Royal Holloway

Egham

30/38 week accommodation - is it worth the hassle of moving out?

I'm looking to get accommodation in Butler/Tuke/Williamson or Gowar/Wedderburn.

The price difference between a 30 and 38 week contract for Burtler/Tuke/Williamson is about £800.
Should I go for the full 38 weeks or is it worth saving the money. Also, where do you go during the contract holidays (and do you have work to be doing in that time) ?

Reply 1

toastehmonstah

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1198526

And yes, it is worth the hassle

Royal Holloway

Egham

Visit website

Reply 2

limetang

Well I guess it would depend on whether you intend on going home in the hollidays.

Reply 3

pugnacitas

Also consider how you revise. I stayed for this vacation because i'd piss away 4 weeks at home otherwise.

Reply 4

toastehmonstah

I am currently pissing away 4 weeks at home :biggrin:

although tbh I'd only be pissing it away in the Green too =/

Reply 5

WokSz

It's Royal Holiday, remember? :p:

Trust me, you're better off leaving your stuff in your room. It's a pain to move out everytime. My friends regretted in about half way through the year.

Also, end of term always has some damn good parties (the week after the official last day of University).

Reply 6

Iorek

If you're going to be living in one of those accommodations where you have to move out on xmas and easter breaks, then you better not bring as much stuff with you.

Had friends who lived in such places and my room became their store-room during the breaks when I would go away and they left their stuff at my room, still a pain :tongue:

On another break I had another friend use my room because I was going away for the full break, while he only went away for 5 days.

My guess is it depends whether or not you've got a place to go, if you do and it's convenient to move out stuff, then by all means do it.

As for whether you will have work during that time..... xmas break... you will need to be revising for your exams in Jan (in theory at least, though in practice you'd probably only be revising 1 week before :biggrin:

) during the easter break, usually it's a good time to catch up on your reading and essays... you'll usually be having plenty to do.

Reply 7

dipless

For me it is definately NOT worth the hassle, it gives me the option to stay over the holidays and work meaning i can make back the extra £800 anyway. It also means if i do go home i don't have to cart everything around with me. Finally I live a long way from where i'm going so if I had a choice I would definately choose 38 :biggrin:

But if your situation is different then the extra money will probably be more beneficial! :smile:

Reply 8

lareneg

I spend half the holidays in Egham anyway, so for me it was worth it. It's such a bore having to move everything out in the holidays though... I'd just go with the 38 week let. It also does give you the option of spending some time on campus if you don't want to spend the whole four weeks at home.

Reply 9

stef_vet?

It's a massive pain to move everything out every term, as you have to move out by about 10am the morning after the last night of term (Blowout) which is a pretty big night! If you have to rely on parents coming to pick you up too then probably go for the 38 weeks (unless you really want to save money!) During the easter holiday the libraries are open till late so you can get some work in and alternate it with sitting in the quad sampling Crossland's pimms :biggrin:

Depends on what course you're doing as to how much work you will have to do over the hols but I would think for almost all of them the easter holiday = revision and essays (or the avoidance of them!). Christmas you may have essays for some subjects but tends to be much much less

Reply 10

llacerta

I'd say it's definitely worth it in my case, but it depends on your situation.
- How far away is home for you?
- How will you get home?
- Do you have a job at home that you can return to in the holidays?
- Similarly, will you potentially have a job in Egham?
- Do you have much stuff? Are you a hoarder or are you organised?

As I live only an hour and a half away, and my parents don't mind picking me up and dropping me off, and as I have a job to return to back home in the holidays, it always made sense for me to go for the 30 week let. I really don't find moving out (and back in again) much of a hassle at all- I waited until the morning of my parents' arrival to pack up for Easter, and it took me about an hour and a half to clear the room. Plus I'd be at home anyway, so I've saved a much-needed £800.

If, however, you live a long way away, or it isn't easy for you to get home, etc., then it would make more sense to go for the longer let. Almost everyone I live with lives within a reasonable distance of the university, so no-one really complains about moving out because they're the people who it would be easiest for.

Reply 11

megannwright

Ahh this has me worried now! I have already applied for housing (30 week w, t, & b is my first choice), but now I'm not so sure! I applied to save the money, it gave me an extra £25 a week spend to my budget which I thought would be REALLY useful as a student... I suppose to me money mattered but I don't want to miss out on the fun :frown:

Reply 12

llacerta

Original post by megannwright

What fun do you miss out on with a 30 week let? Most people I know with a longer let tend to go home for at least part of the holidays anyway, and it's not like the campus is exactly lively and fun-filled at Christmas and Easter. Usually the choice between 30 and 38 weeks is to do with convenience and money, so if for you the extra £25 a week is needed, surely you'll have more fun during term time as you'll have more money to spend?

Reply 13

rlh1992

Original post by megannwright

Nothing happens during xmas and easter!!

I have the 38 week and I prefer it but I live 200 miles away from the University and my parents have jobs that mean they can't just arrive on the date and time the Uni sets.

I've come back to uni to revise and believe me it's dead. There's barely anyone who stayed. It's good cause the library etc isn't busy and I can get down to working.

Obviously it's far more convienient being able to stay a few days and stop off here whenever you please. Plus bringing things back & forward is a big deal imo.

You won't miss out on anything don't worry.

Reply 14

WokSz

Original post by rlh1992

Nothing happens during xmas and easter!!

Not true in the slightest! :smile:

Reply 15

sigma421

I've not found the 30 week let to be much of a problem. I have a friend who goes home but has a 38 week rent so I just leave stuff there. At the same time Founder's has lockers for rent where you can leave stuff and there are self-storage companies aplenty locally. This tends to be about £40 but is far less than 4 weeks rent. One (fairly huge) suitcase takes all my stuff and another flies as much as British Midland will let me take back to Scotland.

Reply 16

rlh1992

Original post by WokSz

Not true in the slightest! :smile:

What's going on at the minute then?

Cause nobody's in my flat but me, there's nobody in the flat upstairs & I've spent my entire night in Bedford, alone doing revision. Which is how I planned it anyway cause I have so much to do!

Everyone I know is doing work, at home or revising in Bedford.

The Students Union isn't doing anything, everywhere closes early & on my walk from Butler to Beford Library (a good 5 min walk) I passed 3 people.

TBH I'm a little bored!!! & I've only been here a couple of days. Gonna visit a few people & head home again for a few days I think.