Accomodation at Imperial

After first year, you get thrown out of halls and have to find your own place to live. Obviously student accomodation is never going to be that amazing, but the demand for housing in London is extremely high anyway, so how hard is it to get cheap student accomodation that is nice? (by nice I mean suitable for a human to live in)

Also, as most student houses are probably most likely to be a bus/tube ride away from Imperial, does this affect your social life in the college? i.e. do you ever find yourself not being bothered to travel across London to get to there?

And also, how easy is it to make friends in first year that you can then go on to share accommodation with in second/third year?

And another thing, totally unrelated to accommodation. The workload at Imperial: is it really that bad?

I was wondering, are the shared rooms (twin rooms) single sex or could they lump a guy and a girl in together? I'd much rather have a female roomie

Dont quote me on this, but I think I read somewhere that its single sex only.

Room sharing mixed results, I know some that have been amazing for friends, other that have made work and one where the 2 just had to try and not strangle each other for a year (rugger bugger and gay as a christmas tree in the same room was never going to work well, even then they made it work)

I am crying with laughter.

This thread is making me really want to go to Imperial! (Sorry for pointless comment)

It made my corridor dynamics, 'interesting' shall we say

I can imagine! Corridors etc aren't single sex, are they? And what are the bathrooms like? (for the non ensuite people) I mean how many people share them? Is it like a proper bathroom or is it loads of shower cubicles? Also do the standard rooms have wash basins? (I'm a contact lens wearer you see) And are the kitchens a bit of a food-steal fest? I know you get your own cupboard and fridge shelf thing. And are meal times fun? I mean do all the people sharing the kitchens sit down together and eat or do they just eat in their rooms?
Sorry for the questions but nothing like getting answers from someone who experienced it first hand

I can imagine! Corridors etc aren't single sex, are they? And what are the bathrooms like? (for the non ensuite people) I mean how many people share them? Is it like a proper bathroom or is it loads of shower cubicles? Also do the standard rooms have wash basins? (I'm a contact lens wearer you see) And are the kitchens a bit of a food-steal fest? I know you get your own cupboard and fridge shelf thing. And are meal times fun? I mean do all the people sharing the kitchens sit down together and eat or do they just eat in their rooms?
Sorry for the questions but nothing like getting answers from someone who experienced it first hand

Corridors certainly aren't single-sex AFAIK. Each floor shares a kitchen, and I met two girls and a dude hanging around in their kitchen when I visited - they were from the same floor.

Corridors are not single sex. In my halls there was one all girl corridor on the top floor other than that no. And I think for security bottom floor is all guys.

I had ensuite so my total knowledge is sketchy. I think all non ensuite have a sink (all those I have seen do). (Contacts can be a pain can't they?)

The bathrooms themselves for non ensuite I have seen tend to be shower cubicles and cubicles for toilets, though some also have a bath (not that I ever used it)

Food stealing wise I never had a problem, not sure why as most people had something kicked at some point (when knew who it was and when locks were put on the kitchen doors the problem mysteriously vanished. You can lock the cupboard (I never did, I had a liberal policy regarding my pan usage). The fridge is a free for all though, protip: bag a top shelf on move in day, then if peoples stuff leaks it doesn't go on your food. Some rooms have minifidges (wilson hour I THINK) but otherwise unless you need them for medication they are a no no.

I loved meal times, but then my corridor bonded really well, one of my friends made a roast every sunday so 5/6 of us eating all together and I ended up sharing a fair few meals with the 2 I now live with. Most people at in the kitchen, we had a few shy ones (one girl who after 2 terms of being open and inviting and inclusive I had got about 5 sentences out of) but not many. Other corridors were a bit ghost towny, if you get one like that find a corridor like mine was to 'adopt' you, we had people from other floors eating in our kitchen all the time.


Anything else feel free to ask, I like helping out

I think it's hilarious how the bottom floor is all male "for security"

And oh yeah contact lenses are a pain I assume you're a wearer too. I just don't want to be running up and down the corridor look for a sink juggling my contacts stuff. Mine are soft as well which means the tiniest bit of dirt on them is like my eyes are on fire.

But thanks for all the info Stupidly overasked question but how social really is Imperial? Loads of people seem to say that the first year is a drunken daze but it gets hardcore second year on. Or is it hardcore right from the beginning? And are people up for going to the gym together and stuff because I do want to check out Ethos but I dont want to look like a saddo going there by myself when there are loads of other 4th years etc looking all muscly and looking at me like I should go home.

Yeah I am a wearer but I wear dailies (an am so pro/stupid I put them in and take the out miles from a sink )

Social wise first year for me was alot of fun, I had a drunken haze in first term certainly and the next to terms were pretty much the same with minor toning down. This year I rarely go out on the lash so to speak (only been wasted 3 times, very proud.) and it does get more serious. Compared to other unis possibly less people are up for it then elsewhere (we have team china which sit in their rooms playinf wow/working) but you will find people if you are that way inclined. As for the gym I think I used it 4 times last year (you are asking the wrong guy, I went with 3 other girl friends and we all had fun epic failing with the bench press ) but I did use the pool (now as I am based in charing cross hospital I havent been .

As for the muscly people, there are mirrors so they can be distracted with their own reflection

And another issue you pointed out, is it reeeaaalllyyy racially segregated? I mean I've lived in a multi cultural environment all my life so I want multi-race friends at university too but I'm of Indian origin so will I end up with only Indian friends? Sorry I know it's a really childish question but I'm curious that's all because I just want to fit in well.

Mine are yearlies Dailies are a lot more convenient I'd imagine though.

Oh that's a bit disappointing about the gym but I suppose I could always find someone! Basically I might as well get fit if im going to be living near a gym. But are people up for going to stuff like freshers balls and other summer balls and things like that? And another issue you pointed out, is it reeeaaalllyyy racially segregated? I mean I've lived in a multi cultural environment all my life so I want multi-race friends at university too but I'm of Indian origin so will I end up with only Indian friends? Sorry I know it's a really childish question but I'm curious that's all because I just want to fit in well.

Snap, Nikita! I'm Chinese but I've been in a multi-cultural bubble from day one (yay Malaysian upbringing)

From what I remember on my tour...whether it was in the eateries, libraries and JCR, you sometimes get little bunches of people from the same race, and bunches of people who are of different racial origins. So I doubt it's racially segregated!

My guess is that if you actively seek to mix with peeps from other cultures, you'll get that I can vouch for that -- in my school at present there are two types of Asians: there's a large group of Hong Kong-ers who keeps to themselves and "their kind" from day one, and there are select few HKers + some other Asians (Malaysian-born Chinese like me) who hang out with the non-Asian peeps regularly. The latter get dissed by the former for being "try-hards". ><

Sorry about the gym, just not my thing so can't help. You can probably find a gym buddy fairly easily.

People will be up for balls and such. Pretty much everyone I know went to the summer ball...not that I remember huge amounts of it...Freshers balls I went to both IC and the medics ones, again lots of people go. Pretty much everyone also goes to the mingle which is the first night (you may have read on here what happened to me at the mingle if you have read some of the older posts...certainly one way to break the ice )

Racial segregation is only an issue if you make it into one. Most obvious in chinese internationals who speak in chinese, I can hardly join in. In my closer friends I have a Kenyan, Luxembourgian, brazillian, Singaporean, someone from hong kong, taiwan and britsh indian, so don't worry. It will only be a problem if you exclusively go out with only other asians.

If you like people, don't have thirty heads and don't lock yourself in your room for weeks you will make friends.

Thanks for all the info, you've been a great help Can't wait for Imperial now! Just got to meet the offer