Listen to me, you guys.
If you are not from London or don't know the area - take Usher and don't look back.
Usher:
Nice area.
As close to the campus as it is possible to be.
Close to Hendon Central / Hendon mainline
Close to Brent Cross for jobs.
Close to restaurants / cafes / banks / supermarkets
Closest supermarket is Sentinel Square Tesco
Walk to the tube is very safe, even at night.
Platt / Writtle:
Writtle used to be the Sergeant's Mess of the old RAF Hendon, and is a beautiful building
BUT
The area is very very poor in every respect.
The area is essetially the Grahame Park Estate, which houses lots and lots of extremely unsavoury types. Don't be fooled by the proximity of Hendon Police College and Barnet Police HQ, that's just about the only thing holding back a tide of criminality.
The walk to the shops and underground is not safe at night.
The nearest large supermarket is Asda in Colindale, and is a long way. The nearest small supermarket is Tesco Express in the St George development, and is like the Wild West in the evenings.
The halls are not that far from the Hendon campus - but there is a pretty steep f-ing hill, and I don't see people being bothered to get up it to go to on-campus things.
I have lived in Barnet all my life, and I went to school in Hendon. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about.
Type in "Grahame Park Estate Murder" into Google and see how many hits you get.