The Student Room Group
I'm living in College Grove this year, so I'm probably well placed to describe it!

Basically it's a 1 minute walk from the campus, which is amazingly useful in the morning when you can just roll out of bed and go to the 9:15 lectures, but also if you want to go to the library to get a heavy book.. you don't have to carry it very far!!
College Grove is separated into 3 blocks, each with 4 flats of 7 rooms each (apart from flat 1 which only has 5 rooms.. i'm in that one!). Each room has a small bed, a side-table, a desk, a chair, a mini fridge, a comfy chair, a clothes cupboard, 8 drawers, a tiny bathroom with loo, sink and shower!
Some rooms are bigger than others.. if you get room J you're in luck!

The kitchens have a fridge and freezer where you get a shelf and a drawer, and you have your own lockable cupboard. Kitchen stuff is provided, but it's all from Ikea, so you can imagine it's not that sturdy!

One drawback for College Grove is that we have no common room or lounge area in the flats (which Mary Brancker has)... the closest common room being the college one which has a massive flat screen tv (2 minutes walk from CG).. so basically people tend to hang out in the kitchens.. which isn't the most comfortable place to be!

There are 3 benches outside in a sort of courtyard which i'm sure will be nice to hang out on when it gets a little warmer!

Then it really depends on which room you end up in.. you can face the courtyard and get woken up by people coming back late at night singing at the top of their lungs, or you can face the college side where you get woken up by the barking dogs and cows and ponies being taken to their enclosure... I'm on the animal side, and I find the noise actually quite comforting! i'm on the bottom floor looking straight out onto the cows, I'm going to try and post a picture of the view from my window!

I'm really happy i'm in College Grove simply for the closeness to College and the fact that when we have 1 hour's break I can go back to my room and not have to stick around college like people from Mary Brancker. Also, CG is really really well situated.. right next to a bus stop where you can take any bus and end up 15 minutes later on Oxford Street!! It's also near Mornington Crescent tube station and a 10 minute walk to King's Cross.

I'm running out of ideas of things to say... but feel free to ask me about anything else!

Helen x
Reply 2
Thank you so so much, thats really helpful!!! Are there just the two halls, college grove and Mary Brancker? And do you get to choose which one you stay in? Also how far away from the vet school is M B? Thanks a lot!!!
the two main halls are College Grove and Mary Brancker yes. There are around 70 places in CG and 130 in MB... Both those halls are self-catering.
There are also some catered halls to choose from, attached to the University of London (about 7 other halls all around London) and I know quite a few people who live in those. They are often closer to Bloomsbury, so about a 25 minute walk to RVC.
MB is also a 25 minute walk to RVC but north, in Kentish Town. Hopefully someone else will be able to tell you more about that because I have never actually been there to see what it's like!
When you apply for accomodation, you give your top three choices, and you are then allocated a place (or not) with priority given to those living far away. I know a lot of people living around London who didn't get a place and either only got one in September because others dropped out, or had to find a house to share with other people.

helen
Reply 4
Ouch! Is that even if RVC is your firm choice? I live in Sussex so about 2 hours away, is that considered close?
hey, yes I think it's what happens in every case.
I know a couple of people who live about an hour away who didn't get a place until someone else dropped out.. not sure about Sussex, but you should contact the college to see what they think.. i can pm you the email of the accomodation lady if you want!
Reply 6
That would be great thanx! Not sure if RVC will be my firm anyway as im still waiting for replies so i want to wait till i hear back. Just want to be prepared. Thanx again for all your help!!!
Reply 7
hiya, im in Mary B this year so i can tell you what its like here.
Its split into 2 blocks a & b, and there are 5 floors. mostly there are 3 flats on each floor,except on 5 where there are only 2. all the 1st year flats are for 7 people, there are a few 2nd year flats and these are for 4 people. Each room has a single bed, wardrobe, a small chest of draws, several shelves, bedside table and a desk. all rooms have internet access (broadband). there is a small ensuite with loo, sink &shower. there is a kitchen/ lounge with some sofas, a chair, breakfast bar and mini table. you get 2 hobs, an oven, kettle, toaster & microwave.
mb is about 20 mins from college, so you have to be up in the morning but it means you do get some exercise. its right next to kentish town tube station and quite close to the shops so its not that far to carry all your food back home. & we have a mcdonalds at the end of the road!
hope that helps a bit :smile:
Reply 8
Thank you! That really helps, not long before Im gonna have to decide for definite where I go (at the mo its RVC as its my only offer! lol) but at least now i have some idea of where I might be living!
I lived in college grove for first year and im in mary b for second year so im prob a good person to ask!

I loved college grove, i think its the best place for first year coz your close to college and can prod the animals whenever you want (first years you will find this out this term when your prodding legs!). I dont know what its like this year but last year there was a definate closeness in college grove through the flats. I knew at least one person in each flat and my flat (5!) was very close.

Mary B is nice coz it gets you away from college. The walk in sounds like a pain in the arse, but that 20 mins walk in a morning really wakes you up and its nice to hav a bit of distance from college so you dont feel like your just living in college 24/7! the rooms are alot nicer in mb, but seeing as theyre only 2 years old its not suprising. the sofas in the kitchen are a god send after last year but i would like a table instead of a breakfast bar, but still, the kitchens are nice! The common room downstairs is nice but we never really use it much. That might just be coz we're second years and so just tend to hang around in the second year flats, but occasionaly go down to watch the rugby etc on sky!

The downside of mary b is that it takes forever to get somthing fixed, whereas in cg you just put a form in and its done pretty much within the day. Also there is never anyone on the desk to talk to, even tho its suposed to be open 9-5 every weekday. Plus mb does rip you off sumthing cronic!

I dont know if its the same this year as last year, but there did seem to be a bit of a mary b/college grove/intercollegate divide in the year. There was the odd few people who spoke to everyone, but some people seemed to just stick with their flat. This year has been much better so far, everyone talks to everyone else now most ppl have houses, excuse to get invited to lots of house parties!
Reply 10
sorry to ask about accommodation again! just wondered if those of you currently at RVC could post any photos of college grove and/or mary brancker for us potential people going!? thank you