Single sex flats

I got my residence agreement through today, and now i've got a form to fill in, on which i can specify whether i would rather have a smaller flat (4/5 students) that is single sex, or a larger, mixed flat (5-9 students). I'd rather have a smaller number of people in the kitchen, and i generally find smaller groups of people less intimidating, but what is single sex like? does anyone have any experience?? Do you think the kitchen would be smaller for less people? Would it be socially a bad idea.. ? I don't know if a particular type of person would be more likely to choose same-sex floor or whether it would be for reasons like mine??

Reply 1

eternalsunshine

OP

1

& i'm assuming that male guests would be okay? Because my bf will be staying with me!!

Reply 2

THE PROPHETOR!

Talking to a few admissions tutors, most say that people choose single-sex halls due to religious reasons. I'm only suggesting that having your boyfriend stay with you might cause problems that the people that entered single-sex halls wanted to avoid in the first place.

Hope that helps

Jason

Reply 3

tommyboy

1

the experience I (and some other people) have made (as a "Tutor" in our residences) with single sex female flats was that they cause the most trouble out of all... (very sweeping generalization, I know, and I'm not going to elaborate on it).

I guess, it really depends on what kind of person you are, yet, personally, I think 5-9 people per flat is still not that much. 4-5 people could get a bit boring, and if you don't get along well with one or two this obviously has a much greater impact than among 9 students. Personally, I think around 8 students per flat is an ideal number - at my uni the residences with 6 people per flat tended to be relatively anti-social and dead, whereas those with 14-16 people per flat can be intimidating to some. Obviously, this all depends on the specific mixture of people per flat, layout and size of shared facilities, etc. Also, don't forget that in a lot of cases your primary group of friends are not necessarily going to be your flatmates (although it is nice if this does happen).

As to the boyfriend question (again out of the experience I gained dealing with complaints): this should generally be fine, but be careful not to occupy the shared facilities for too long and rather take him into your room. A male in the kitchen (for a longer period of time) can, for instance, cause distress to some strict Muslim girls.

Reply 4

ickle_katy

11

single sex flats are very different to single sex halls. you'll probably be living in very close proximity to men, so you stil get their calming influence, its just you dont have to share the bathroom with them, which is the bit unis dont like.

yeah your bf will be allowed to visit.

dont let the single sex issue put you off picking somewhere where you'll be more comfortable.

however, the bonus of living in a bigger flat is that theres more chance of there being someone else living there that you get on with. although living with 4 people you dont like is quite hard, livign with 10 is even worse! you cant actually predict it!

love Katy ***

Reply 5

eternalsunshine

OP

1

ickle_katy

single sex flats are very different to single sex halls. you'll probably be living in very close proximity to men, so you stil get their calming influence, its just you dont have to share the bathroom with them, which is the bit unis dont like.

yeah your bf will be allowed to visit.

dont let the single sex issue put you off picking somewhere where you'll be more comfortable.

however, the bonus of living in a bigger flat is that theres more chance of there being someone else living there that you get on with. although living with 4 people you dont like is quite hard, livign with 10 is even worse! you cant actually predict it!

love Katy ***

I'm in ensuite accommodation anyway! I've ticked off the mixed box now and i might write a little note saying that i'd like to be in a smaller flat (about 6 ppl) but i doubt that'll have any effect. I can cope with kitchen sharing - plus i'm sure there will be an additional oven for the bigger flats..

Reply 6

ickle_katy

11

eternalsunshine

I'm in ensuite accommodation anyway! I've ticked off the mixed box now and i might write a little note saying that i'd like to be in a smaller flat (about 6 ppl) but i doubt that'll have any effect. I can cope with kitchen sharing - plus i'm sure there will be an additional oven for the bigger flats..

write the note, they probably will take it into account and allocate you first. at the end of the day, they want everyone to be happy.

love Katy ***

Reply 7

tommyboy

1

eternalsunshine

I'm in ensuite accommodation anyway! I've ticked off the mixed box now and i might write a little note saying that i'd like to be in a smaller flat (about 6 ppl) but i doubt that'll have any effect. I can cope with kitchen sharing - plus i'm sure there will be an additional oven for the bigger flats..

Yes, you should be fine. And yes, normally the bigger flats shoud have more of everything (ovens, fridges, etc.) in the kitchen (can depend on the age of th individual accommodation blocks though).