Royal Holloway Butler Accommodation

My friend is living in Butler at the moment and they really like it! As it's near to Tuke, Williamson and a few other halls, I think there's more of a community there as that's where most the students live. I don't think they've had that many fire drills from what my friend has told me, but every halls as a weekly fire test at the same time each week but you don't need to go outside for that! I'm in Wedderburn this year and we've had quite a lot of fire drills, one at 1am which wasn't fun but you get used to it!

Thanks so much for your reply!! Am I right in thinking that butler is bigger than tuke and Williamson? I’ve heard people staying that it’s a lot more of a social accommodation compared to others?

No worries! I think they're all the same size - each have two 'blocks' of flats. I think all the halls are about equal in terms of socialising - during Freshers there tend to be flat parties or floor parties and everyone will make an effort to get to know eachother but most of the time you just socialise with your flatmates also, it might be useful to know that when you apply for accommodation you have to rank all the 'bands' of accommodation, Band A includes Tuke, Butler, Williamson, Gowar and Wedderburn so if you select that as your first choice, you'll be randomly allocated one of those halls and you can't specify a prefence.

But there will always be opportunities to socialise whatever halls you end up in, and the actual interior/layout of all the halls in Band A is the same! If you have any more questions feel free to ask!

(Original post by Anonymous)Ahhh okay that makes a lot more sense to me now. I got my accommodation offer last night and it’s Butler on a 38 week contract- I’m guessing it’s fairly close to everything? Some people have mentioned that it can be a little noisy. I’m so nervous about getting in- I have to get AAB! I’ve heard about the summer ball as well which sounds really cute. This is a pretty random question but I’ve seen that there’s a little shop on campus which is great, but I was wondering what people do about ordering groceries to their halls- is that allowed?

I was also wondering if self catered people can still go to the canteen etc and get a meal one night if they didn’t feel like cooking. I’ve also heard about Tommy’s and the little Imagine café which, (if I get in,) I’m really excited to visit! I guess my only other question is, is there anything you wish you had known before moving into your accommodation? Or just moving out in general? I’ve heard the trains from Egham can be a bit all over the place and I will be travelling back home fairly regularly, so I’m slightly nervous about that :/

I think I remember someone saying that they run a bus to the station though, which if that’s the case then that’s great Another thing that confuses me is- why do some people move in on different days to others? For example, my friend got Tuke and her move in day is the 21st, but mine is the 22nd?

-sorry, I didn’t think I had that many questions but it turns out I do haha!

Ahh I see! Yeah Butler is in a really good location in relation to academic buildings/students Union/library etc! I found when I moved in the campus felt a smaller than on open days haha but everything is within a 10/15 mins walk! It might be a bit noiser there as it's closer to the student's union and medicine (bar/club) so on club nights (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) you might be able to hear the music and people coming and going, but I don't think it'll be too much of a problem. The shop on campus is great but can be quite expensive, most students either walk to Tesco/Waitrose in Egham - which is about a 15/20 mins walk from Butler or get their groceries delivered to their halls, they'll even bring the shopping into your kitchen for you And yeah, the canteens are for everyone! I went to The Hub for roast dinner last weekend as I didn't want to cook and it's quite good value, only cost me £4.99! The only difference is self-catered students get 20% off meals whereas catered get 50% off. You can also eat at Founder's dining hall too. Tommy's is great for burgers! And imagine is a really nice study/social space too. The Boilerhouse cafe is also really nice and they make AMAZING cakes. Oh just remembered, in regards to food shopping we have a market that comes to the student's union every Tuesday where you can buy fresh fruit and veg and there are a few food stalls too, buying fruit and veg from there tends to be better value than supermarkets as it's quite cheap and a lot better quality, plus you don't have to walk down to Egham! I think my best advice for moving out/into halls is to just be open minded and friendly to everyone you meet - you may not get on straight away but friendships take time to form! Also there's no need to try to fit/pressure to go clubbing if that's not your thing, just be yourself and you'll attract like-minded people! The trains from Egham are usually okay, also South Western Rail tends to strike a lot! But there's about 4 trains an hour to London I think and 2 to Reading People have different move in dates as there isn't enough car park space for everyone to move in on the same day! Best of luck getting your grades! What course have you applied for by the way?

This is all so helpful thanks so much!! I’ve applied for psychology, Clinical Psychology and mental health and the idea of not getting the grades is realllly freaking me out because I love royal Holloway so much from what I’ve seen. I’m glad they deliver groceries because I couldn’t be bothered to get the bus all the time hahaha. I’m not sure when you have to start looking for year two accommodation but I’ve heard it’s around January time?? I wonder how lenient they are with their grades :/

This is all so helpful thanks so much!! I’ve applied for psychology, Clinical Psychology and mental health and the idea of not getting the grades is realllly freaking me out because I love royal Holloway so much from what I’ve seen. I’m glad they deliver groceries because I couldn’t be bothered to get the bus all the time hahaha. I’m not sure when you have to start looking for year two accommodation but I’ve heard it’s around January time?? I wonder how lenient they are with their grades :/

Hi!! Sorry to randomly pop up into this conversation hahaha but I’m about to finish my 1st year of Psychology here and got in with ABB, honestly I’m sure you’ll be fine - they seem to be lenient with grades as Psychology normally ends up in clearing (I saw it appear in both 2017 and 18) so don’t worry if you don’t quite get the grades they originally asked for 😊

Hi! Omg that’s actually such a relief I’ve been sooo worried about not getting the grades! What’s first year of psych been like so far?