Private accommodation

Hm, re-read my post, I meant that I haven't found any flats yet, bad wording perhaps.

I know this thread is a bit old now; but I have been wondering.

How common is it for students to live out in private accomodation? Do the majority instead, to avoid the camping out side the estate agents, stay in halls for the majority of their degree?

A lot of people go out of halls, a lot stay in... it's been harder to get places back in halls this year due to the uni once again oversubscribing the amount of people starting in 1st year (i think)...but yeh, a lot of people move into private accommmodation. The majority of people in hall this year were 1st years. A lot of people also go out of halls for 2nd and 3rd year, and return for their final year.

Myself and a few friends are moving out of hall, but staying in Uni accommodation, going to Albany Park (applied as a group for one of the houses)...I know quite a few others doing this, but know more people going private. The problem is private accommoodation is both expensive and very competitive (people camping outside estate agents etc) AND you have to pay the bills etc...

Sorry, probs not very informative... but yeh there are a lot of people doing both... I guess wait until you get to that stage and see whether a) you want to apply somewhere individually (probs best in this case to apply back to a hall, b) you want to apply as a group - and then decide whether private or uni accomm is best suited...

Plenty of people stay in halls for their entire degree, so I wouldn't worry about being an old freak :-)

By halls I also meant places like Albany park etc... Is there a lot of migration from places like New Hall/Sallies etc to self catered university run places?

Haha this all stems from my dad being SO keen for me to stay in university halls as long as possible to avoid the stress of bills and such like you said...But I wouldn't want to be some old freak

Thaanks

Hey! I am a French applicant to the University of St Andrews, I was chosen by my Erasmus co-ordinator to spend one year at St Andrews next year, and it would be my distinct honour to do so. I am already looking for private accommodation as I have checked for university accommodation prices, and am not entirely satisfied with them (they charge £270 monthly for the cheapest ones unless I am mistaken, as I am only considering self-catered accommodation). Are there any websites where I could look for flat-mates or joint occupancies? I know there is a St Andrews-sponsored website but as of yet I have received no matriculation number and thus cannot have any access to such data. Any idea? I have already had a look at Eve Brown and Pagan Osborne, the latter requires an application form.

Self-catered accommodation (well Albany Park, not DRA or New Hall) will be a cheaper option for you than private renting in pretty much most circumstances. In the price, remember in uni accomm you have all your bills already paid (electricity, heating, internet etc).

I'm in Albany Park this year, and I am paying a lot less than any of my friends who are in private accommodation....

If you're set on going into private, maybe have a look on TheSinner.net as there be ads of people looking for an extra flatmate or whatever

Many thanks for the quick answer! I'm not especially keen on going private, actually I'm just seeking for the cheapest solution. I have singled out two university accommodation so far, i.e. Albany Park and Fife Park, I think the former charges about £285 a month. Albany Park seems somewhat more appealing! Are you satisfied with the facilities? You mentioned all bills are paid as part of the price, does it include water? Anyway, thanks again!

Quite alright!
Erm Fife Park is gradually being replaced by DRA so I don't know how available the cheap Fife Park will be for when you are here! I would def recommend Albany though, I really like it here! And it's only about 20 seconds from your door to East Sands which is rather nice
Yes, ALL bills are paid, water included! Only thing not paid for is the phone, you can set up online ResNet payments for that, or just not which I think is most common!

Well, I'll settle in St Andrews as of September 2010 so I'm checking after whatever is on offer! Does the accommodation fees include access to Internet? Many thanks for the useful information!