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Mature Students and Moving Houses before Results day?

So I'm very aware of a looming issue facing my partner and I in the not so far future and we can't be the only ones experiencing this.

So currently my partner and I are studying on an access to HE course with the intention of applying for a specific undergraduate course at Brookes University in Oxford.

We currently live together in our 1 bedroom flat in Bristol. When its time we'll need to give our 2 months notice and get ready to move.

However as you only really find out if you're accepted into uni a couple of weeks before the course starts, we'll have to give our notice in on our current home before we even know if we'll be moving or not.

If things don't go well then we've just given up our home in the city where my partner had a job and the time spent over this year studying to gain access to the uni.

Providing all does go well and we're accepted, then we only have a couple of weeks to find a suitable place in Oxford and actually move.

And there are so few places available that are 1 bedroom flats that will accept you if you are a student. We aren't looking for a studio flat or a bedroom in a house share. We are a couple who value our privacy and need more space than most studios provide.

If we can't find a place in time, what the hell are we meant to do? We cant exactly just move into a house share temporarily because then where would we keep all our furniture and belongings. Maybe we could put it all into storage but that's going to be a cost we really don't need with Oxford renting prices.

Then we have the situation that even if we throw all our stuff into storage where we don't have to worry about it... Nearly no house share will accept us for one other reason... One small fluffy reason... Our cat who will be coming on the ride with us will need to stay wherever we are.

We're mature students we've lived a bit of life and so we have things like furniture and a pet, we have possessions that we can't just 'leave with our parents'. Mature Students with whole families move to go to uni, so there must be others in this boat.

Have you been through this and do you have any advice? Is it at all possible to request that a uni asks for your results earlier (I know that they can request the results for access courses in July when they're marked but I'm not sure if they will just because we ask them to) and hope that they accept us earlier to give us longer to move?

I'm really at a loss for new ideas anyone have an idea from a different angle?

Thanks in advance~

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 1

threeportdrift

Careers Forum Helper

Original post by Shinusuke_Akki

...........

I've been in similar situations, but there is no ideal situation. Suggestions are -

1. Zero chance of getting results early - there's a quasi legal process and the Uni can't and won't budge on that.

2. Have a discussion with your current landlord about handing in your notice - while they will obviously not want a gap in tenancy, demand is high in Bristol and they might be prepared to accept your notice, go slow on refilling, and re-accept you if the move doesn't come off - if you've been good tenants, that is a better option for them.

3. Build relationships with Letting Agents in Oxford, stressing your 'maturity' not your student status. Be clear about your need for an established, 'family' type accommodation suitable for a cat. They will have a much more nuanced knowledge of landlords and who will flex the 'no students' and 'no pets' rules for the right sort of tenant. I think you will be surprised at how many will.

4. Storage companies like Yellow Box usually have quite significant discounts for the first 6-8 weeks, and you can negotiate a bit, so storage, while not good money to be spending, might be less that you think.

5. Don't mention that cat, and if it gets found during an inspection, pretend it's an emergency rescue from a family member in hospital - but I didn't say that!

6. You could look and see if there are any affordable monday to Friday rooms available in Oxford, but :/

Reply 2

starry_n3bula

Just to add, unis normally have 'family accommodation' (flats for mature student couples/families) so this is an option you might want to consider. This kind of uni accommodation is quite/very limited (unlike halls), and in the case of Oxford Brookes they recommend you email them to enquire as early as possible (so enquire either before you have applied for your courses or promptly once you have applied, and make an accommodation application as early as is allowed)

More info here:
https://www.brookes.ac.uk/international/accommodation/

Reply 3

Schadenfreude65

With Access courses, you get your grades as you go along, although they are subject to moderation. This means you should have a good idea as to whether you have achieved the required grades by early summer. Unless your offer is for 45 distinctions, you should know whether it's safe to give notice to your landlord 2 months ahead of your moving date.