Does not being in halls ruin the 'uni experience'?

A lot of my friends that are already at university have said that 'if you're not in halls then you can kiss goodbye to having a social life' :s-smilie:

. Also, one of my friends started university last September and he has his own flat in London. He still doesn't have a lot of university friends and struggles to go to university social events/nights out etc. So what I'm asking is, how much validity is there in what they're saying about being in halls?

I know that going out is not the be all of and end all of going to university but it obviously is one aspect of university life. So from your experience, does not being in the most populated student accommodation mean that it's hard to have a good social life? Any opinions and experiences would be very much appreciated (especially if you go to Essex or Loughborough :wink:

). Cheers

Reply 1

IlliteratePedant

I'm at Hull at the moment and I applied too late to get allocated into the halls. At first I was really gutted, but I got put into a house with 5 other freshers and they're really good people. We drink and go out probably about once a week, but apart from each other we don't really know too many people at university and so don't go out as much as we probably would, were we in halls. Its not the end of your social life if you don't go into halls by any means, but I certainly advise going for them. :smile:

Reply 2

wanderlust.xx

Okay, so I moved into halls in final year. There's a massive difference. Being on campus in itself gets you noticed since you're around more often. That much alone is a plus.

Reply 3

Smack

Volunteer Team

I've been in both halls and at home and can safely say that halls are much, much better for socialising. There's just no way around it: being in a flat full of people your own age is a much more sociable situation to be in than at home with your parents. The experience you get from being at home is no different to that what it was at school or college.

Reply 4

Luxray

Original post by ACollins

A lot of my friends that are already at university have said that 'if you're not in halls then you can kiss goodbye to having a social life' :s-smilie:

). Cheers

I think you can still have a pretty good social life as long as you make the effort to speak to others. It's all about being proactive :smile:

Reply 5

AlienInsects

Original post by ACollins

A lot of my friends that are already at university have said that 'if you're not in halls then you can kiss goodbye to having a social life' :s-smilie:

). Cheers

I go to Loughborough and I think everyone there would agree that the 'lufbra experience' is down to hall life. I would strongly recommend you live in halls in Loughborough as all first years are encouraged to and you will get fantastic opportunities created by the hall committee. I personally loved my experience in halls and can't imagine what it will be like moving into a house next year!

Hope this helps.

Reply 6

ACollins

Original post by AlienInsects

Cheers mate. Not sure if you'll know but, if I insure Loughborough but end up going there how likely is it that I'll get accommodation on campus? I've read that it's only guaranteed to people that make LBoro their firm?

Reply 7

lizlaz350

I'm in private student accommodation and although it's a block of flats full of students, it's not the same as halls as they are mainly older and not freshers and I am the youngest in my flat by a few years. This made it a little harder as I didn't have anyone to go out with in Fresher's week and I'm not that close with my flatmates, however I've still managed to make friends and socialise by joining societies and I've made plenty of friends on my course too.

It's perhaps a little harder but still possible if you put yourself out there. I'm lucky in the fact that I'm only living 5 minutes away from campus still, the people who live at home and commute in have found it harder as they've got further to travel.

Reply 8

ByronicHero

I think it would make it better but I'm a grumpy old man :tongue:

Reply 9

Dan1909

It's not the end of the world if you're in halls, you won't have no life whatsoever. However, the average person will have a much better time in halls for sure.