Uni of Nottingham Accomodation: BGP, Raleigh Park or Catered?!

As the opening of accommodation for the uni of Nottingham opens in 2 days, I am still stuck for choice on what to do. I have heard a mixed bag of reviews for all halls and I am not particularly fond of going into catered accommodation.

I viewed Broadgate Park about a week ago and I wasn't really impressed. I saw a standard room and a studio both of which looked run down and the kitchens were very small. I never got the chance to view Raleigh Park but it seems to look better value for money than Broadgate (as Broadgate is 800 pound more expensive).

I'm a prospective Computer Science student so I will be having all my lectures conducted on the Jubilee Campus but distance of accomodation doesn't bother me because of the hopper busses. But I am in the middle of a dilemma, I like BGP because I hear it has better Wi-Fi and social life and I hear Raleigh has poorer Wi-Fi and can be isolated.

I just don't know what to do. Can anyone help me in deciding where to go?

Hiya - sorry us Nottingham folk haven't gotten back to you yet.

In terms of quality of accommodation and best placement for Computer Science, Southwell and Newark Halls on Jubilee Campus are ideal, and rather modern. I stayed here in first year and can say that I really liked the environment and the rooms themselves. However, as I'm sure you know, these are catered only, so I understand if you want to rule it out for this reason.

If it's between Broadgate Park and Raleigh Park, I think your best bet would be Raleigh. Broadgate Park is more rundown, and as far as I know not directly on the 903 hopper bus route for Jubilee. Raleigh on the other hand is nicer than Broadgate and also conveniently only 5 minutes from campus - you can't get much better than that. Broadgate has a bigger community, but I don't think you'll be isolated in Raleigh. A note on WiFi - I'm not sure if Raleigh is still managed by Derwent Students or if the uni has bought it out, but one unfortunate consequence of being in uni run accommodation is that you'll be subject to port restrictions on gaming and torrenting. If that's your thing, it might be worth finding out if Raleigh is on the University eduroam network (which I suspect Broadgate is) or a private network likely without those restrictions.

On the other hand, do you plan on joining many societies or doing sport? HackSoc and CompSoc mostly have socials on Jubilee and in town, but for less Comp Sci specific societies, its likely they'll be held at University Park. Same goes for sports clubs - likely they'll have activities in or around the David Ross Sports Village on UP, giving Broadgate the edge.

So unfortunately, I haven't really answered your question. However, hopefully that's given you some food for thought - there are pros and cons to both, you'll just have to weigh it up!

I would suggest going go Raleigh Park since it is cheaper, closer to your chosen course and also more convenient in general since it is opposite Lidl and other takeaways, and also a short bus ride from the city centre. Broadgate Park is actually rather far away from any supermarket since the nearest place is the sainsbury's in Beeston which is around a 20 minute walk, or you could pay for the bus. I wouldn't rule out catered halls though as having stayed in catered myself I would say its very good value for money and you have the social element of everyone having meals together which really helps you make friends and there's more opportunity to meet people as a result of the meal times and also cause of the hall layout since you're typically be able to access everywhere as opposed to just your own flat in a self catered hall.