Accommodation

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Reply 20

loftx

starry

I think sharing with friends also helps - economies of scale.

It dosn't always work out that way - We have 7 bottles of cooking oil in my flat :smile:

Reply 21

Bitewing

starry

I think sharing with friends also helps - economies of scale.

It can do in theory, but everyone in my flat seems to like different things so it's actually easier just to buy your own things. Basic items like milk and bread it works for.

Reply 22

Kuz

Well it all depends on where I actually decide to go, but looks like I'm going self-catered (unless I go to leicester ((highly unlikely)) or Durham ((a possibilty)) as theses halls are all catered ((well in some sense))
I want to go self catered, because I have this thing where I won't eat other people except for my mum, aunties and my own cooking. Plus I want to have the option like any other student of eating at 4 o'clock in the morning and not be bound to eating at certain times. Oh another thing I'm too poor to afford catered, at least if I run out of money when I'm self-catered I can just starve myself for a week!

Reply 23

tommyboy

Hey guys,
self-catering is definitely the thing to do. I think one of the points of coming to uni is to become independent, and learning how to cook is a major part of this (and there will be some hilarious experiments, like people trying to make jacket potatoes in a frying pan with a little bit of water - trust me I've seen it all).Also, a lot of unis will make you move out of university accommodation in your second year, and then you will have to cope with lots of other household stuff, so learning to cook in your first year might ease the pressure/potential for catastrophe a bit. I didn't really have the choice, because none of the unis I applied to had catered halls iirc. However, I would never ever have gone for catered halls anyway.
Financially, it obviously depends on the university accommodation office and your personal dietary preferences.
Social-wise: cooking yourself can be very sociable if you live in the right flat with the right people (did not happen in my first year, but is happening this year, i.e. in my third year). Also, I do often eat out on campus (which is more expensive!), which can be very sociable. Therefore, it depends on whether the uni you're applying to has lots of non-residential catering for those people who do not live in catered halls.

Reply 24

eunice

But wouldn't catering be more convenient such that one will have more time to study and more time to socialise?

Time aside, I think it would definitely be more convenient considering the time one would take at the market buying the ingredients for a nice meal...

By the way, is there a fridge or something to store the food?

Reply 25

tommyboy

Cooking-time can (!) effectively be socialising-time. And anyway, it doesn't really take that long.
Granted shopping does take time (although a lot of people tend to do it in groups, ie. socialising!), but you won't really be studying for 20 hours a day, 7 days a week,so I do think people have enough time for a quick supermarket shop (does depend on facilities and location of your uni though I have to admit). And again: time management and independence are some of the key non-academic skills which university life will teach you - believe me, it's hard for a lot of people, but they all get around to managing their lives in the end.