Voting for TSRs Ultimate Study Playlist is NOW OPEN >>

Studying at home vs in halls

Hi, I am a student at Strathclyde and I've noticed that most other students in my class commute in from home. Whereas when I am on youtube watching uni related content I find they talk about living in halls a lot.

So my question is, is it different in Scotland where because uni is somewhat free tuition, people here don't move to a new city and just commute to uni from home locally? Or are there still a high number of people who live at home and commute into uni down in England for example?

Thanks

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 1

jonathanemptage

lots of people seem to move out here in southern England i know i di and my brother the course seemed to be mostly geared towards people living in halls or actually in Southampton..

Reply 2

University of Sunderland Student Ambassador

Official Rep

Original post by pvking625

Hi,

Students commuting from home is quite common in most universities, as well as from student accommodation halls. It depends mostly on preference and other conditions. Reason why majority of students commute from home is probably because of the somewhat free tuition fee and trying to avoid extra costs if they have a close relative. Also depends on how many student accommodation halls both school and private available and at what cost, cost of living as well and many other factors. You can ask around to check if there are other student accommodation you don't have an idea of. But ratio of students commuting from home to those in halls varies with each university.

Benedicta,
University of Sunderland Student Ambassador.

Reply 3

mike23mike

Well, it could be a city Vs campus. If you are on a campus setting like Lancaster, Warwick or Keele universities then no one commutes, everyone lives nearby. But for a big city like Glasgow with lots of local students then yes, many will commute from home.

Reply 4

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

Hi there!

I'm a 3rd year student currently studying at Lancaster University, and have experienced both living at university as well as doing university at home. I lived in halls in first year (as many students do) and personally I believe this was a great way of getting to know many people! I was lucky enough to be really close friends with everyone I lived with in my flat in halls, and I think that 'moving out' to go to university is really an essential way to learn certain life skills that you will need in future like budgeting for food, household chores, etc. It's also a great way to earn your independence also. The main drawbacks are the cost, as well as the fact that you are not guaranteed to get along with your flatmates, but it is definitely a lot easier to be able to attend things like socials and classes during term time.

However, I was part of the Covid-cohort at university so I spent a term at home as well - I personally didn't enjoy this as much as I didn't have a space to work effectively and had no access to the library or many of the resources I would normally use in my studies, but your opinion may differ based on your circumstances. I have a few other friends who commute to nearby universities and they have struggled to integrate as well socially to their university. This may not be an issue in your case, but it would require a lot more effort to make friends and join social groups or societies being a commuter student than someone living at university, but with being a commuter student it also means that you are saving money on accommodation, so there are pros and cons.

This is just my personal opinion which is based around a lot of circumstances specific to me, but I do think that having some form of 'living at university' experience is greatly beneficial, even if you are going to a university nearby to where you lived. Hope this was somewhat helpful, let me know if you have any questions about university or Lancaster should you be considering coming here!

^Harry (Lancaster Student Ambassador)