PART 1: OFFICIAL UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH ACCOMMODATION THREAD
Apply for 2010 accommodation at the University of Edinburgh here
For details about private accommodation in Edinburgh, see post #2
Before posting questions in this thread please read through post #1 and post #2 to ensure your query has not already been answered!
The University of Edinburgh owns a vast array of accommodation throughout the city. All properties are managed by Accommodation Services. They are based in the Reception Centre at Pollock Halls, and can be visited in person as well as contacted in a number of ways.
You can view various maps to see where this official accommodation is located throughout the city here.
You can download the university’s official accommodation guides for entry in 2009 here. No guide has yet been published for entry in 2010, although very little has changed. Do note that any prices quoted below will refer to the current academic year, 2009/10.
Will I be guaranteed accommodation?
The current policy in place is that you will be guaranteed an offer of university accommodation if you meet the follow conditions:
Your online accommodation application must be submitted by August 16th (n.b. this was the date in place for 2009/10).
You must hold an unconditional firm offer on UCAS by August 30th.
You must ordinarily reside outside the City of Edinburgh boundaries.
You must be studying at the university for the full academic year.
The university does NOT guarantee to provide you with the precise type of accommodation that you want, and if you reject an initial offer of accommodation it is highly unlikely they will make you another one. Couples and families are NOT guaranteed accommodation.
The guarantee applies to almost all new single freshers, be they domestic or international students. As a rule of thumb, if you are coming to Edinburgh on an exchange from abroad, you will also be guaranteed accommodation. If you are arriving on exchange from within the EU, you must be on an official institutional exchange.
Issues with first year accommodation guarantee
The accommodation guarantee has caused some issues during the last two years, due to the vast popularity of the university! Accommodation has been vastly oversubscribed and the university has struggled to sort housing for everybody. The good news is that accommodation services appear not to be compromising on their promise: they will ensure that an offer of accommodation is made to every fresher who is eligible.
In 2008, Accommodation Services was forced to lease Portsburgh Court from the private student accommodation provider Unite, and a number of freshers spent their first few weeks in Edinburgh in hostels and hotels arranged for them by Accommodation Services. There were also reports of some rooms in Chancellor’s Court, Pollock being turned into twin rooms.
In 2009, oversubscription was an even more serious issue. The leasing of Unite accommodation was once necessary. Students were also allocated what would ordinarily be postgraduate accommodation. Accommodation Services also leased some 50 rooms at Jewel and Esk college, 4 miles from the university. A majority of rooms in Chancellor’s Court, Pollock were converted to twin rooms.
These problems seem to have happened because of the recent surge of students entering higher education, along with Edinburgh’s generous policy that promises housing to almost all freshers even if they select Edinburgh as their insurance choice. In 2009, it became official policy during August when the sheer scale of insurance applicants became evident, that insurance applicants were given lower priority in terms of the accommodation they were offered, and how quickly they were offered it.
What does this mean in practical terms if you are applying for entry in 2010? You are guaranteed a room if you meet the eligibility criteria, but it may well not be the room you want. If you are an insurance applicant you will be considered a lower priority when allocation is taking place. Likewise, allocation is liable to take longer if there are more students who need to be accommodated. And you will only be made ONE offer. If you turn down your offer you will not receive another.
Applying
Applications for official accommodation take place online. Applications are currently not being accepted. For entry in September 2010, applications will be accepted from February 20th. You can make your application here. Once applications open, you may apply whenever you want. Accommodation Services do NOT operate a first come, first served system - so you are at no advantage if you apply early. In past years, the deadline for applications for university accommodation has been a date in mid-August. Ensure that you apply for accommodation before this date, as applications will not be accepted late. Even if Edinburgh is only your insurance, apply in good time. Ensure you apply for accommodation using an email address which you will continue to have access to in September. Offers of accommodation are sent out by email only. Do NOT use an email address from school, college, work or anywhere else where you will not be able to access your inbox during the second half of August (in general apply this principle to any situation in which you provide contact details).
Accepting an offer of accommodation
Offers of accommodation will not be made until the summer. In 2009, the very first offers went out on June 30th. In order to be eligible for an offer, you must hold a firm, unconditional offer from the university. This means that if you have applied using predicted grades, your offer from the university will not become conditional until your exam results are confirmed (in the case Highers/Advanced Highers in early August, and in the case of A Levels in mid August). You must accept the offer of accommodation through the Accommodation Services channel on MyEd. Acceptance of the offer will include agreeing to your tenancy agreement and payment of a £250 deposit. The deposit is paid by card. You should pay using a card that you are likely to still have a year later, as the deposit is refunded to the original payment card.
Bear in mind that once you receive an offer of accommodation, you only have seven days to accept or decline. After that time has elapsed, the offer will be withdrawn. You do not have to accept, but if you decline, another offer will not be made.
Room Sizes
There are a lot of questions about the room sizing and whether one should apply for a small, medium or large room. The general consensus from current students is that you should always apply for the SMALL room size wherever possible: the difference in size between different classes of room is often marginal, and significant savings in rent can be made if your room is classed as “small”.
The choice of room sizes is something that was only introduced in 2007. It is commonly viewed amongst students as a ruse by Accommodation Services to squeeze more money out of their tenants. The general rule of thumb in most cases is that paying an extra £10 a week for a "large" room might gain you an extra 30cm width. The larger rooms do not represent good value for money.
Internet and Phone
As of 2009, all data connectivity and telephony in university owned accommodation is provided by Keycom. The standard internet speed is 8Mbps and is included in your rent. If you wish to upgrade this to a premium service you may pay £70 directly to Keycom. This upgrade is alleged to increase the speed to 20Mbps, however, there have been numerous complaints from those who have paid for the premium service that there is little noticeable difference. The standard network suffers from being somewhat slow and overloaded, and at times may struggle with streaming services such as iPlayer. Keycom have provided wifi in most public areas in university accommodation, but this is considered a supplementary service and will generally not work in bedrooms. To see exactly what is available where, see this page.
Telephony is also provided by Keycom, through their Keytalk service. You are provided with a VOIP phone in your room which has a direct dial Edinburgh (0131) number. Calls to all other rooms within Accommodation Services are free. Outgoing calls are all charged through topping up your prepaid phone account. Keycom pricing for phone calls can be seen here.
University computing facilities are also available at Pollock Halls.
Mobile phone reception in Edinburgh is generally good on all networks outdoors, although reception can sometimes be intermittent inside university accommodation.
On site support
If you live in a self-catered flat then you will have a team of Resident Assistants (RA’s) living on site, who will be on call 24/7. They will organise events in fresher’s week and throughout the year, as well as communicating important information from Accommodation Services. An RA will always be on duty and a duty mobile phone number will be provided.
An accommodation manager will also manage your building, with reception hours most days of the week as well as being in email contact. They should be your first port of call if you have queries about payments, require a reference or need to report issues with your flat. If you live in Pollock Halls then you will be assigned a House Assistant, who carries out much the same role as an RA.
Leaving at the end of your tenancy
Accommodation services should provide you with a letter towards the end of your tenancy remind you when the final move out day is. You will be expected to return all keys to the relevant member of Accommodation Services staff by the morning of the last day. You may move out before this date but will not receive a refund for unused rent. If moving out early, you are encouraged to return your own keys rather than entrusting them to flatmates or friends. Along with the reminder letter you should also receive a set of instruction regarding the cleaning of your room or flat. Ensure that you follow these closely, as the penalty for not complying will be charged at exorbitant rates and deducted from your deposit. Consequently it is important to complete your inventory when you move in.
Catered or Self-Catered?
It is important to dispel the initial myth surrounding this choice. Neither is the better option socially - you will not miss out by choosing one over the other. It is really a fairly straightforward choice. Do you want to live in a flat or on a corridor? Do you want a kitchen or a pantry? Do you want a living area or a common room? Do you want to choose what you cook and when you eat, or be secure in the knowledge that there will always be food available at a set time? You do pay a premium to live in catered accommodation, and most students should be able to make a saving on food costs if they are savvy shoppers. Do bear in mind that if you live in catered accommodation, you will still have to make or buy your lunch. You pay for breakfast and dinner on weekdays and brunch and dinner at the weekend. Pollock Halls is on the other hand, the largest single community of students in the city and there are advantages such as the onsite shop selling all the essentials you may need as well as a cash machine. If you live in a self-catered flat you’ll be much more a part of a smaller a potentially close knit community in the wider Edinburgh cityscape. It all boils down to what you prefer as a person - but there are no solid advantages of the one form of accommodation over the other.
Twin Rooms in Pollock Halls (Thanks to fwapper for this)
Essentially twin rooms are a matter of luck. Most of them are simply normal sized rooms with a bunk bed in. These are miserably cramped, with only a couple of square metres of floor space after the bed and desk. However, if you are lucky you may get one of the twin rooms on the fourth floor of Chancellor's Court. These rooms are two or three times as large as a standard room, and perhaps the largest in Pollock. They have two single beds, and in most cases have large balconies. Best of all they cost no more than the other twin rooms.
Many of the fourth floor rooms are fitted out for disabled people (low spyholes, ramps into the showers, plenty of space etc.) which is a typical example of the seemingly limitless stupidity of the Pollock management - wheelchairs can't get up the balcony steps and as for when the lift breaks down... anyway the end result is that these giant size rooms become twinned. (There are only about 20 of these twin rooms in Chancellor's Court so it's quite a gamble to apply for one )
Food at Pollock Halls (Thanks to fwapper for this)
The JMCC is where you will be eating for the year if you stay in Pollock Halls. The food it serves is marginally better than your average school dinner, but the illusion of variety disappears after a month or so as by then you will have eaten every meal they make at least once.
If you don't mind endless soggy, bland shades of beige then all is well, but if you have any appreciation of food whatsoever then it becomes a chore to go. I know about a dozen people who are moving to self catered accommodation after the first semester simply to escape the JMCC. Although it has to be noted that these people are almost exclusively mainland European with high standards for food - one Italian only lasted three weeks before he moved out.
On the rare occasion they produce something appealing (like jam doughnuts) there is such a scramble for them that they are gone in seconds. The place is also horribly disorganised, understaffed and overcrowded, with bottlenecks forming everywhere as dozens of people stand waiting for food/cutlery/condiments... you get the idea.
To sum up: if you go to the JMMC hungry the smell when entering will put you off, and at the end you leave full, but never satisfied. But you can have as many helpings as you like.
Pricing
Catered
Prices for all catered accommodation available for entry 2010 can be viewed here.
Self-Catered
Prices for all self-catered accommodation available for entry 2010 can be viewed here.
Payment
You can pay rent to Accommodation Services in a number of different ways. You can pay in full by card online. You can also pay in full or instalments in person at Pollock Halls reception centre. You can pay by recurring payment by credit card. Accommodation Services can also issue an invoice and send it to a third party sponsor, if your accommodation is being funded by another institution for example. The most common means of payment is by direct debit, which can be arranged on a monthly or semesterly basis. Full details can be seen here.
Insurance
Basic insurance cover is included the cost of your rent. Insurance is provided by Cover 4 Students, a specialist student insurer. The cover insures personal possessions on a new for old basis against theft, fire, flood, burst pipes, storm, vandalism, explosion and lightening. The insurance policy does not cover your possessions outside of your room. It is possible to purchase extensions to your policy to cover items such as computers, musical instruments and mobile phones when out of your room - the premiums are generally the market average although do check their competitors to see if you can get it cheaper. See full details of the University of Edinburgh insurance policy here. Anecdotal evidence on TSR in past suggests that they are reasonably reliable as insurers and will generally pay out on genuine claims without too much fuss.
Car Parking
Car parking is available at the following properties: Blackett Avenue, Darroch Court, Kincaid’s Court, Blackwood Crescent/ Causewayside, Sciennes 1, Sciennes 2, East Newington Place, Hermit’s Croft, Robertson’s Close, Roxburgh Place, Warrender Park Crescent, Warrender Park Road. Availability is strictly limited and you MUST purchase a parking permit in order to park in the car parks. The charge for the 2008/09 academic session was £97.20. Please note that there is an ongoing overhaul of parking permits and that the system may be different in 2010, and may well be more expensive. Parking at Pollock Halls is very limited. See Accommodation Services' parking page here.
Images of University owned accommodation
Blackfriars Street (thanks to artorscience?)
Kitchen 1 (shared by 12)
Kitchen 2 (shared by 12)
Dining Area (shared by 12)
A typical ensuite double room in Chancellor’s Court (thanks to michael nicholson)
Ensuite bathroom
Entrance area
Bed area
Study area
Darroch Court 6/2 (thanks to feef)
Bedroom 1
Bedroom 2
Hallway
Bathroom
Kitchen 1
Kitchen 2
Kitchen 3
Hermit's Croft 1/4 (thanks to ???)
Kitchen/Living area
Bedroom for door
Bedroom from bed
Sciennes 22/4 (thanks to artorscience?)
Kitchen
Bedroom Empty
Bedroom with moved furniture
Sciennes 27/7 (thanks to static)
Stairs from lower floor to upper floor
Kitchen
Kitchen 2
Bedroom
Bedroom 2
South Clerk Street (thanks to bred)
Kitchen 1
Kitchen 2
Bedroom
South College Street (thanks to ???)
Bathroom
Bathroom 2
Kitchen
Kitchen 2
Bedroom
Bedroom 2
A six person flat in 108 Warrender Park Road (thanks to nearlyheadlessian)
Kitchen
Living room area
Misc
102 Warrender Park Road
108 Warrender Park Road
Entrance to 108 Warrender Park Road
South Clerk Street from outside
Pollock Halls set against Arthur’s Seat
Postgraduate accommodation
The university offers guaranteed accommodation to new postgraduate students who are single and from outside the European Union. Furthermore, they endeavour to offer students from within the EU (but not the UK) accommodation on a first come, first served basis. They do not offer accommodation to domestic students. If you are an EU student you should apply as soon as possible for accommodation after applications open. Further details of the guarantee and relevant deadlines for new postgraduates can be found here.
Details of the accommodation available to new postgraduate students (including addresses, pricing etc) on a self-catered basis can be seen here. Details of catered accommodation are available here.
Council Tax
Accommodation Services annually informs the City of Edinburgh council that all their tenants are students and therefore are exempt from payment of council tax.
University accommodation after first year
It is possible to remain in official university accommodation after first year. The only residence available for those looking to continue self-catered in a single room is at Blackfriars Street. There are otherwise small 1 and 2 person flats available (although most of these are on a full 1 year lease), as well as larger flats around the city suitable for between 3 and 5 people. Accommodation services will hold an accommodation fair for continuing students during the early spring, and applications are made in person at Pollock Halls reception centre. Allocations take place on a strictly first come, first served basis. See further details here. If you want to remain in Pollocks Halls or standard self-catered flats then you can apply to become a House Assistant or a Resident’s Assistant. You will live with other assistants and be the first point of contact for a large number of freshers in your building. You will however, receive a discount on your rent.
See post #2 for details on private accommodation in Edinburgh.