[operahouse]

hello in my first year which is just complete i lived at home and did not get the full experience.

so next near I am planning to go in halls where i will be allocated with previous returning students.

I never met many people on my course and this will be like starting all over again.

my question is will basically will I meet people in the same boat as me and would there be friendships groups from previous years that will be difficult to break into.

as since I with returning students the whole concept of being like everyone and meeting everyone new is gone.

(this is similar idea to what happened this year where the people on my course in the main did not put effort into others but rather stuck with there own friends from the halls)

I am in a real pickle any advice will be great.

[rugbyladosc]

staying in halls for a second year is for dorks (or so i've heard)

[operahouse]

really? I have not heard anything about that. could anyone else back this guys claim up and if it is for "dorks" what do they do instead then?

[RoleLikeABuffalo]

^ speaking from what I've read on this thread, most people move out into their own flats with friends they would have met on their course etc...

I don't know if it's 'dorky' or anything

[Lana_07]

I know a girl who moved into halls in her third year. Next year (going into second year) I'm not living with any course mates! One is a flatmate and the other are two mutual friends! I wouldn't worry about it

[hippieglitter]

If they are putting you with returning students who are in your year, then it should be ok, as far as I know the only second years who stay in halls are the ones who didn't have friends to live with or find a house to live in. The risk is they will put you either with final year students who tend to live in halls for convenience or freshers who live in halls cos they are freshers. I didn't know any second years who stayed in halls, any who stayed on campus applied to live in the village, most of which had lived in the village as freshers and decided they liked the village and wanted to stay. Anyone else moved out either with course mates or hall friends. I on the other hand moved in with complete strangers, I would recommend that rather than going into halls. I was in halls as a fresher but didn't get on with the people I lived with and like you hadn't made a lot of friends on my course. There were two final years students looking for two new housemates so I applied and got a room and a girl who I didn't know from another course got the other room, we got on like a house on fire and are now best friends.

[SugarPuddle]

This may be a bit late or irrelevant now but due to my illness, I was offered to stay on campus for the next year. I struggled to find people to live with and then recently I did find people to live with and whilst we get on, we rarely speak and we're staying in a house with an agency which isn't very good (takes them ages to do any fixtures, lots of hidden fees) and I don't know how well I will get on with any of the people in the house. Saying this though, it means I'm covered for next summer (even though I can just move in with randomners in town or stay on campus over the summer) and it means I am close to town and close to my friends living round the corner from me. However, I don't know if it's worth living in town living with people I hardly get on with just for the sake of living in town, when I could live near my lecture halls and the library and be able to do my work efficiently instead of worrying about bills and risky agencies. Then in third year I can live with people I actually get on with well that had already sorted housing before I met them.

Usually if you're put on campus for a second year, they will accommodate you with postgraduates, other health students or reps. Plus you can sort of live the life of a fresher again, meeting brand new people and being invited to parties as well as parties in town or wherever everyone else lives. It's easy to feel left out since all your mates will live all over town, but at the same time you can't give up living somewhere that is safe and all the bills and fixtures are sorted for you asap, especially when there's so many agencies that con students out of so much money.

It's a tricky decision but the way I look at it is, your friends will probably adore living in town for a while until it starts to get colder and they're having to travel in every day or travel in to use the library. A lot of people will appreciate campus accommodation so much more.