Should I Apply For En-Suite, Catered Accomodation At Encliffe?

o.0 sorry i dont know much about accomodation here, hoping some 2nd or 3rd years could tell me the pros and cons of this particular arrangement

Reply 1

BiGBaDBoO

Go for non-catered. Catering is not very worthwhile.

University of Sheffield

Sheffield

Reply 2

Hannahbal

I'd give catered a miss. I considered it, but self-catered is a much cheaper option (I don't usually go far over £10, never go over £17 and that's only when I'm bulk-buying meat) - plus it prepares you with skills you'll be using in the future. I have a friend in catered, and he often misses meals from when he's overslept or been working because he sees catered as more of a social option. Plus, once you've gone catered that's it - you don't get the choice of cooking for yourself unless you wind up practically living in a self-catered flat. He's also complained of people leaving mouldy plates, etc - not necessarily a guarantee for catered, but some people may simply choose catered because they're lazy.

Of course, it isn't all bad - you don't have to worry about cooking times, planning meals, washing up, etc. But after having gone self-catered, I wouldn't turn back. But then I do find cooking de-stresses me, so it's no surprise. :tongue:

Reply 3

Jack McGill

Personally I would also advise not going catered, the cost of meals is very expensive and you have to eat meals at set times. Someone I know had to spend extra money, outside of their catering budget, in order to eat. The best option I would say would be to go Endcliffe self catered. Also I disagree with the above poster, its very hard to get food down to £10 a week, in fact its near impossible. Realistically its £20 a month plus.

Reply 4

Hannahbal

Original post by Jack McGill

Depends what you're eating. I always set aside a weekly shop budget of £20 p/w, but speaking from my own personal experience, it is possible to keep yourself from going much over £10. This isn't counting the things that you don't need to buy weekly, though (I'm talking pasta, rice, butter etc - too infrequent to count in a weekly budget). Also doesn't include eating out if you're just having one of those days where you can't be bothered.

Not that I'm saying everyone spends that little, because almost nobody does. It does depend whether you habitually buy extra "treats" and whether you can be arsed to shop around or jump onto reduced/special offer items.

OP, that's also true, most catered students I know also have to spend outside their budget for some meals - I know two internationals who regularly get takeaways because of the lack of cooking facilities. Costs them a bomb.