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Halls? Thanks, but no thanks
BillieTheBot
Posts: 8,721 Bot
I feel as if I'm causing nothing but inconvenience and hassle to everyone just writing about this subject. I've written countless times about my worries about university. This is just another one of those, but not quite the same tack as previously. For the record, I'm still going ahead in September as planned. I'm absolutely terrified, but I'll still be doing it.
However, over the last few days, there have been some issues regarding accommodation. Back around the 12th of this month, I got some mail from UWE, telling me what room they'd offered. I was going to be in a halls filled mostly with international and postgraduate students. Internationals, I've no problem with, but I was uneasy about living with postgraduates at best. Anyway, there was a contract to fill in, some paperwork and such. I've done all that.
I'm not going to go into full details about what happened this week, mainly because they're completely irrelevant to what I'm going to ask later. Essentially, it boils down to one thing. I won't be going to live in halls of residence in September. Before anyone asks, I've already checked, and it isn't possible for me to go and live in a different halls of residence. I'll now be living in student housing from day one, most probably, it's something I intend to sort out as soon as possible.
This is my question. I've heard friends and people from here talking about halls of residence being part of their university "experience", as they insist on calling it. Is the fact I won't be going into halls beneficial or detrimental? That is, is it going to have a huge effect on the way my time at university pans out? Or does it simply mean I'll be living in a slightly different way to most first-year students?
EDIT: Just to point out that I don't yet know at the time of writing whether I'll be living in private sector accommodation or student housing through the university. That's something that's being sorted.
However, over the last few days, there have been some issues regarding accommodation. Back around the 12th of this month, I got some mail from UWE, telling me what room they'd offered. I was going to be in a halls filled mostly with international and postgraduate students. Internationals, I've no problem with, but I was uneasy about living with postgraduates at best. Anyway, there was a contract to fill in, some paperwork and such. I've done all that.
I'm not going to go into full details about what happened this week, mainly because they're completely irrelevant to what I'm going to ask later. Essentially, it boils down to one thing. I won't be going to live in halls of residence in September. Before anyone asks, I've already checked, and it isn't possible for me to go and live in a different halls of residence. I'll now be living in student housing from day one, most probably, it's something I intend to sort out as soon as possible.
This is my question. I've heard friends and people from here talking about halls of residence being part of their university "experience", as they insist on calling it. Is the fact I won't be going into halls beneficial or detrimental? That is, is it going to have a huge effect on the way my time at university pans out? Or does it simply mean I'll be living in a slightly different way to most first-year students?
EDIT: Just to point out that I don't yet know at the time of writing whether I'll be living in private sector accommodation or student housing through the university. That's something that's being sorted.
Beep boop. I'm a bot.
Post edited by JustV on
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Comments
I stayed in a university controlled flat and loved it. My flatmates from there were my flatmates most of the way through uni and we still keep in touch now.
Halls aren't for everyone. I was a bit of a fussy eater and didn't like the idea of them cooking my meals, shared bathrooms with the whole floor and all that other stuff.
Not necessarily a bad thing, just maybe means you might have to make more of a concious effort to make mates through your course or otherwise, in halls they do sort of fall into your lap and you try and get on best you can.
So long as you stay pro-active about it, then things should still be fantastic.
The only thing I liked about my time at uni was the halls, and the social side of it. Arriving the first night and meeting these other random people, till hitting plastic ketchup bottles round the common room with a baseball bat on the last night, absolutely legendary time.
you will just have to make a real effort with people on your course because most people meet their friends at their halls. however it shouldnt affect you too much.. especially if you move into a student house instead.
Housing sounds more secure. Halls may be more "fun" but the baggage that comes with them outweigh the good.
UNITE are good, they have some brilliant accomodation in Huddersfield - they may be worth looking at.
Personally I lived in halls this year and loved it so much I'm staying in Halls again this year.
when i moved unis, i was too late to get a place in halls so i went to a mixing day thing and found a group of people to share a student house with, and it's worked out just as well. obviously i met less people than i would have done through halls, but ive made some great friends through my course and just through randomly bumping into people on nights out!
at my uni there seems to be as many people that live in houses as there are that live in halls. i dont really think it makes a difference- in either situation you're going to have to make and effort and what you put in, you'll get out.
Have a look. I stayed in unite private halls for my first year.
I loved halls last year, but there's been some admin fuck up at the uni I'm off to in September, and I dunno if my accommodation application was processed, so I might wind up in a house or something. At the moment I'm gutted, cos I loved halls so much, but I know once I get there it'll be fine.
Your university experience is completely and totally what you make of it. You're not gonna have a load of new best mates fall into your lap purely because you're in halls, and you're not gonna be stuck with no mates and no social life just because you're in a house.
Seems really odd that they'd put you with internationals and postgrads, makes no sense to me!
postgrad students usually have to sign a longer 52 week tenancy aswell, rather than the standard 38 weeks or whatever it is for undergrads.
Fair enough, but from a social aspect it seems really odd.
That said, I always found it really odd to put all the international students together as well, rather than mixing with British students.
i suppose the universities think internationals have more in common with each other, all being in a new country, etc etc etc and they arn't expected to home during holidays so are put in halls together, possibly just to save from having a lot of lonley students around the holiday periods - although it does defeat the idea of intergration.
I loved it, tad on the dear side, but i met some of my best mates there, so in my opinon, worth every penny!
much better quality that halls anyways, and the staff were lovely...inc the little caretaker man, who knew me so well as i kept breaking everything!
i would definately recommend unite, go for it!:thumb:
I can see why people would want to however - conveniance mostly. A lot of the people i went to college with that decided to continue on to uni didnt really have any friends outsdie the college so i can see why they are desperate to go into halls and make friends but like i say, not really for me either.