Accommodation at KCL

Hey,

I'm a second-year who currently lives at SSA. SSA is a decent accommodation because of its location, with shops nearby, Waterloo station, and accessibility to all the campuses. It does get loud sometimes because it is an accommodation, but it's not disruptive or anything like that. The fire alarm does go off quite a bit because most people here are first years and sort of mess around a bit, like smoke in rooms, or blow-dry hair right underneath the fire alarm. My biggest complaint is definitely the bathroom style because it's a washroom and does get the bathroom floor wet, but that's not a major issue because it does dry quite quickly. Rooms are getting renovated, but not all have been done, but I suppose by September 2025 they would have finished all rooms. Overall a good accommodation, nice people at reception, security is always there, and very sociable.

As for looking for somewhere to live after first year, the only difference is that you are not guaranteed anywhere to live, because all first years at KCL have guaranteed accommodation, given the register before a certain date. You have the option of still going for a room at King's accommodation, I find they are generally more cheaper than looking privately for student accommodation. If you go private, you either have to be willing to pay more, or stay further away, or share a bathroom. King's also have KAAS, which you can apply for if you meet certain qualifications, which allows you to have access to book certain accommodations for cheaper rent, which has helped me so far. Rooms always go fast so you have to be vigilant, since they release rooms in batches and at random times. Other than student accommodation, you may choose to do a house share with people you meet during your first year at uni, but I wouldn't be able to give any insight on the costs or what that's like as I'm staying accommodation throughout my time here. Btw, if you're gonna go for private accommodation at any point during your time at King's, I recommend to start looking in December/January, as the private places open for booking earlier than King's accommodation does, which is around March (the specifics change every year, but you just keep up to date on the website).

Hope this helps, but feel free to ask any more questions!

Thank you so much!! This is so helpful.

What was the process like getting the accommodation for SSA if you don't mind me asking? Is it based on whoever applies first or how is it done? No worries if you're not comfortable talking about that.

Thanks so much again!!

No problem, happy to help!

KCL has a slightly different accommodation process to other unis, from what I've been told. You have to register interest in accommodation, and then you're given an invite to book at a later date, and only from that date onwards can you access a room to book. The date given is first come first served, so you would wanna keep an eye on the website or social media for when registration opens, but the rooms are not all just put onto the system at the same time. So for SSA, batches are released at random times, and because it is a popular accommodation, they are also bought out quite quickly. The number of rooms per batch also kind of depends on how big the accommodation is, so there's always rooms for Angel Lane because it is one of the biggest accommodations, and I don't think it is as popular because of its distance. I actually didn't book SSA until results day and I had a room at Wolfson House until then. On results day it is the same situation, except obviously less rooms to release because most rooms have already been taken up by then.

Hey,

I'm a second-year who currently lives at SSA. SSA is a decent accommodation because of its location, with shops nearby, Waterloo station, and accessibility to all the campuses. It does get loud sometimes because it is an accommodation, but it's not disruptive or anything like that. The fire alarm does go off quite a bit because most people here are first years and sort of mess around a bit, like smoke in rooms, or blow-dry hair right underneath the fire alarm. My biggest complaint is definitely the bathroom style because it's a washroom and does get the bathroom floor wet, but that's not a major issue because it does dry quite quickly. Rooms are getting renovated, but not all have been done, but I suppose by September 2025 they would have finished all rooms. Overall a good accommodation, nice people at reception, security is always there, and very sociable.

As for looking for somewhere to live after first year, the only difference is that you are not guaranteed anywhere to live, because all first years at KCL have guaranteed accommodation, given the register before a certain date. You have the option of still going for a room at King's accommodation, I find they are generally more cheaper than looking privately for student accommodation. If you go private, you either have to be willing to pay more, or stay further away, or share a bathroom. King's also have KAAS, which you can apply for if you meet certain qualifications, which allows you to have access to book certain accommodations for cheaper rent, which has helped me so far. Rooms always go fast so you have to be vigilant, since they release rooms in batches and at random times. Other than student accommodation, you may choose to do a house share with people you meet during your first year at uni, but I wouldn't be able to give any insight on the costs or what that's like as I'm staying accommodation throughout my time here. Btw, if you're gonna go for private accommodation at any point during your time at King's, I recommend to start looking in December/January, as the private places open for booking earlier than King's accommodation does, which is around March (the specifics change every year, but you just keep up to date on the website).

Hope this helps, but feel free to ask any more questions!

Hey,

I'm a second-year who currently lives at SSA. SSA is a decent accommodation because of its location, with shops nearby, Waterloo station, and accessibility to all the campuses. It does get loud sometimes because it is an accommodation, but it's not disruptive or anything like that. The fire alarm does go off quite a bit because most people here are first years and sort of mess around a bit, like smoke in rooms, or blow-dry hair right underneath the fire alarm. My biggest complaint is definitely the bathroom style because it's a washroom and does get the bathroom floor wet, but that's not a major issue because it does dry quite quickly. Rooms are getting renovated, but not all have been done, but I suppose by September 2025 they would have finished all rooms. Overall a good accommodation, nice people at reception, security is always there, and very sociable.

As for looking for somewhere to live after first year, the only difference is that you are not guaranteed anywhere to live, because all first years at KCL have guaranteed accommodation, given the register before a certain date. You have the option of still going for a room at King's accommodation, I find they are generally more cheaper than looking privately for student accommodation. If you go private, you either have to be willing to pay more, or stay further away, or share a bathroom. King's also have KAAS, which you can apply for if you meet certain qualifications, which allows you to have access to book certain accommodations for cheaper rent, which has helped me so far. Rooms always go fast so you have to be vigilant, since they release rooms in batches and at random times. Other than student accommodation, you may choose to do a house share with people you meet during your first year at uni, but I wouldn't be able to give any insight on the costs or what that's like as I'm staying accommodation throughout my time here. Btw, if you're gonna go for private accommodation at any point during your time at King's, I recommend to start looking in December/January, as the private places open for booking earlier than King's accommodation does, which is around March (the specifics change every year, but you just keep up to date on the website).

Hope this helps, but feel free to ask any more questions!