[2014] University of Bath: Accommodation application.

Hi
I'm a second year student at Bath (3rd year in september) and when I was a fresher I lived in Mendip which is part of Westwood. You can have a look on the website at pictures of the rooms, but they all look bigger in the pictures than they are in real life. I chose westwood as it was cheaper than marlborough and solsbury and I wasn't bothered about having an en suite.
It all depends on:
A. Whether you want an en suite or not
B. How much you want to pay
C. If you want to be self catered or have catering credit
D. Want a double bed
E. Want to be on campus or in town

Personally, I wanted to be self catered, wasn't bothered about en suite/double bed, wanted to be on campus and didn't want to pay the highest amount of money.
If you want a double bed you have to go for Woodland Court or Polden Court. These are at either end of the campus (Woodland east and Polden west). The bedrooms are a reasonable size, in woodland I think about 5 people share a kitchen (although I'm not too sure on that) and in Polden everyone has catering credit so lots of people share a kitchen as you don't really need one when you're there... you get a mini fridge and kettle in your room in polden. These both have ensuites too, Polden has different sized rooms which you can choose from (and pay accordingly) so some have smaller en suites than others. Polden also get their rooms cleaned by a cleaner now and then, I'm not sure if woodland court do.
Marlborough and Solsbury and The Quads have en suites. The rooms are quite small in marlborough and solsbury and I have never been in the Quads as they are still being built, but from the picture on the website the room loosk pretttttty small... I think Marlborough and Solsbury are quite a popular choice as they aren't the most expensive option and are close to Parade where lecture halls are and shops and the SU etc. I think about 5-7 share a kitchen in those two, not sure about the Quads (have a look on the website)
Westwood and Norwood are very similar. They are both shared bathrooms - which I NEVER had a problem with, there's always a toilet and shower free when you need one. Norwoods rooms are bigger than westwood, as are the kitchens but Norwood is above the SU which has club nights on wednesday and saturday so can get pretty noisy. Norwood is right on parade so you are always close to shops and the SU and lecture halls etc. Westwood is still close to parade but has more green space around which I liked as it was quieter. Westwood is split into many different blocks, some have corridors and floors (Mendip has this) whereas others work in an up and down system. Like I said before the rooms are small and when you first walk in you're not really overwhelmed but there is so much storage space and a huge desk. Norwood and Westwood have sinks in the rooms too. Westwood and Norwood also get cleaners in once a week to clean the kitchens and toilets! Where I lived there were 9 of us sharing a kitchen so it could get crowded/messy but that made it all the more fun and social (Obviously I'm going to be bias towards Westwood haha!) Brendon Court is also part of westwood but I don't know anything about it, i think they get catering credit there? but it's not as posh as Polden. Have a look at the website.
Eastwood is the cheapest option as you can have a shared room, a room without a sink and there is no cleaner here. I never actually went into Eastwood so I'm not too sure what the rooms are like but I think people who lived there seemed to like it.
There's also accommodation in the city which I assume is like Norwood/Westwood but it'd mean getting a bus up to campus which could be a pain in first year.
That's pretty much it I think, sorry that this message is HUGE but I hope it has helped! If I can help in any other way let me know
Good luck choosing!

I was in the same situation yesterday and have been putting off applying for accommodation for weeks now - BIG MISTAKE

Most of the accommodation has already gone! there are only four left so i would focus on looking at those four and just prioritize them 1-4...

good luck!

Hi, lots of useful information you provided, much appreciated.

I have checked on the system and it seems like there are only four options left, Eastwood, Westwood, Brendon Court and John Wood Court which does not appear on the website. If I knew the application was this competitive, I would have started much much much earlier, one lesson I've learnt today.

To be honest, I am slightly worried now. Frankly, I can't cook, so it is the best that I stick with somewhere with catering credit, Polden, the quads, these options have gone.

Oh dear, I feel so stupid to have left this until now. Is there absolutely now chance for me to get a desirable place now? I mean, not everyone applying for accommodation will meet their offer right, realistically. Would the choice be more flexible later on?

And I am laughing at myself again, me, learn the lesson, get things done earlier the next time!

Thanks,

I am slightly worried now, do you think we'll get a second chance to choose after meeting our offers, or , this is it... Man, if I knew about this competition, I swear I would have started much earlier.

Westwood is nice, as it's huge, and the bathroom ratio is better than Eastwood (you'll be guaranteed a cleaning service too, as some of Eastwood doesn't get cleaned, and has shared rooms.) However, I'd still put Eastwood before John Wood as it's in the city and it's a pain being in city halls in first year, having to get up to get to 9:15 lectures would be awful (there is a reason they don't give second years 9:15s, because it's a horrible time to travel through the city.)

I would say for you, choose Brendon, Westwood, Eastwood, John Wood in that order.

I agree with this!

Although I have 9.15s everyday and am in second year, even had a couple of 8.15s this year! So you're lucky

Nope, no second chances unfortunately. If I were you, I'd spend some time this summer learning how to cook, it will help you a lot. You're gonna have to learn at some point. Start off by just watching whoever cooks at home and you will pick up on the basics, and then just get a simple student cookbook or two. If you really feel you can't cope, Brendon is catered.

Westwood is nice, as it's huge, and the bathroom ratio is better than Eastwood (you'll be guaranteed a cleaning service too, as some of Eastwood doesn't get cleaned, and has shared rooms.) However, I'd still put Eastwood before John Wood as it's in the city and it's a pain being in city halls in first year, having to get up to get to 9:15 lectures would be awful (there is a reason they don't give second years 9:15s, because it's a horrible time to travel through the city.)

I would say for you, choose Brendon, Westwood, Eastwood, John Wood in that order.

Thanks for the advice, appreciated.

Yeah, sorry, I can't help thinking about it, just looked at the pictures again from the website. Oh my, the room is Woodland Court is quite a bit larger than the ones in Brendon or Westwood, and prices isn't that much different. I hate myself now, want that bigger room so badly.Given that I am over 188cm tall, there is a possibility that I will suffer a bit in the small bed and room, perhaps,but hopfully not. I know it's probably to late, but is there absolutely nothing I could do...

No, there really isn't, short of trying to get on the Woodland waiting list and then when someone drops out half way through the year, they'll move you over to a new flat you'll have no desire to meet by that point. Honestly, you'll be fine, they're not that small! They use very deceitful wide-angle lenses to shoot a lot of the rooms, Woodland aren't really that extreme. Once you arrive, your room won't matter as much to you, and it's only for seven/eight months anyway.

Ah I see. Well i would say go Westwood! Cooking for yourself really isn't that bad and there's "Fresh" on campus which is effectively a co-op so you can getfood there easily without going into town.
You get catering credit if you stay in Brendon Court (which is part of westwood), I think the rooms are like other Westwood accommodations with a sink and then shared bathrooms but I heard that they have a couple of huge kitchens to all share as they get catering credit. The catering credit is available to spend in the food outlets on campus so there isn't the greatest of choice but all of my friends in Polden enjoyed having it as they all went out for meals together and socialised quite a lot
John Wood Court is city accommodation, it's right in the centre of town which is handy but like I said you'd have to get the bus up to campus everyday.

Since I applied for accommodation the system has changed as I only had one option and if we didnt get it they'd give us the next best thing basically. Most people get the place they choose but choose ASAP as last year so many freshers were without accommodation! (Although I guess that won't be the case this year with the new blocks opening)

Hope I've helped a bit!

decision's been made.
Brendon - Westwood - Eastwood - John wood
Cheers, you have been extremely helpful, much appreciated!