Accomodation on website

Ive been looking at the pictures of St Andrews accommodation on the website.....and it all looks pretty grim.

I know that pictures on the internet do much justice to things, so what is the accommodation really like? Is it really that grim in real life or is it actually really nice? And do you say where you want to stay or do you just specify self-catered/catered and they put you in one that's free?

Thanks!

Reply 1

Steeeeevo

Some places are..... well ugly but grim!? not so sure about that.
I live in DRA now for my second year (ensuite self-catered) which is, in my opinion, a very nice looking place. Its basically 15 buildings with 11-12 flats in each, each flat housing up to 5 or some cases 6 students (who due to close contact you get to know VERY well). It has large rooms with a double bed, TV and free internet access. The kitchen is well equipped and even has a dishwasher (which no other hall does) but can get a bit cramped if everyone decides to cook at the same time, but that doesnt happen too often. There is also a living room area with 2 sofas where you will spend most of your time with your new flatmates.

Downsides - ridiculously expensive, looks great at first but after a while cracks start to show where the builders have skimped on quality a bit, can be a bit hard to get to know people in other buildings and the only Hall where rooms are inspected but not cleaned which is a pain when all the other Halls either get away with it or get it cleaned for them.

There you go, a quick overview of DRA, any other questions just ask, I also know bits and bobs about other halls too but having never lived anywhere but DRA they would probably be better answered by someone else

University of St Andrews

Reply 2

dragon500uk

I'm in new hall. It looks like a prison on the outside, but it's very nice on te inside. Rooms are quite basic, we have a double bed, desk, two bedside cabinet's and such - tv is provided. My kitchen isn't big, but there are diners for self catered. Also it's ensuite. Behind us is Andrew Melville - or as it's affectionally called, the titanic. Apparently it's nice inside - i dont know - i may be forced to move there or DRA in the near future though. Come for an open day and have a look at the halls.

Reply 3

Chicklet21

McIntosh - AMAZING! It's quite old, so a lot of the rooms have quirky little features like fireplaces and random cupboards and ghosts. The sea views are spectacular. The rooms are all a fairly decent size (there are one or two boxes, but not many) and quite a few of the rooms are huge, just because of how old the building is etc. I love my room so much, its got huge bay windows and far more space than I know what to do with! We may not be all swanky and modern, but it's by no means grim! More like living in Hogwarts. The pictures on the web are pretty dire tbh. The food here (for halls at least) is not half bad. As long as you avoid the cheesy chops anyway! The thing that makes it though are the people. And our swanky new pool table that appeared today!

I went round a few halls at other universities and hated most of them. A lot of the rooms felt really small and claustrophobic, and really sterile. Come and visit and see for yourself, photos can only say so much.

Reply 4

dragon500uk

I love comparing st andrews to hogwarts! xD New hall is azkaban :tongue:

Regs and sally's are meant to be really nice - i have friends in both of them. Again, old and characteristic. The halls here are nice, there's good points to all of them. For example, New hall is modern, we have our own coffee shop and a failed chef in the kitchen who makes wierd concoctions of food. Andrew Melville, although hideous from the outside, apparently has a really good atmosphere, apparently because everyone is on one big corridor. Don't believe the pictures all the time.

Reply 5

ImperceptibleNinja

I'd agree that 'grim' is perhaps a little pessimistic :rolleyes:

To give a sense of perspective on the grimness of it all, I'm in Fife Park, which is the cheapest university acommodation, and when I told people I was going to stay here, they kind of groaned and looked pitiful.
It's not that bad! It's not bad at all, I'd say it's pretty darned good. Obviously, being so cheap, it's not exactly amazing, but I have a nice wee room to myself, and we've got a kitchen, a toilet, and a proper shower-room between 6.

Generally, the more you pay, the nicer the accommodation, but you also want to take into account how old it is. If you go for somewhere newer, like Andrew Melville, New Hall, or DRA, then you can predict pretty easily what you'll be getting. However, some of the older halls, or halls with older building as well as newer ones, have some amazingly nice rooms - but they also have some pokey ones that are somewhat un-Harry-Potter. You can't be sure what you'd get with those ones.

When you apply, you specify what you'd prefer - catered/uncatered, ensuite/standard, shared/single, and they'll try to give you what you've requested. I've heard that if you say which hall you want to be in, they'll put you in that one, but there's no guarantee. I think they had a 'anything else you want to say?' kind of box at the end of the accommodation application form, and I said I wanted somewhere relatively cheap, so they put me in University Hall, which was one of the halls I thought would be best for me.

I've had a look on the website - the photos there don't do any of the halls any favours =/

Reply 6

LieDown

Yeah, I didn't really think that the accommodation was grim! You have to admit though, it looks it on the website! Glad i now know a bit of what they're really like! Thank you!!!