The Student Room Group
On campus at the University of Southampton
University of Southampton
Southampton
Visit website

The Ask a Current University of Southampton Student Thread!

Hello and welcome to the Ask a Southampton Student thread. :biggrin:

Many thanks to @Joli for starting this thread originally. :smile:


I'm CheeseIsVeg, I study Chemistry at the University of Bristol and I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. :woo:

Also around to answer questions are:
@Lilfreckles541 (Biomed student)
@MedicalMuffins (Medicine student)
@cherry1011 (Medicine student)
@hrusse2 (recent offer holder for Archaeology & anthropology)

Feel free to tag them below. :grin:

Tag one of us in this thread and we'll be sure to get back to you with an answer to your question(s). :banana:

For a big list of "Ask a Student" threads, click here.
(edited 3 years ago)

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
Hey all!

Some of the other university boards have this, so thought it might be worth doing something like this for the University of Southampton.

I'm a current student, as are quite a few of the others who have been posting here, but thought it might be useful to have a single thread with just questions and answers in to make it a bit easier to ask and get a definite and quick reply, and to see other answers. I've had a few questions sent individually, and again, it's probably best if everyone can see the questions and answers more easily :smile:

So if you're thinking of coming here (or about to start here), ask away! Whether it's about halls, courses, facilities, Southampton life, nightlife, things to do, meeting people, the atmosphere or just what it's like to be here - ask away!

If you're a current student, feel free to help! :smile:

If you do post in here, I'll do my best to reply within the day!
On campus at the University of Southampton
University of Southampton
Southampton
Visit website
Reply 2
Original post by Joli
Hey all!

Some of the other university boards have this, so thought it might be worth doing something like this for the University of Southampton.

I'm a current student, as are quite a few of the others who have been posting here, but thought it might be useful to have a single thread with just questions and answers in to make it a bit easier to ask and get a definite and quick reply, and to see other answers. I've had a few questions sent individually, and again, it's probably best if everyone can see the questions and answers more easily :smile:

So if you're thinking of coming here (or about to start here), ask away! Whether it's about halls, courses, facilities, Southampton life, nightlife, things to do, meeting people, the atmosphere or just what it's like to be here - ask away!

If you're a current student, feel free to help! :smile:

If you do post in here, I'll do my best to reply within the day!


In general, how expensive do you find living in Southampton? Like in terms of accommodation/nightlife etc? I was hoping to find a sort of breakdown of this in the prospectus but couldn't, so was hoping you could give me a bit of an idea!
Reply 3
Original post by Joli
Hey all!

Some of the other university boards have this, so thought it might be worth doing something like this for the University of Southampton.

I'm a current student, as are quite a few of the others who have been posting here, but thought it might be useful to have a single thread with just questions and answers in to make it a bit easier to ask and get a definite and quick reply, and to see other answers. I've had a few questions sent individually, and again, it's probably best if everyone can see the questions and answers more easily :smile:

So if you're thinking of coming here (or about to start here), ask away! Whether it's about halls, courses, facilities, Southampton life, nightlife, things to do, meeting people, the atmosphere or just what it's like to be here - ask away!

If you're a current student, feel free to help! :smile:

If you do post in here, I'll do my best to reply within the day!


Hi, maybe I can't arrive in Southampton to join the international week, is it important?
If I receive my room later, does it mean I have greater chance to live with undergraduate students?
Reply 4
Original post by crowsy
In general, how expensive do you find living in Southampton? Like in terms of accommodation/nightlife etc? I was hoping to find a sort of breakdown of this in the prospectus but couldn't, so was hoping you could give me a bit of an idea!


Overall, I've found Southampton very afforadble! I'm from quite a poor background and survived purely off the money from the student loans company and a job here or there while at university for a little extra.

You're probably looking at about £15-£30 per week on food (depending on preferences), £80 a week on halls accommodation, and alcohol and nightlife - well, it's cheap, so how much is up to you!

For accommodation costs, in first year, the best place to look is here on the accommodation fees pages, ranging from about £75 per week at the cheapest to around £100 per week if you're going for catered. After first year, most student houses go for around £65-£75 per week plus a small amount for bills.

For nightlife, Southampton's got a great selection. There's the union bars and nightclub on campus which are reasonable, then lots of cheap places around the surrounding area. Then you've got the places in Portswood and Bedford Place which are the typical student areas to go, student targetted and therefore CHEAP! Most do ridiculously cheap student nights a couple of nights a week and everywhere has different nights, so you can have it cheap all week - including the legendary Jesters with it's 50p pints and cheapest alcohol you can find :wink:

After visiting some of my friends at other universities, I'm always happy to come back to Southampton and it's cheap prices! The night life is cheap, the temptation is to avoid the temptation for curry afterwards :wink: There's some more specifics on the wiki page if you haven't seen it yet.

For food and living supplies, we've got a massive new Sainsburys that's opened, and Asda, LIDL, ALDI and similar places. There's a great market which comes directly to campus every Monday selling fresh but cheap groceries, vegetables, meats, fish and even cookies, which is incredibly useful! On campus, the students union cafe is generally great for a cheap breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack during the day - just over £2 in the morning for a mega breakfast which fills you for most of the day!

From personal experience, I found it incredibly affordable but all the while not feeling as if I was surviving off nothing - a lot of it is just being wise with money, but I've found Southampton makes this easy :smile:

If you'd like any specifics, I'd be happy to go into more detail.

Original post by summer_sg
Hi, maybe I can't arrive in Southampton to join the international week, is it important?
If I receive my room later, does it mean I have greater chance to live with undergraduate students?


Not to worry! The international week is a good time to meet others and move in earlier, and there's some events on during that time, but that's not the only opportunity! There's plenty of things going on all through the year (both general events, and events aimed specifically at international students), plus the main freshers that's a little later and of course, you'll be meeting everyone in your halls and on your course and in any societies you choose to join as well. Southampton's got a lovely and very welcoming community, so it's easy to fit in later :-)

Not sure on the second question - might be one best asked to the accommodation office - if it's something you want/don't want, probably best to let them know your preference!

-

Hope this helps :smile:
Original post by Joli
Overall, I've found Southampton very afforadble! I'm from quite a poor background and survived purely off the money from the student loans company and a job here or there while at university for a little extra.

You're probably looking at about £15-£30 per week on food (depending on preferences), £80 a week on halls accommodation, and alcohol and nightlife - well, it's cheap, so how much is up to you!

For accommodation costs, in first year, the best place to look is here on the accommodation fees pages, ranging from about £75 per week at the cheapest to around £100 per week if you're going for catered. After first year, most student houses go for around £65-£75 per week plus a small amount for bills.

For nightlife, Southampton's got a great selection. There's the union bars and nightclub on campus which are reasonable, then lots of cheap places around the surrounding area. Then you've got the places in Portswood and Bedford Place which are the typical student areas to go, student targetted and therefore CHEAP! Most do ridiculously cheap student nights a couple of nights a week and everywhere has different nights, so you can have it cheap all week - including the legendary Jesters with it's 50p pints and cheapest alcohol you can find :wink:

After visiting some of my friends at other universities, I'm always happy to come back to Southampton and it's cheap prices! The night life is cheap, the temptation is to avoid the temptation for curry afterwards :wink: There's some more specifics on the wiki page if you haven't seen it yet.

For food and living supplies, we've got a massive new Sainsburys that's opened, and Asda, LIDL, ALDI and similar places. There's a great market which comes directly to campus every Monday selling fresh but cheap groceries, vegetables, meats, fish and even cookies, which is incredibly useful! On campus, the students union cafe is generally great for a cheap breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack during the day - just over £2 in the morning for a mega breakfast which fills you for most of the day!

From personal experience, I found it incredibly affordable but all the while not feeling as if I was surviving off nothing - a lot of it is just being wise with money, but I've found Southampton makes this easy :smile:

If you'd like any specifics, I'd be happy to go into more detail.


Hope this helps :smile:


I was just about to ask about living costs.
Thank you very much, that was really helpful.:smile:

What would you say the cheapest shop for food is, that is not too far from the Glen Eyre campus?
Reply 6
Original post by Minty_Cheese
I was just about to ask about living costs.
Thank you very much, that was really helpful.:smile:

What would you say the cheapest shop for food is, that is not too far from the Glen Eyre campus?


There are various small shops (Tesco express, Sainsbury's local, a co-op) along Burgess Road, a couple of minutes walk from Glen Eyre. There's also the students union shop on campus.

However, if you want to go cheaper and bigger, given you get a free bus pass, hop onto a bus to Portswood and go to the big giant Sainsburys that's opened, or catch one headed into town and go to ASDA or some of the other choices for a bit cheaper still. Then catch the bus back with your heavy bags of shopping! Doesn't take long, and the buses run incredibly frequently (and again, they're free!)

Everywhere is easily reachable, and you've got a good selection :smile:

Hope this helps!
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 7
Hey joli! Thank you so much for the thread :tongue:
im a postgrad and gonna be moving into monte 3 :smile:

1- what should i bring thats absolutely necessary for the halls? it says they have a bedding pack for £20, is it worth it? if not, is there a nearby place that i can buy things like bedding, cutlery, plates etc?

2- speaking of plates, are kitchens completely empty? What is provided?

3-are there any good tech and game shops around? :smile: what are they called if you rememer any?

4- also, do we need to get a desk lamp or is there one in the rooms :P

5- Which bank has the most atms and branches around Southampton? Any that you would recommend :P?

Thanks in advance!
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 8
Original post by Joli

After visiting some of my friends at other universities, I'm always happy to come back to Southampton and it's cheap prices! The night life is cheap, the temptation is to avoid the temptation for curry afterwards :wink: There's some more specifics on the wiki page if you haven't seen it yet.


Which universities are you comparing it to as being a cheapie? Sorry, I'll be working to a ridiculously tight budget, but I love Southampton so so so much so I'm just trying to see if I can justify that as a decision!
Reply 9
thanks for your reply Joli ^^
Reply 10
Hey. I will have nothing more than £70 a week after accommodation. i dont drink and im majorly vegetarian. how much should i budget a week for groceries and what do yu think i should eat?
Hey I'm doing a modern languages degree - do we have half term or reading week??
Current Soton student! I think this thread is an awesome idea.
Reply 13
Original post by crowsy
Which universities are you comparing it to as being a cheapie? Sorry, I'll be working to a ridiculously tight budget, but I love Southampton so so so much so I'm just trying to see if I can justify that as a decision!


My advice will come down to saying that you want to spend the next years of your life at a place that you love. If Southampton is that place (I might be biased, but where better!?), you should go for it. I've got friends who have survived on accomodation + £10 budget per week and still had an amazing time (vegetables become your friends). In first year, there are halls, but the prices vary quite well based on what you want. After first year, there's a massive selection of housing - if you don't mind a longer walk in, the prices go down, so you'll be able to fit in the budget. Don't forget there's some generous bursaries (dependent on what you get from the SLC - if the SLC helps you, the university helps you as well) and scholarships and such as well. You also won't suffer from missing out from the amazing things that the university has to offer, as you get a £300 entitlement card included in your tuition fees, to spend on clubs, societies and university facilities.

You can always make it work, so really don't worry! There are enough people who are living off the bare minimum with no additional support (some of whom are my friends).

What are your specific budgetary concerns, and I'd be happy to go into more detail? Halls? Accommodation? Nightlife/social life? Food? General living costs?

Original post by iwearnexus
Hey. I will have nothing more than £70 a week after accommodation. i dont drink and im majorly vegetarian. how much should i budget a week for groceries and what do yu think i should eat?


That's a very good amount to have per week after accommodation! If you make use of the great prices at the market which comes around to the university every week, you can stack up on a lot of vegetables (and other things, like cheese etc.) for a pretty good price. You could probably do well on between £15-£25 for food, but it depends on what you like to eat and how much! It's a great chance to try out a load of new recipes and experiment, see what you can cook up that you like, and you'll quickly end up with favourites and knowing what works and what doesn't. If you're in halls (are you going self-catered?), you can share and learn good meals with others!

Original post by princess.leia
Hey I'm doing a modern languages degree - do we have half term or reading week??


As far as I am aware, there are no set or specific reading weeks on the timetable. Some lecturers may leave some gaps, however. What variation of modern languages are you thinking of doing, and I can ask around and get a more definite answer for you!

--

Hope this helps all :-)

Sorry for the late reply, the student room decided to stop emailing me about replies!
Original post by Joli

As far as I am aware, there are no set or specific reading weeks on the timetable. Some lecturers may leave some gaps, however. What variation of modern languages are you thinking of doing, and I can ask around and get a more definite answer for you!

--

Hope this helps all :-)


I'm studying spanish and portuguese, from the timetable I've got at the moment (it's not complete yet) there doesn't seem to be one as my language classes go from week 1 to 11 but I'm not sure if there's a reading week in there too. If you could ask around that'd be great thanks :biggrin:
Reply 15
Original post by tuile
Hey joli! Thank you so much for the thread :tongue:
im a postgrad and gonna be moving into monte 3 :smile:

1- what should i bring thats absolutely necessary for the halls? it says they have a bedding pack for £20, is it worth it? if not, is there a nearby place that i can buy things like bedding, cutlery, plates etc?

2- speaking of plates, are kitchens completely empty? What is provided?



The list of what is provided can be found here. It's pretty minimal though. However, what you find is that lots of people arrive with all kinds of random things and you tend to share. Furthermore, lots of people on arriving all go out shopping with their new flat mates to get things to share between them for common stuff for the kitchen.

There's plenty of places to go to get things like bedding, cutlery, plates etc. - you have a lot of picks in Southampton, but a trip down town will probably solve most of this for you (make use of your free bus pass!).

It's sometimes worth waiting on things to see what everyone else brings - you sometimes end up with about 7 toasters in one kitchen! In my hall, when I started, we ended up bringing all kinds of random things thrown to us by our parents, ignored most of that, and took a trip down town together to buy our shared essentials - from frying pans to toasters to plates. We shared it all up equally afterwards when we moved on to private accommodation.


3-are there any good tech and game shops around? :smile: what are they called if you rememer any?


You've got all your usuals. Game, PC world, Curries, HMV, Apple, John Lews etc. places like that down town. There's various other small shops as well with more specialist things, like Portswood Computers for computer hardware. Also, really brilliant is CeX, a tech and game exchange store in town, which I've used many a time to pick up cheap games and tech kit! It's massive, and caters to PC, consoles, and all the gadgets.

Of course, most people order on Amazon and have it delivered to their halls - it'll be there sitting in reception ready for you to pick up when you want!

Anything in particular you're looking for?


4- also, do we need to get a desk lamp or is there one in the rooms :P


Something for your first shopping trip if you think you need one ;-) - when in a halls room though, there isn't too much difference between the main light and a desk light!


5- Which bank has the most atms and branches around Southampton? Any that you would recommend :P?


HSBC, Lloyds, Natwest, Santander all have branches on campus, which is really handy. However, Halifax and Barclays and the others have some only a few minutes away. If you need to do bank business, you're never far away, so it's really your own preference.

Personally, I've always used Natwest - the branch is friendly, it's convenient, and I've never had a problem.

Remember that with a student account, you can use your card in any of the ATMs on campus or nearby, so it doesn't play much of a factor in terms of getting money out. There's plenty of ATMs all over campus, so getting money is never a problem, plus everywhere on campus does cash back, which is handy when you pay by card and want to top up on cash as well!


Thanks in advance!


Hope this helps :smile:

---

Also, make sure you come along to the Freshers Week events for postgraduates, and in particular, the Postgrad Welcome!
(edited 11 years ago)
Thanks Joli for all your detailed answers in this thread! Just wondering how you would go about getting a part time job that can be flexible around studying and what sort of jobs are available? Thanks!
Original post by 1platinum
Thanks Joli for all your detailed answers in this thread! Just wondering how you would go about getting a part time job that can be flexible around studying and what sort of jobs are available? Thanks!


Lots of pubs and clubs recruit, and the uni has it's own facilities to help you to find part time/flexible employment. Then there is the option to become a student ambassador and work a the uni during open days etc.
Reply 18
Original post by Joli
My advice will come down to saying that you want to spend the next years of your life at a place that you love. If Southampton is that place (I might be biased, but where better!?), you should go for it. I've got friends who have survived on accomodation + £10 budget per week and still had an amazing time (vegetables become your friends). In first year, there are halls, but the prices vary quite well based on what you want. After first year, there's a massive selection of housing - if you don't mind a longer walk in, the prices go down, so you'll be able to fit in the budget. Don't forget there's some generous bursaries (dependent on what you get from the SLC - if the SLC helps you, the university helps you as well) and scholarships and such as well. You also won't suffer from missing out from the amazing things that the university has to offer, as you get a £300 entitlement card included in your tuition fees, to spend on clubs, societies and university facilities.

You can always make it work, so really don't worry! There are enough people who are living off the bare minimum with no additional support (some of whom are my friends).

What are your specific budgetary concerns, and I'd be happy to go into more detail? Halls? Accommodation? Nightlife/social life? Food? General living costs?



Cheers for that, I've done 18 months at uni already so I am used to budgeting, I was just fortunate enough to have my parents support during that time. I doubt I will be entitled to much more than the minimum loan as my parents have said they won't support me financially this time around. I'm working for a year now, but that may have to pay for my first year in fees, so I'm basically in a bit of a pickle there. I'm not work shy, and worked for the whole time I was at uni before which meant I could lead quite an extravagant lifestyle, but unforeseen circumstances etc will be knocking that on the head next time around!

Have you got any info about the ease of getting a job whilst studying at Southampton? Like is there a "job centre" thing in the union or anything? Also if you know anything about the available journalism opportunities as extra curriculars available that would be great!

In terms of my budget, I can cook, I pride myself on the fact that I didn't once have a ready meal in my first year :biggrin: so going self-catered is definitely for me. Obviously not that bothered about an en-suite! I do go out A LOT though (how is Soton nightlife too?) which is where my majority budget is. I would also probbaly look at joining a gym (is there a uni one), although if it's a relatively flat place (which I believe it is!) I could probably fore-go that! I would also want to join the Tennis society/team/thing.

Thank you so much, I know I'm a whiny bugger; I haven't been able to get to any open days cause of work (and the fact that Soton is about as far away as I can get!) oh, one last thing whilst I'm at it. I'll be 21 when moving into halls, and I'm a little bit like "oh i don't know if i want to live with screamy 18 year old who've left home for the first time" is this likely to happen, or is there anything in place to put similar aged students together, like I have seen at some other unis?

Again thank you :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin: massive rep for you
Reply 19
TL;DR: What are the rules regarding video streaming in the halls and on campus? Do on-demand services require you to have a TV licence? If video services are restricted, where is the nearest free internet hotspot?

This is a great idea for a thread! Thanks! :biggrin:

I have a question about watching videos online for entertainment purposes; what sites are permitted, if any? I'm not planning on downloading or watching anything illegally/illicitly on non-licensed websites, so this isn't so much a legal thing as it is a University policy question, since there might be bandwidth issues or other issues.

There are three main categories of video sites I wanted to check:

1) On-Demand services; I've read quite a few people saying that people who watch this might need a TV licence, or that so long as the device isn't plugged into the mains you are covered by your parents' TV licence...? I'm pretty confused about all of this

2) YouTube; no need for a TV licence, but still possibly issues with bandwidth consumption.

3) CrunchyRoll; pretty obscure, but it is a legal, licensed video site that has (on-demand) TV from Japan. I'm pretty sure I don't need a TV licence for this, but again possibly issues with bandwidth consumption.


Thank you! :smile:
(edited 11 years ago)

Quick Reply

Latest