Brunel Halls

I have a couple of questions about the halls at Brunel,

Are they noisy? (loud music, fire alarms, etc)
Is the internet fast? How restricted is it?

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Reply 1

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

99% of the time, you will get instant broadband-speed Internet connection, with minimal downtime. However, with multimedia sites such as YouTube, it is very slow as these type of sites depend on the number of people using the network at any one time. I have been infuriated this year because it takes half an hour to stream a three minute video. But I imagine this is the same for all universities, and there is nothing you can do about it.

Please be aware that you will not have an Internet connection until you register your laptop with the Computer Centre. There are known compatibility issues with Windows Vista and the Brunel Network, which will require you to take your laptop to the drop-in centre for technical help. I could not access the Internet for 5 days when I started in September (although these issues with Vista will probably have been ironed out by September 2008). And also bear in mind that there is no wireless Internet connectivity in any of the Brunel Halls of Residence.

Even accessing something like the Daily Babe application on Facebook ( :wink:

) will take you to a Brunel warning page (think of this like an amber traffic light), which will advise you that whilst the page you are trying to access is not banned, it may still contain elements that are against BACUP (Brunel's Acceptable Computer Use Policy), and you proceed at your own risk. Obviously if you are found to violating terms of conditions of BACUP your network privileges will be terminated. File sharing websites are one kind of site that I know are definitely banned and you simply cannot access them even if you wanted to do so (think of this like a red traffic light), but nothing will happen to you if try to access them, as I have encountered this problem before. People share music, get over it, Brunel! :rolleyes:

But strictly speaking this file-sharing is illegal, so Brunel have obviously got to cover themselves against prosecution.

Regarding Halls themselves, well, it depends what type of hall you are staying in. The Hall I am living in is Mill Hall, located on Cleveland Road at the south end of the campus. It is the universities cheapest ensuite Halls and it is also the only truly 'communal' ensuite hall on campus as it does not have traditional flats, only floors. This means that anyone on your 100-room floor (and theoretically anyone from your entire 400-room Hall) can walk past your room at any time of the day of night. In other Halls, there is a 'flat door' at the beginning of your corridoor which can only be opened by people living in that flat. :smile:

In general, yes, it can be rather noisy, especially when people are planning nights out in the evenings. I have been rather lucky in my flat that hardly any of my neighbours play loud music, and if they do it's usually only around dinner time, and not into the night. But obviously this cannot be considered the norm and plenty of people will no doubt party into the night and cause disturbances for others. If you do not like your accommodation allocation, you can ask to be transfered to another Hall and try again. :smile:

However, it is best to do this as soon as possible, as once a waiting list forms, you can be waiting for half a term as staff try to find you a suitable alternative.

The fire alarms in all Halls at Brunel are extremely loud. You cannot sleep through them, and it is extremely difficult to even try to ignore them. Putting your fingers in your ears, for example, makes no difference. I have tried. :biggrin:

Listening to your iPod on full volume is also not going to hide the sound of the fire alarm. When the fire alarm sounds you are supposed to exit the building immediately at the nearest exit, regardless of the time of night. Please bear in mind that the fire alarm has a tendency to be set off in the middle of night at Brunel, which is the same for most universities, when students start smoking weed/hash in their rooms. It is a pain to have to keep going outside when the alarm sounds, but if you are caught staying in your room during a fire alarm (you won't be, because no-one is going to check, but all the same), there are serious consequences and your tenancy agreement will likely be terminated due to violations of the health & safety policy.

I hope that helps a little bit. Ask again if you want any more information. :tsr2:

Reply 2

Citizen Zero

Whoa, essay alert Andy! LOL, are they paying you to type that?! My eyes: @_@

To summarise - stay away from Mill Hall! (Unless you like the 'ghetto' style of living) :biggrin:

Reply 3

robbo3045

Andy Pipkin Geeek Alertt!!! mwhahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Reply 4

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

robbo3045

Andy Pipkin Geeek Alertt!!! mwhahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Reply 5

lilxlivs

I have submitted my preference for en suite halls but is there any point in the process that you get to choose which halls you would prefer or can you only request en suite/suite halls?
Andy, do you think living in halls where it is split into floors rather than flats is a good thing?

Reply 6

Citizen Zero

You do (well, we did) get a choice of halls. I remember submitting a specific request for Mill Hall.

Also; floors tend to be much noisier than flats, and there is a slightly increased risk of having your food stolen - but if you are a very sociable person, floors are ideal.

Reply 7

lilxlivs

and i guess it reduces the small chance of you living with people you don't get along with compared to if you are living with say 10 people in a flat?

Hmmph this is gonna take some thought!! Are you enjoying your time at brunel?? is the accommodation good etc?

Reply 8

Citizen Zero

Floors are set out around one kitchen per corridor - there are roughly 14 people per kitchen/corridor, so plenty of chances to find people you like and avoid those you don't like without running out of choices!

Flats are more like enclosed corridors of 6 to 8 people. Less choice of mates, especially if you don't like half of them!

And yes, I am enjoying my time here. The accommodation I'm in (Mill Hall) is actually good value for money; the only problem is the people sometimes, but in terms of accommodation, it is pretty good.

Reply 9

lilxlivs

mind if i ask what the problem is with the people?!?
sorry about all the questions.. trying to find out as much as poss about brunel now iv accepted it

Reply 10

Citizen Zero

Um, let's see. There are a minority of people who:

[1] Steal your food
[2] Set off fire alarms at half 4 in the morning (whether deliberately or accidentally, not sure)

Of course, you get this sort of stuff in all unis, but since Mill Hall is the biggest and cheapest en-suite hall, you get all sorts of people here.

And sometimes when I come back late (say around 11pm at night), I feel a little paranoid and scared; and always look around for the security staff just in case.

I'd say something else, but I'd probably offend a lot of people here, so if you do want to know, PM me, but I warn you it might be a bit distasteful.

Reply 11

andy_1989

Out of curiosity can you PM this 'distasteful' remark lol?

Reply 12

Shake 'n Bake

Youtube sites and those of that ilk are not a problem if you have the Aol browser. :wink:

Reply 13

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Has the heating been turned off or what?

I thought it lasted until May 1.

Reply 14

Citizen Zero

T'was switched off on the 25th just gone. :frown:

Reply 15

iced_dragon_agility

Andy Pipkin

Has the heating been turned off or what?

I thought it lasted until May 1.

Mine in Galbraith was working yesterday night

Reply 16

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Just got back from the hospital, as I had an operation this morning (not serious), and I find my thermometor down to 66 degrees! :mad:

I have been trying to lay in bed, but it is just too darn cold, so I am now up again with about 2 extra layers on. It's an absolute disgrace that there is no heating, and obviously my room is only going to get colder because only the sunlight can warm it up (which isn't going to be here until next week).

Reply 17

kmtd

Avoid Mill Hall like the plague. I would know, I've had to survive there for a year.

The rooms are horrid, really horrible. Almost like a prison cell, or cage.