The Student Room Group

Should I accept accommodation?

I have just gotten into the medicine course at University of Edinburgh, and received my accommodation offer. However, i’ve been told that the course will be taught mostly online, and since I live in Glasgow it’s not too far away anyway. Is it wise to stay in student accommodation anyway, if i’m learning online most of the time?
Original post by bulbasaur55
I have just gotten into the medicine course at University of Edinburgh, and received my accommodation offer. However, i’ve been told that the course will be taught mostly online, and since I live in Glasgow it’s not too far away anyway. Is it wise to stay in student accommodation anyway, if i’m learning online most of the time?

Have they given you your timetable yet?
Original post by bulbasaur55
I have just gotten into the medicine course at University of Edinburgh, and received my accommodation offer. However, i’ve been told that the course will be taught mostly online, and since I live in Glasgow it’s not too far away anyway. Is it wise to stay in student accommodation anyway, if i’m learning online most of the time?


if it was to be possible that you could have face to face teaching again, how bad would the commute be?
Original post by UnwantedKid
Have they given you your timetable yet?


Not yet unfortunately
Original post by claireestelle
if it was to be possible that you could have face to face teaching again, how bad would the commute be?


Not horrible but definitely not easy - it’s maybe an hour train ride not including the time getting to the station and campus
Original post by bulbasaur55
Not yet unfortunately

Original post by bulbasaur55
Not horrible but definitely not easy - it’s maybe an hour train ride not including the time getting to the station and campus

Hmm if it were me, I'd be waiting until the timetable coming out if you can. That's not an awful commute, assuming it's a reliable route.
Original post by bulbasaur55
Not horrible but definitely not easy - it’s maybe an hour train ride not including the time getting to the station and campus

2 hours a day is quite a bit to get through, check how much the travel costs are vs the accommodation and if it's not a whole lot cheaper than i'd consider still using accommodation
Original post by UnwantedKid
Hmm if it were me, I'd be waiting until the timetable coming out if you can. That's not an awful commute, assuming it's a reliable route.


There’s a deadline of 7 days to accept i’m panicking 😭😭
Original post by bulbasaur55
There’s a deadline of 7 days to accept i’m panicking 😭😭

What's the cabcellation policy?
Original post by claireestelle
2 hours a day is quite a bit to get through, check how much the travel costs are vs the accommodation and if it's not a whole lot cheaper than i'd consider still using accommodation


I checked and I’d say travel costs are quite a bit cheaper than accommodation - perhaps just over half the price of the accommodation?
Original post by bulbasaur55
I checked and I’d say travel costs are quite a bit cheaper than accommodation - perhaps just over half the price of the accommodation?

that is a decent saving,could be worth it in that case , double-check what the situation with getting from the station to the campus is.
Take the accommodation. You could be back into lectures after Christmas, on placements that your not aware of and a whole load of other things that could come up that you haven’t planned for.
Medicine is an intense course. Do you really want to be getting up at 5/6am every day and not getting home until 7pm each evening just to save a bit of money. (Also your student loan will be less because you’ll be living at home and you’ll have to inform student finance or you’ll get done for fraud).
(edited 3 years ago)
Original post by UnwantedKid
What's the cabcellation policy?


Can’t see anything about it anywhere
Original post by bulbasaur55
Can’t see anything about it anywhere

It'll be burried somewhere.
I feel like it’s important to tell you that most universities have lectures that start at 9am and finish at 6pm. So just bare that in mind when you think about commuting. If your back to full time in uni after Christmas on a course as intense as medicine which is basically all day everyday lectures + 1hour minimum of commuting each way, is it really worth the risk of burning yourself out to save some money?
Seriously, think about the practicalities long term if the situation changes rather than the short term money saving option.
Original post by Phoenixfeather99
I feel like it’s important to tell you that most universities have lectures that start at 9am and finish at 6pm. So just bare that in mind when you think about commuting. If your back to full time in uni after Christmas on a course as intense as medicine which is basically all day everyday lectures + 1hour minimum of commuting each way, is it really worth the risk of burning yourself out to save some money?
Seriously, think about the practicalities long term if the situation changes rather than the short term money saving option.


You do make a good point - I honestly think I might have some reluctance about leaving home which makes it harder lol. Thank you for your help tho you are right so I might accept accommodation after all.
Original post by claireestelle
that is a decent saving,could be worth it in that case , double-check what the situation with getting from the station to the campus is.


not looking good - it’s close to main campus where the lectures are but the actual med school is very far
Original post by bulbasaur55
not looking good - it’s close to main campus where the lectures are but the actual med school is very far

ah that's not the sort of thing you'd be wanting to do a few days a week in the Scottish weather.
It depends on several factors and what you desire. Firstly, do you live with your family/other people? Do you like living with them? Is it easier or harder to study living the way you live now?



Secondly, are you looking for new friendships? Going to student accommodation with other students will surely give you new opportunities to have more friends. Moreover, if you are in the city where your uni is, you will probably have other students from your class there, and you may work together (respecting all the precautions, of course :smile:).


Is the price acceptable and can you afford it without compromising your free/study time?

Are you capable of living alone in your room for some weeks if the total quarantine returns to the UK?

How near is the accommodation to your uni compared with your house?

There are plenty of other questions, but I hope I have managed to help your reflection :wink:
Original post by bulbasaur55
You do make a good point - I honestly think I might have some reluctance about leaving home which makes it harder lol. Thank you for your help tho you are right so I might accept accommodation after all.

A lot of people find the idea of moving away to uni a scary prospect but you are very fortunate in that you will be only an hour from home. That means that you can easily go home at the weekends or during the week if you have an online week.
I’m just concerned that you will really struggle to cope with medicine and a 2-3hour commute each day for an entire year after potentially a full day of 6+ hours at uni. You may even have placements that your not aware of so you may be at uni during unsociable hours.
Take the accommodation and then you have the option to stay in halls and at home depending on your timetable.

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