Is it smart to go for living in student halls in London?

Hi!!

I am a newbie here! I am really interested in studying at Birkbeck College, University of London... Does anyone study there? I would be there as a part-time student but they don't allow part-time students to live in their halls. The trouble is I would really like to live in halls, as I feel I never had a proper university experience, and I know being around people my age (I am 23, older than the average fresher for sure) would help with making new friends in a new country (I am Canadian, btw!). I know there are private student halls all over London--does anybody here know if some of them might accommodate part-time students? Or would the extra costs of living in halls not be worth the trouble? Would I be better off flat-sharing? I don't know even know where to start looking for people to flat share with! I have to admit I am slightly obsessed with the idea of living in halls as I feel like it's another part of the "college experience" I missed out on. I will be working full-time (I'll be on the Youth Mobility Visa which will allow me to work full-time for up to two years anywhere in the UK) I'll be working full-time but I don't want to spend loads on rent alone! Then there are all the downsides of living in halls... like the noise? I've never lived in one so I have no idea! Can the noise be very distracting?

Thanks!!!!!!!!!

I'm curious about this as well.  I will be a fulltime postgraduate student in statistics or public health (not sure which one i will accept yet).  I'm 26 years old and have already had the "college experience" noted above and don't want it again.  I want to make friends and be in close proximity to others, but i don't want to be living with 18 year olds either (sorry, love you, but i been there and done that already).  Anyone in their mid 20's live in private accommodations? In residence halls? What's your experience been like?

goldenchild- Living in halls is all right if you want to be around first year students, but most people your age are going to be living in private student flats.  I'm not sure if halls will take part time students, though, and you might have trouble getting into student flats because of the council tax issue (full time students are exempt, but part timers are not, and many student houses/flats will only rent to students who are exempt from council tax.)  My advice would be to flatshare with young professionals, honestly- I never much liked living in halls when I was in college!  That's just me though.

  I'm 26 years old and have already had the "college experience" noted above and don't want it again.  I want to make friends and be in close proximity to others, but i don't want to be living with 18 year olds either (sorry, love you, but i been there and done that already).  Anyone in their mid 20's live in private accommodations? In residence halls? What's your experience been like?

I'll add my experience as a postgraduate student who chose to live in university accomodation about 2 years ago.  I chose university self-catering flats when I did my masters, mostly because I didn't want to go through the hassle of househunting from afar or once I got to the UK.  I was worried about being stuck with 18 year old first years, but that didn't happen.  My university tries to group people of similar ages together and I ended up in a flat with three other postgraduate students, ages 22-26ish.  (We were an international bunch, too- English, French, Irish and American!) 

It ended up being quite nice- I liked being in an enclosed flat rather than a more dorm-type situation (choosing a flat also minimised the risk that I would be put with first year students, as they all seemed to gravitate to the cheaper dormitory-style halls.)

I've also lived in a house-share that was made up of former students who stayed on after graduation, which was fine as well.  Fairly close to my university flats, actually, except in a house and without my own bathroom (huge perk of the purpose built uni flats was the en-suite bathroom!)

I would guess that most at Birkbeck, if not all, would be mature students, so the experience would be different.  But as a part time student I would go for a house share. The uni accommodation dept should be able to help and advise.

Vicky

This is from the UNITE-STUDENTS FAQ regarding their student halls:

The indicator we use is whether you are exempt from council tax. If this is the case then you are able to live with us (check with your University for details on council tax exemption).

I will be working full-time on my Youth Mobility Visa, but I am not a British citizen obviously! Does anyone know if that would mean I am exempt from this council tax?

I'm starting to get a bit discouraged as well. I see most student halls do not go for less than 100GBP a week. I really don't want to spend 420GBP (or 750.00CAD) a month on rent.  Are halls simply not a good choice as they all tend to be around this price range?

If one wants to go cheap... what sort of accommodation should I be looking at?

This is from the UNITE-STUDENTS FAQ regarding their student halls:

The indicator we use is whether you are exempt from council tax. If this is the case then you are able to live with us (check with your University for details on council tax exemption).

I will be working full-time on my Youth Mobility Visa, but I am not a British citizen obviously! Does anyone know if that would mean I am exempt from this council tax?

I'm starting to get a bit discouraged as well. I see most student halls do not go for less than 100GBP a week. I really don't want to spend 420GBP (or 750.00CAD) a month on rent.  Are halls simply not a good choice as they all tend to be around this price range?

If one wants to go cheap... what sort of accommodation should I be looking at?

if you'll be working full time, then you're probably not going to be studying full time, which would generally mean you wouldn't be exempt from council tax.  Check with your uni to be sure regarding your specific course, but I would bet you're not going to be council tax exempt (and thus, unable to live in halls anyway.)

Honestly, in London £100pw isn't a bad price for a room in a shared house/flat or in halls, especially if that includes utilities/internet.  Just had a quick look on gumtree, and it looks like in the private rental market rent for a double room (not including any bills or council tax) ranges from £85pw to about £125pw.  London is just an extraordinarily expensive city, I'm afraid.

I would guess that most at Birkbeck, if not all, would be mature students, so the experience would be different.  But as a part time student I would go for a house share. The uni accommodation dept should be able to help and advise.

Vicky

Hey Vicky,
 Pardon my ignorance but what makes you say that about Birbeck? I ask as I applied for a postdoc that is joint Birkbeck and UCL (what can I say but place that do planetary science within driving distance to Southampton is slim, but the dept looks like it has good potential) and I'm just wondering as teaching may be part of the job. I get the feeling that more mature students would be less. . .annoyed. . .by some of the American teaching practices I've picked up.

Hey Vicky,
 Pardon my ignorance but what makes you say that about Birbeck? I ask as I applied for a postdoc that is joint Birkbeck and UCL (what can I say but place that do planetary science within driving distance to Southampton is slim, but the dept looks like it has good potential) and I'm just wondering as teaching may be part of the job. I get the feeling that more mature students would be less. . .annoyed. . .by some of the American teaching practices I've picked up.

I would imagine it is because Birkbeck is a specialist in evening higher education and so not many 18-year-olds will be studying there. Looking on their website at their student statistics (2005/06), of 19,000 students, only 262 were aged 18-20 and there were over 5,000 aged 21-29 and over 5,000 aged 31-39!

I would imagine it is because Birkbeck is a specialist in evening higher education and so not many 18-year-olds will be studying there. Looking on their website at their student statistics (2005/06), of 19,000 students, only 262 were aged 18-20 and there were over 5,000 aged 21-29 and over 5,000 aged 31-39!

Ah yes, I keep forgetting y'all don't quite have the debt load we have for university so it's much less common to have people working full time (or darn near full time) whilst going to school, so evening ed would be skewed towards the older students.

What ksand24 says.  Birkbeck specialises in part time and post grad courses, and has a majority of mature students.


Vicky

If you're applying for uni accommodation as a postgrad, you're almost certainly going to be placed with other postgraduate students. I'm not sure how things are set up at Birkbeck, but at the two universities I've been at in the UK there was both on-campus (halls) and off-campus (flats) available to postgraduate students. I opted for off-campus, and it was just like a private flatshare with a few other students.

If something like that is available I highly recommend it - you're with other mature students who are in the same situation you're in, and having the university as your landlord can be much easier than dealing with a private owner, since the manager has no personal financial investment in the property. Things are set up for multiple students, so there's no arguments over splitting the rent/bills, and repairs are usually handled straight away by the university's maintenance staff. It's usually quite a lot cheaper than renting privately as well.

This is all for off-campus accommodation, of course. I haven't done on-campus in this country, so I can't comment on that.

I'm curious about this as well.  I will be a fulltime postgraduate student in statistics or public health (not sure which one i will accept yet).  I'm 26 years old and have already had the "college experience" noted above and don't want it again.  I want to make friends and be in close proximity to others, but i don't want to be living with 18 year olds either (sorry, love you, but i been there and done that already).  Anyone in their mid 20's live in private accommodations? In residence halls? What's your experience been like?

I had similar concerns as you with my decision to study in Manchester as well as flat vs halls.

well i decided on a flat because
1. wanted a double room.
2. wanted more space
3. I'm an adult and didn't need to live in  a dorm again
4. when i have friends and family visit there is SPACE for them to be comfortable

the downside for me it has been hard to meet people aside from my classmates. most of them live in halls and they have outside friends i do not.

also seems like all other cultures are more welcoming of each other and have society's to meet people from your home country. The USA does not seem to have that same feeling.  so an example. my Greek friend arrived in the city met 1 Greek person and in turn made 50 Greek friends from the Greek society and word of mouth.

i have met maybe 1 or 2 Americans and it was strangers meeting and either of us couldn't be bothered to get to know each other to be friends etc.

so there are pos and neg to living in  a hall or residence vs private accommodation. good luck with your decision!

I was 21 when I came over to study and because i was an international student i came 2 weeks earlier than the freshers for international student orientation and ended up meeting friends with all international students. Some americans, some irish, some from the netherlands.. and they ended up being my core group. My flat mates in the student halls were all freshers which was fine because i had my own room and own bathroom and shower just shared the kitchen so rarely saw them and after month here i met a boy (now DH) and spent very little time in my student room and most of it at DH's house because he had a television! haha.

The university will probably do some sort of orientation for international students and most of these people will have already done a few years at Uni and be around your age.. so you shouldnt have trouble meeting people that arent freshers despite living in the halls.

Thanks for your experiences.  I've decided on attending the University of Manchester, woohoo!!!  I've also applied for postgraduate housing (some on campus flats, others en-suite rooms), so I hope that goes well and I get my first choice, I'd be stoked if I got to live in a studio.  Gadgetchik, did you study at the Uni of Manchester?

Thanks for your experiences.  I've decided on attending the University of Manchester, woohoo!!!  I've also applied for postgraduate housing (some on campus flats, others en-suite rooms), so I hope that goes well and I get my first choice, I'd be stoked if I got to live in a studio.  Gadgetchik, did you study at the Uni of Manchester?

I am currently studying at the University of Manchester.... MSc International Fashion Retailing

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