The Student Room Group
University of Sussex
University of Sussex
Brighton

Official 2014/15 Sussex Freshers thread

Sussex Freshers 2014/15


Connect to University of Sussex here! You'll be able to see other applicants' grades and offers. If you enter your details it will be really helpful for other people applying.

Hi everyone, if you have an offer for Sussex in September then this is the thread to brag about it! Talk about your subject, housing choices, questions and concerns here :smile:

Some information about the Sussex campus and surrounding Brighton area:

BARS
East Slope - A cramped but cozy bar adjoining the East Slope housing. Three TV screens play football matches. Serves food. Hosts a weekly pub quiz.
Opens noon every day. Shuts 2am on Mon/Thurs/Fri. 1am on Tues/Weds/Sun and 12am on Sat
Falmer Bar- On the bottom floor of the student union building is the falmer bar. Three large rooms with a main bar and a cocktail bar. Alot of students gather here to eat and drink cheaply. Film screenings are sometimes shown in the back bar. There is an outside area which is lovely to sit in when it's sunny. Very popular post exams.

SOCIETIES
Sussex is famous for it's societies which cater to a vast array of interests, sports, dance types and hobbies. You'll find that everything is represented from vegans to video gamers.
You can find a list of societies here

HOUSING
East Slope
Pros: Quite cheap, very friendly atmosphere, "party flat". Alot of people make incredibly good friends with their East slope flatmates
Cons: If you don't enjoy noise, drinking or mess too much then this won't be the house for you. Shared showers are notoriously grim
Park Village
Pros: Open floor plan encourages social interaction. Easy to make friends. Party atmosphere
Cons: Kitchens and showers are shared by a lot of different people. Known to be quite a loud place on campus to live.
Park Houses
Pros: Cheap. This residence is a bit more like living in a house than a dorm and encourages close social ties without as much noise as east slope or park village.
Cons: Some of them are a bit messy and they're quite old.
Lewes Court
Pros: Good all-rounder. Not too pricey but fairly modern and easy to keep clean. Pay a bit extra to receive an on-suite bathroom.
Cons: No real cons except not as comfortable as swanborough/northfield and not as cheap as east slope/park village.
Brighthelm
Pros: Instead of being spaced like a dorm, brighthelm are houses that hold 5 people each. The houses foster a nice community atmosphere. Also the only residence with it's own washing machine.
Cons: Kitchen is a tad small and may be hard to keep clean with 5 people.
Stanmer Court:
Pros:Very nice pad which is right next to the train station. Known as the pad for most mature/postgrad/international students
Cons: A few extra minutes walk from campus. Pricey.
Swanborough
Pros: Opposite the co-op and quite close to all the lecture halls, the swanborough residence is the best placed on campus. Lovely large windows and comfy lounge have quite a nice community feel. En suite bathrooms
Cons: Expensive. There is a joke on campus that students in Swanborough often have more windows than friends.
Northfield
Pros: The most modern and comfortable residence on campus. Northfield almost feels like a hotel when entering.
Cons: The most expensive residence. Many students moan about the walk from the housing the campus.
(edited 9 years ago)

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Hey fresher(s).
University of Sussex
University of Sussex
Brighton
Park Houses
Pros: Cheap. This residence is a bit more like living in a house than a dorm and encourages close social ties without as much noise as east slope or park village.
Cons: Some of them are a bit messy and they're quite old.

People from Kent House want to heavily disagree with the bolded part about lack of noise...
Reply 3
What is York house like???
Is it 12 on each floor or 13
Reply 4
Original post by helpme223
What is York house like???
Is it 12 on each floor or 13


The dorms in York house are small but nice, you can fit a fridge in there (might be an idea with shared kitchens) along with your desk, sink and wardrobe.

the kitchens are shared and can get very messy. It can be a very social place to live if you keep your door open! It's also a bit noisy. Haven't seen the showers - I have no idea what they're like but I've never heard anyone complaining about them!

There is a computer room on the ground floor. I don't know if there are 12 or 13 people living there.
Reply 5
Original post by Armadillo
The dorms in York house are small but nice, you can fit a fridge in there (might be an idea with shared kitchens) along with your desk, sink and wardrobe.

the kitchens are shared and can get very messy. It can be a very social place to live if you keep your door open! It's also a bit noisy. Haven't seen the showers - I have no idea what they're like but I've never heard anyone complaining about them!

There is a computer room on the ground floor. I don't know if there are 12 or 13 people living there.



Thank you very helpful :smile:
Hey!
I'm just trying to get to grips with living costs on campus - could someone give me an idea of some basic costs please? I.e local laundrettes, cup of coffee.. Anything helpful :smile:
Original post by CharlyChip
Hey!
I'm just trying to get to grips with living costs on campus - could someone give me an idea of some basic costs please? I.e local laundrettes, cup of coffee.. Anything helpful :smile:


If it's not increased the laundrettes are £3 for a wash and £1 for 30 mins in the drier. Don't rely on the co-op for your shopping - it never had everything I wanted and it's expensive. But the bus stops by Sainsburys and when I lived on campus there was free bus to ASDA twice a week
Reply 8
Original post by SmallTownGirl
If it's not increased the laundrettes are £3 for a wash and £1 for 30 mins in the drier. Don't rely on the co-op for your shopping - it never had everything I wanted and it's expensive. But the bus stops by Sainsburys and when I lived on campus there was free bus to ASDA twice a week


Would you happen to know exactly which sainsburys it takes you to? A bit random I know but I'm trying to get a transfer so it would be helpful to know which stores are on the bus route :smile:

Also what do you know about people taking tvs with them in on-campus accommodation, like can you get a signal say if you wanted to get sky or something?
Original post by chloemily
Would you happen to know exactly which sainsburys it takes you to? A bit random I know but I'm trying to get a transfer so it would be helpful to know which stores are on the bus route :smile:

Also what do you know about people taking tvs with them in on-campus accommodation, like can you get a signal say if you wanted to get sky or something?


Sainsbury's Lewes Road. It's huge. The buses go every 5 minutes on weekdays during term time and about every 10 minutes other times.

I don't know about TVs sorry. I don't think there was an aerial socket in my room but there was one in the kitchen of my flat.
Original post by SmallTownGirl
If it's not increased the laundrettes are £3 for a wash and £1 for 30 mins in the drier. Don't rely on the co-op for your shopping - it never had everything I wanted and it's expensive. But the bus stops by Sainsburys and when I lived on campus there was free bus to ASDA twice a week


That's brilliant, thank you!
Are the buses expensive? Or are there any discounts/subsidised travel for students that you know of?
Original post by CharlyChip
That's brilliant, thank you!
Are the buses expensive? Or are there any discounts/subsidised travel for students that you know of?


Buses are more expensive than when I started. This tells you all the prices of the student tickets: http://buses.co.uk/tickets/student.aspx
Reply 12
Original post by chloemily
Would you happen to know exactly which sainsburys it takes you to? A bit random I know but I'm trying to get a transfer so it would be helpful to know which stores are on the bus route :smile:

Also what do you know about people taking tvs with them in on-campus accommodation, like can you get a signal say if you wanted to get sky or something?


No-one really takes a television with them. The signal is poor all over campus. Use iPlayer and 4od to catch up with your favourite shows. You'll be very busy having fun, going out and meeting people (maybe some lectures too) and won't have that much time to watch tv!

Original post by CharlyChip
That's brilliant, thank you!
Are the buses expensive? Or are there any discounts/subsidised travel for students that you know of?


A days bus ticket on the uni buses costs £3.50. You can buy a weekly saver ticket for about £13 which lets you use any bus in Brighton. Alternatively, buy a bike! :smile:
Original post by chloemily

Also what do you know about people taking tvs with them in on-campus accommodation, like can you get a signal say if you wanted to get sky or something?


No-one takes a TV. Use your laptop and watch things online on iplayer/tv catchup. you can always take the Tv and a HDMI cable then you can connect the laptop to the screen. :yep:

Original post by CharlyChip

Are the buses expensive? Or are there any discounts/subsidised travel for students that you know of?


Yes, very expensive. There's the free bus to ASDA which is the best option if you don't mind being up very early on a saturday i think. I took it a few times and it was me and 20 International students each time.

Best option is probably online shopping. Or cycle to Sainsburies with a large rucksack. I would always cycle places or use my motorbike (Have a box on the back for even more shopping) .

Campus food is much better with the co-op. Back in my day we only had the SU shop or a small "Martins" shop in Bramber house... :shakecane:
Original post by Armadillo
No-one really takes a television with them. The signal is poor all over campus. Use iPlayer and 4od to catch up with your favourite shows. You'll be very busy having fun, going out and meeting people (maybe some lectures too) and won't have that much time to watch tv!


Original post by Motorbiker
No-one takes a TV. Use your laptop and watch things online on iplayer/tv catchup. you can always take the Tv and a HDMI cable then you can connect the laptop to the screen. :yep:


Ok thanks for the advice :smile: I'll be bringing my tv anyway as I'm also bringing an xbox, but it looks like I'll have to say goodbye to live tv by the sounds of it! It's not a problem watching stuff on catch up it was just mainly for things like x-factor and big brother I like to be able to watch them live but I suppose you can't have everything :smile:
Original post by chloemily
Ok thanks for the advice :smile: I'll be bringing my tv anyway as I'm also bringing an xbox, but it looks like I'll have to say goodbye to live tv by the sounds of it! It's not a problem watching stuff on catch up it was just mainly for things like x-factor and big brother I like to be able to watch them live but I suppose you can't have everything :smile:


Stream it live off the Internet and play it through the TV.


You'll need a TV licence for this but if you're watching things all the time it's good value.

Posted from TSR Mobile
I'm an overseas student and wondering how much stuff to bring to the UK. If anyone could explain how much space and place to put things (clothes, textbooks etc) in dorm rooms or upload a photo of a typical residential room, it'll be very helpful!
Reply 17
Original post by Armadillo
Sussex Freshers 2014/15

Park Village

Pros: Cheap. This residence is a bit more like living in a house than a dorm and encourages close social ties without as much noise as east slope or park village.
Cons: Some of them are a bit messy and they're quite old.


Park Houses


Pros: Open floor plan encourages social interaction. Easy to make friends. Party atmosphere
Cons: Kitchens and showers are shared by a lot of different people. Known to be quite a loud place on campus to live.


Fixed :cool:
Reply 18
Original post by morethanwords
I'm an overseas student and wondering how much stuff to bring to the UK. If anyone could explain how much space and place to put things (clothes, textbooks etc) in dorm rooms or upload a photo of a typical residential room, it'll be very helpful!


Where abouts on campus are you staying?
Original post by Armadillo
Where abouts on campus are you staying?


I applied for East slope shared room.

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