The Student Room Group
Reply 1
I think it'll change every year. Depends who's staying there really. It's much more secure than the other halls from what I here, but location is ideal if you're a humanities/law/modern languages student. In fact, anyone who isn't a medic would appreciate that location.

I can recommend checking out this website.
Reply 2
I heard though that everyone who lives there has a time they have to be back like 11 or something in the weekdays cos there's gates they lock. And if you have visitors there's no way of getting them in without signing them in so you have to only have them up 2x a month or something.
Reply 3
It looks like a bloody nice residence though!
And its across the road from the law building, so max 5 mins walk from all of the uni buildings in the main area. How I would love to roll out of bed at 8.30 and still make 9am lectures!
Reply 4
They don't call it Virgin Megastore for nothing :wink:

most of the girls there are overprotected and mollycoddled, and the matrons who work there are a nightmare. Expect them to be looking over your shoulder at all times, especially if you go out of an evening, and don't expect to be allowed guests at all, especially of the opposite sex.

That said the rooms are very nice, as is the building, and its so so so convenient for most of the uni. I still don't think this outweighs the lack of freedom however.
Reply 5
You know, I don't think the security is as tight as they believe. I've been there 'after hours' and have bumped into one of the porters. He just kinda smiled at me and carried on his way. They can't recognise all of the girls. The hall does have a very boarding-school-esque feel to it though. And it has common rooms, which none of the other halls do. When I was walking around it for the first time I did feel like I coulda lived there, except maybe not for a whole year. I think a lot of the girls stay on for a second and third year.
Reply 6
There are so many myths about Aberdare. I lived there for two years - yes, I actually chose to come back, so it can't have been that bad! - and I had a great time. You are not required to be back by 11 at all - you can stay out all night just like anywhere else, if you want. There is some fairly tight security around visitors, who need to be booked in if they're going to stay over, but that's because it's a small hall. Also, the fact that it's girls-only means that a lot of the girls have chosen it for reasons of its inbuilt security, so it's only fair. It's very like an old-style residence that you might find at one of the Oxbridge colleges.

The food's terrible, unless it has improved in the last few years since I left, but everything else about it was fine. There was a nice system of common rooms and regular organized events (e.g. there was a winter ball, Christmas parties etc) that didn't seem to happen in other halls. For me, I was quite ill for a couple of years, which was why I had moved back into halls, and it was an easy environment for coping with that - catered, loudspeaker message from the porter when you got phone calls or visitors, little on-site library with computers, etc. Oh, if the same woman is live-in warden as used to be, then she's terrifying and weird. But you don't see much of her. Unless you opt to be a student warden to save money. But don't do that, 'cause then you have to have regular meetings with her, and it's ridiculous...

And as for Virgin Megastore - ha ha. There were more than enough girls who had a different boy staying over each night. (Although if you ever hear the story of how several girls got a Virgin Megastore carrier bag up the flagpole one night, well that was me and some mates. The warden mentioned it at a graduation event. She clearly thought it was someone from another hall, not realising that it was two of her beloved student wardens. We couldn't stop laughing.)