The Official UCL Accommodation Thread 2021

Hi all,

I'm an international student from the US. I was given accommodation in John Dodgson Hall. I was curious if anyone knew about the hall. Seems like it is very well located with nice rooms. Will people there be social? I just know at my university in the states, certain halls have reputations for being very social or not social at all. Curious if Dodgson has a reputation.

Also, if you're living there second and third term, let me know! Very excited to be in London!

I'm studying abroad at UCL next semester and I just received an offer to live in Ifor Evans Hall. I'm pretty bummed about how far it is from campus. Could anyone who lived there comment on your experience? Was getting to main campus a pain? Is the hall mostly study abroad students or freshmen? Is there any chance I could switch my housing to something closer to campus? Is the overnight guest policy strict?

Thanks so much for that answer. I was actually offered another room in Schafer. Which hall (Schafer or Ifor Evans) would you recommend more for a study abroad student? Is a catered hall worth it even if it means being farther from campus?

I have not been active on this thread for a good 4 years now. I stayed in Ramsay hall back in 2012 and I can say pretty resoundingly nothing really compares to the social life you experience there. It was a wonderful experience. One of my friends stayed at unite st pancreas. The facilities there were great and the accommodation was way way better than you can hope to achieve in Ramsay. The social life on the other hand wasn't so much. International students tended to stick together, and other people tended to stick with their course mates. Flat mates being at different unis also didn't help things and made it a little bit more difficult to socialise. Of course this was just her experience so it may differ for everyone else.

Thanks for your response, it was really helpful. I'm trying to find a balance between decent quality accommodation and good social life; I looked round Ramsay Hall at the open day, and wandered into Ian Baker by mistake; it seemed much nicer. I know it is self catered, but does its proximity to Ramsay mean that you get all the social benefits but nicer accommodation and self catering?

Ian baker accommodation is lovely but I am afraid to say that you don't really partake as much as you might think with Ramsay people (you would tend to hang out with other people at Ian Baker). You would definitely be able to but it wouldn't be as often as say someone who was actually staying at Ramsay. I knew about 5 people from Ian Baker when I was at Ramsay (and that is pretty rubbish considering there are over 100 rooms I think in Ian Baker?), so I am probably not the best person to ask but I did go out a couple of times with some of them. However after the 2nd month of staying there I tended to hang around with people in my corridor (it also helps that Ramsay corridors are massive). I know one of my course mates stayed at Ian baker and loved it. They use to have a load of parties there but mainly it was dinners, baking, etc. Did see a couple of pre drinks but no where to the extent of Ramsay. I guess if you make an effort to socialise with Ramsay folk you definitely can get involved with their social stuff aswell.

also a rule of thumb but the more rubbish the accommodation is the better the social life the residents experience. No matter which uni you go to this always seems to be the case and hence why Ramsey had a very good social life.

I haven't read the rest of the comments on this thread so I am just gonna throw some other points about Ramsay:
- rooms really do vary in quality and size across the different blocks.
- food in the dining hall is edible nearly every day, but don't go expecting anything "good". Breakfast is always a safe bet but dinners can be sometimes hit or miss.
- you will mostly socialise with people in your corridor.
- kitchens are tiny and there is no food served on Saturday or Sunday so be prepared. (Some kitchens are also nasty).
- if you want anything fixed in Ramsay you have to complain and make it sound more seriously that it actually is otherwise they won't do jack.
- showers tend to get clogged up and some showers are freezing as such everyone in a corridor will go to that "one shower" despite there being 3 functioning showers on a corridor.
- there was always a good mix of people in Ramsay from different courses (there may have been a couple more medics then other people but that's probably cause the cruciform where all their lectures are held is so close to Ramsay and they tend to go hard on a night out)

From the above it sounds like Ramsay is aweful but to be honest I loved it there because a) being so close to the uni you could walk back between lectures and have a quick nap (naps will be your best friend 😂)
b) students there were really nice and social
c) I couldn't cook for myself so having food after a day of 9-5 lectures was a god send, even if it wasn't the best of food.

That has made my decision much more difficult; Ramsay does sound really good, and the fact that it has music practice rooms is important to me, although the shower situation doesn't seem great. How much variation is there between the social lives of the residents; is it a huge difference between say Ramsay and Unite or Ian Baker, or is it fairly easy for people in these places to get together and go out and stuff?

Thanks again!

Do you guys know if UCL provides accommodation for students originally from London in the first year ?