Accomadation not what I was after

Hello
Now I recently got my accomadation offer from Leeds, the university that I've wanted to go to since the start of my a levels, and simply put the accomadation that I've been offered is not exactly the one I wanted. Now I'm not being picky but the halls are Liberty Dock and I've been reading reviews looking at photos of the rooms and it seems to be a 50/50 experience, some people give it 4 stars saying that the rooms are environment are brilliant but people draw mention to the fact that the halls are 50 minutes walk from the campus, and that the accomadation is split up between the 3 universities in Leeds, some people say the social side is really good, because the halls are so far away the people tend to stick together. And it is also rated as the worst accomadation available to Leeds students. My question is do I accept the offer as I have really wanted to go to Leeds and just hope that I have a good experience or are the weaknesses in location and possibly social side enough to maybe make me defer my place or go for my second choice in Liverpool, I've tried to ask to have my flat changed but they said it can't be done until October, and I don't really want to move into a new flat late. I guess my main question is would a bad hall massively affect my overall experience?
Thanks

Reply 1

lindaliserl

Hi, my daughter has also been allocated Liberty Dock and is very unhappy. My advice is to ignore the poor reviews - it is not the building that makes a community - it is the residents. She is not concerned about the distance to the Uni rather that there doesn't seem to be anywhere to get together and relax. Your experience will be what you make it and if students like you and my daughter get together in freshers week I'm sure that it will be fine.

University of Leeds

Leeds

Reply 2

sfosterr

Hey, I was in the exact same position as you last year. I got offered Liberty Dock and I was gutted about the distance etc too. But here is my HONEST opinion.

Firstly, it isn't that bad at all. As for the distance, it is no way a 50 minute walk. Once you know the route, it'll take about 35 minutes if you're strolling. And there is a great bus route, it's from right outside the halls to right outside the university and that takes about 30 minutes on an average day. It's actually in a good location aside from that, like a 10 minute walk to the bus station and about a 5 minute car ride to the train station, again there are direct buses to take you there which aren't long at all. The town centre is really nearby and it makes it really easy to walk to and from certain clubs. The area is mega pretty & I honestly really loved it as I settled in.

As for the comment about it being split between 3 universities, I honestly never met a person from anywhere other than uni of Leeds. And I knew a lot of people. They try and group you together with people in your university and it is mostly uni of students. And even if you are paired with someone not from your university, the majority of your block will be at uni of. trust me. Don't let the distance put you off. It's not that bad. You just hop on the 28 bus right outside of uni and in half an hour you'll get to the front of Liberty Dock, and that's only because of the amount of stops it does. If you get a taxi, it takes just under 10 minutes, which isn't far at all.

If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask me! But I'm even considering moving back to this accommodation after my second year is done, don't let it put you off!