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London School of Economics

London

The Official Carr-Saunders Hall Thread 2011

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So, we will be able to cook in CS? It is stated that " there are limited facilities on each floor for students who wish to prepare hot drinks and snacks ", I'm wondering what are the facilities available.

How's about the cost for meals in the dining hall or around CS.

(edited 13 years ago)

London School of Economics

London

Reply 21

DaveParlour

Hey everyone, I'm Big Dave.

Original post by aj12345

hey, I was just wondering whether each room had a sink and mirror? and also how carr-saunders is compared to places like bankside.

Yes, each room does have a sink and mirror, but you aren't supposed to drink from the sink. The water (probably) won't kill you, but it doesn't taste great so you won't want to do much more than rinse your mouth out. To answer your comparison question you need to be more specific, but in generalities Carr Saunders is cheap and cheerful, facilities and decor aren't fantastic but they're perfectly serviceable and it is the cheapest hall I believe, and it really is in a fantastic location, Oxford Street, Regents Park, and over 30 bars/pubs within a 5min walk. Also I can't stress this enough but the 20min walk to LSE really becomes nothing once you're living in London, and the other halls are at least 10min walks away anyway. Bankside, obviously as you pay (alot) more you get more, but you realise that once you're a student the little things really don't matter, and generally doesn't have the reputation of being as sociable as Carr Saunders or Rosebery, due to the size, lay out and make up of the population of students.

Original post by candii

Hiya,

I just wanted to ask why you think LSE has a negative reputation for not being as social as other London Unis such as King's and UCL, but you say that Carr Saunders and Rosebery Hall are very social so hearing contrasting viewpoints can be quite confusing.

Thanks

Carr Saunders and Rosebery due to various factors are more sociable in the British sense than other halls, because as they are cheaper and with shorter contracts they attract a lot of home students who are more in line with the traditional British uni attitude where as in other halls (that make up a far greater percentage of the student population) there is a far higher proportion of foreign students with different attitudes towards work and how they go about being social which is why LSE has a reputation for not being 'sociable'. You do have to work reasonably hard, but in halls like Saunders and Rosebery its very easy to be sociable and play hard as well. (That isn't to say it can't be achieved in other halls obviously, but the atmosphere is slightly different, and there is still a fantastic mix of people from all over the world in Saunders as well.)

Original post by jacky128

It says on the LSE website that "Students wishing to stay over the Christmas and Easter vacations will be invited to apply for a space during the first term." Do you always get a place if you apply? Also does that mean you have to pack away all your stuff if you're not staying for the holidays?
In the summer holidays if you're doing an internship in London, can you stay in the hall?
Thanks

The halls operate as a hostel over the Uni holidays which means that yes you have to remove all of your belongings out once the term is over and bring them all back again next time. If you apply early enough you will be guaranteed a place to stay in halls over the holidays (at I believe to be the same termly rate), however if you leave it too late and the hostel is fully booked you will have to go on a waiting list and may miss out.

Reply 22

DaveParlour

Original post by haw92

So, we will be able to cook in CS? It is stated that " there are limited facilities on each floor for students who wish to prepare hot drinks and snacks ", I'm wondering what cooking facilities are available.

How's about the cost for meals in the dining hall or around CS.

In each kitchen there is a toaster, microwave and hob, but no ovens. You can cook a reasonable variety of things just with these if you've half a clue what you're doing, and many people do so. However if like me you can't cook anything to save your life the halls are situated on Charlotte Street (renowned for its restaurants), and no more than 5/10 minutes walk from whatever your stomach could possible desire. There is a restaurant upstairs, the food is decent enough and the portions are big for only £2.80, but it does get a little repetitive.

For fast food

McDonalds with a free cheeseburger for students when they buy any meal is only 5 mins away.
Subway is 2mins away, and you will come to know the sub of the day menu rather well.
The Court 2 mins away is a Scream chain pub that has 2 meals for £6 and they're quite nice.
KFC and Burger King are also on Tottenham Court Road 5mins or so away.
Pizza places deliver also.

For food of a healthier variety I am no expert but there are literally dozens of places nearby within a 5min walk and no one ever struggles to find what they want.

Reply 23

haw92

Original post by DaveParlour

Thanks for all your info. So basically the facilities in CS and Rosebery are quite the same? ( if you know ) Like kitchen, basin etc..
I'm considering both for my 3 choices.

By the way, is the accommodation application for 2011/12 opened already? And do I need to put LSE as firm via UCAS now in order to apply for the hall? Because I'm still thinking of my insurance choice and UCAS don't allow me to put a firm without declining others.

Reply 24

Lauren.G

Original post by oakbluffs

Hi Guys,

I'm Gareth and I'm the Hall President of Carr-Saunders for this year, which means if any of you end up at Saunders in September I've got the job, along with the rest of the committee, of organizing your Fresher's Week. I remember when I was applying for accommodation I had so many questions, and often it was hard to find someone to talk to. So if you're after a small hall (150 undergrads, almost no postgrads) that's in a really great area and only a short walk from LSE then you should really consider Carr-Saunders. Feel free to ask anything you like on here. I can't promise you an unbiased answer, because my time here's been wicked so far, but I can tell you anything you want to know, even the negative stuff. You can get a decent description of the halls on the LSE accommodation site, but it doesn't really say anything about the student experience at Saunders, so that's where I can help you the most.

So fire away. :borat:

Hi

Just wondering roughly how many rooms share a bathroom/ shower?
Had a look on the LSE website and for some halls it says up to 8/10? :eek:

Thanks

Reply 25

rachie_low

Original post by oakbluffs

Hi, generally when are we allowed to start moving into the accomodation? A week before? thanks!

Reply 26

tourist

During LSE I made almost 100% of my uni friends at Saunders

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 27

noojoo

from what I can gather the sociable halls are Carr Saunders / Rosebery / Bankside / High Holborn?

amirite?

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 28

GeeDerrett

Original post by rachie_low

Hi, generally when are we allowed to start moving into the accomodation? A week before? thanks!

Thanks for joining this thread, it's great to have someone to talk to about accommodation! It's been a major worry for me so far due to budget (completely relying on student loan), so as the cheapest halls available to me, Carr-Saunders is definitely going to be my first choice! Do you know how likely I'll be to be put here? (I know accommodation applications aren't open yet but I'll be firming my choice after the open day in April).
Also, how good is the location of this Halls? Thanks :smile:

Reply 29

Milan.

Original post by GeeDerrett

I dont think there is any set probability that you'll be put in carr-saunders

the location is definitely one of the best ones available, if you read my earlier posts and posts by dave then you'll gather a sense of how amazing carr-saunders location is

Original post by noojoo

from what I can gather the sociable halls are Carr Saunders / Rosebery / Bankside / High Holborn?

amirite?

carr-saunders
roseberry
bankside

high holborn... my friends there say that it's not that social, they have great facilities but there are a lot of internationals and with the oriental internationals they tend to socialise together only... so unless you're oriental, high holborn isnt one of the most social

Original post by In_Infamy

Hi, I was wondering which halls are generally considered the "unsocial" halls?

depends what you make of your life at halls
as an LSE student theres every opportunity to have more friends you see on campus than you see at halls

but to answer your question, then any halls other than the ones mentioned above are considered less social, intercollegiate for LSE students are considered less social aswell and anywhere with a postgrad majority

however, again, its what you make of your life here
if you dont bother to make friends then thats your fault not because you were placed in a supposedly 'unsocial' hall

Original post by rachie_low

Hi, generally when are we allowed to start moving into the accomodation? A week before? thanks!

a day or two before the monday of freshers week i think usually... this can change

Original post by candii

in addition to daves reply
everyone i know in the so-called unsocial intercollegiate halls have plenty of friends and a great social life
once again it depends on what you make of your life
people wont gravitate towards you, you have to make the effort
societies are also brilliant at LSE
i've made a lot of friends for life by being in the hindu society and the timeless show at LSE

the "unsocial" reputation of LSE is definitely exaggerated
you have to work hard at the end of the day, but theres a lot of fun, you're in london after all

Original post by Lauren.G

Hi

Just wondering roughly how many rooms share a bathroom/ shower?
Had a look on the LSE website and for some halls it says up to 8/10? :eek:

Thanks

on each floor theres two bathrooms, one large and one small
there are like 10 showers and a bath on each floor i think... (i could get up and count them right now but im feeling a bit lazy)
between 30 people

i've never had to wait for a shower, i've always had a choice of which shower to use, i've always been able to avoid the one i dont like the look of, the dirtier one, the one just used because theres plenty
they get deep cleaned everyday
your experience will vary depending on what time you have a shower
not sure what else to say about this, ask any questions :smile:

Original post by haw92

in addition to what dave said: i often find theres too much choice... takes me a while to decide what to eat most days lol
whereas with bankside theres little choice

Reply 30

ForFreedom

Original post by DaveParlour

if domestic students tend to rent the cheaper rooms, does that mean they also tend to rent out twin rooms too at any of the halls?

btw what is the structure of a twin room within each flat? e.g are there flats with ONLY twin rooms or is there one twin room per flat

Reply 31

oakbluffs

Original post by ForFreedom

You don't choose whether or not you rent out a twin room, you just state your preference. I know someone who didn't even choose Carr-Saunders as their first choice and who stated they didn't want to share a room who ended up at Saunders in a shared room! So there really no way of saying.

Also, I'm not sure if this has been said already, but Carr-Saunders, and I think LSE halls in general, aren't like normal uni accommodation where it's divided into flats. There are floors, with 30 rooms, with 2 bathrooms per floor and one kitchen. So you have floor mates, not flat maters. This is one of the reasons why it's so sociable, because we've got a common room where everyone meets, rather than just sticking to flat kitchens or whatever.

Reply 32

chelseafc

hi guys, just wondering if people bike from their halls to school in the UK.. mayb that'd save up some walking time?

never used to really walking here, always had a chauffeur drive me to places.. :P

Reply 33

noojoo

Original post by chelseafc

never used to really walking here, always had a chauffeur drive me to places.. :P

what about motorbikes??

Reply 34

chelseafc

Original post by noojoo

what about motorbikes??

ducati, yes :smile:

Reply 35

noojoo

Original post by chelseafc

ducati, yes :smile:

LONDON DRIFT
u get the ducati i get the hayabusa.

Reply 36

Checkley

Hello, I'm Joe - entertainment officer for Saunders (me and my fellow entz, Adam, basically organise you getting boozed up - and other activities - in freshers).

I think a lot of you are worrying far too much, its a really good halls, as are most of the LSE halls. You're likely to make most of your friends in halls, although societies (especially the AU) and classes are other ways to meet people.

As for showers, although you do share about 5-6 showers with half a floor, I've never been in the shower at the same time as someone else; the fact that I don't usually get up until about 2 probably helps, so that's always a plan...
If you're not bothered about going out then halls doesn't get too loud so you shouldn't be put off by the 'sociable' aspect of halls, but if you are up for going out a lot then if halls is anything like this year there'll be plenty of like-minded people.

We are really close to all the main London sights, both touristy and nightlife, and anything that isn't that close is generally only a ten minute bus/tube ride away (depending if you want to save money and be harassed by strangers or not). Loads of decent clubs and nights out, if you wanted to you could go out every night of the week to a different club and, if you know the right places, not spend more than 10-15 quid per time.

LSE is basically a twenty minute walk away so no worries there, i usually get out of bed about 15 minutes before lectures and just turn up 5 mins late... no worries.

Also. we have a pretty decent common room, 2 tvs - one with a ps3, new pool table and a decent computer room.

So generally we're a pretty decent halls, shouldn't really be worried because once you get here and get over your initial fears you'll meet a decent bunch of people and should have a good time. unless you get too drunk and forget most of freshers - standard

Joe xox

Reply 37

oakbluffs

I think Joe's summed it up nicely there. More or less everyone ends up happy with where they are, and as long as you put a bit of effort in at the beginning you'll have no problems settling into hall life and making friends.

If you do decide to apply to Carr-Saunders (and I sincerely hope you do!) and you get a place here, keep checking this thread for a link to the official facebook group for next year. That's where all of the relevant info for next year, like the plan for freshers etc, will be posted, and where you can hopefully get to know some of your future hallmates!

Reply 38

Ooo'Yeah

On the LSE website I've read that there are changes being made to Carr Saunders and Rosebery's meal plans. It says that for Carr Saunders, "Meals for 2011/12 will be inclusive within rent with no opt out"

and on the Rosebery page it says "Meal payment provision will be changing. All students choosing Rosebery as an accommodation option will be emailed with the change. You will then be given a chance to amend your accommodation choices should you choose"

I was wondering if anyone had any information about this and whether the cost will go up a lot coz I quite fancied just making my own meals and not paying for the meals in the canteen.

Reply 39

ninanguyen

Sorry to ask here but does anyone know if the area around Rosebury(yes, not Carr-Saunders) is safe, for walking home at around 9ish at night? Any ideas will be greatly appreciated!