation for a few weeks because institutions are well-equipped, and much more flexible, about taking short-lets from students. Again, contact your accommodation office for details.

 

Q: What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in institutionally provided accommodation?

A: In first year, it is clearly much easier to rent a room from the College or University than have to go through the hassle of house hunting in an area that you do not know well. There are also often social advantages in moving into a building full of similar, newly arrived students.

The advantages also signal the disadvantages: institutional accommodation tends to have a large number of first year students in it who do not know each other and do not necessarily "get on". Noise in high density buildings can also be a problem - everyone likes making a noise on their special day, but in a large building, there is a special day for someone every day.

If you are living in University accommodation, it is important that you choose your accommodation carefully. Often, unhappiness or dissatisfaction comes from students who simply have not got what they really wanted. If you want to cook, do not go to a catered hall. If you are living in University accommodation because it is close to the campus, make sure that you are not three miles up the road. If you want to live with a large group, then make sure you do. If you want a mixed flat, make sure that this is the case.

Universities often have large portfolios that offer a considerable amount of choice: exercise that choice positively.