Worrying about flatmates

I move in a week and haven’t found any of my flatmates on the uni gc or page- other people have found theirs quickly n I’ve even chatted with some neighbours to my flat bc they texted me on Instagram.

Tbf whoever my flatmates are just haven’t entered their details on the sheet thing so it’s not like I’ve been ignored but I feel super anxious about not knowing at least one of them.

I’ve been to uni once before and found all my flatmates through WhatsApp and became close friends with them ie still in contact now. So I’m pretty anxious I won’t get along with the new ones or had a chance to get to know them prior to moving. (I don’t like surprises haha)

Im 21 as well so I know that I have a chance of living with 18 year olds which I’m totally cool with but just on edge that there’ll be a massive difference in maturity as one of my flatmate/ now friend was a year younger than me last time and is more immature.

Reply 1

Anonymous #2

Hey sorry idk what TSR (the student room?) refers to but I have applied to halls multiple years at my university (Reading) and have found it quite easy to make friends. May I ask if this is your first year at whatever uni you are joining? If it is, dw I’m sure lots of people will be in the same boat as you! I was 18 when I joined halls but I was still in a flat with with older people because I chose quite accom (there were not any other options left lol)! So perhaps quiet accom has more people your age! Even if you haven’t chosen quite accom or even if this is your second/third/fourth year I’m sure you will still be able to meet some people similar in age to you, most unis do try to match people who have similarities! Idk what uni you’re at but the uni I am at (Reading) definitely ties to put people of similar academic years in the same floor in halls. Regardless, if you’re worried about being in a flat with exclusively younger people you can always email and ask to be with people close in age to you, or if you haven’t finished the accom application form yet definitely mention this!! I believe it should have an option to mention preferences! I’m sure they will already be taking your age into consideration though! :smile:

BTW obviously idk what uni you’re going to, so this may differ for you, however, all the best friends I made were not on the uni WhatsApp chats or SnapChat etc. I joined those with the intention of taking to people but tbh everyone on the groups chats were weird asf😭. Initially, I was worried I wouldn’t get on with anyone as well as no one in my flat seemed to want to go out or participate in group chats, but I found just asking if they wanted to drink without necessarily going to a club (this is mostly helpful for quiet accom I guess) and just getting drunk in the uni halls kitchen was a good way to bond with them. So if your flat mates are like that, I recommend just asking them if they want to drink without suggesting going clubbing! Obviously If you’re not into drinking or they’re not then you can just skip that part (as in just have a convo without getting drunk🤍)!!

BTW even if someone seems closed off I find it’s unlikely that they won’t want to make new friends during their experience in halls (but obvs check if they’re uncomfortable), especially if this is their first year!! Being in quiet accom felt difficult for me because I kind of just assumed no one would want to go out, but I soon realized 1) half the people in the “quiet” hall were just in there because they applied for accom too later to get anywhere else (same reason as me lol) , and 2) They still want to make friends!! Even people who applied to quiet accom! Imo slightly less people in quiet accom wanted to go on nights out than people who didn’t necessarily choose this but nevertheless they still wanted to make friends and they are still great company! For me, suggesting drinking just in the kitchen/ our rooms was unusual but it actually meant i got to bond with them more and as they weren’t really interested in the clubbing “freshers” events and we had more time to speak to each other. If you’re not interested in clubbing anyway I’m sure this advice isn’t helpful haha but if you’re someone who is, I’m just trying to let you know that people are likely still interested in bonding with you without going to a club every night!!🫶🏼

I hope your start at uni goes well! Btw, I have found that older people who still select halls after first year do tend to be a lot more mature than first years/ younger years in general! I hope you are put with mature students, from what I’ve gathered my uni does seem to acknowledge that they should put them together! Even if you are undergrad they still appear to make sure you’re with people similar in age! I totally understand why you’d be worried about differences in immaturity btw though, however, I have found that even with older students (I am almost 21) they still aren’t used to living by themselves, or practicing basic levels of hygiene even lol… so even if I live amongst older students I’m still having to do stuff for them🙄. But usually with students who choose to live in halls they seem more mature and competent! It is just not guaranteed though so thought I’d warn you lol Cxxx

Reply 2

WrexhamUniReps

Official Rep

Original post by Anonymous

I move in a week and haven’t found any of my flatmates on the uni gc or page- other people have found theirs quickly n I’ve even chatted with some neighbours to my flat bc they texted me on Instagram.
Tbf whoever my flatmates are just haven’t entered their details on the sheet thing so it’s not like I’ve been ignored but I feel super anxious about not knowing at least one of them.
I’ve been to uni once before and found all my flatmates through WhatsApp and became close friends with them ie still in contact now. So I’m pretty anxious I won’t get along with the new ones or had a chance to get to know them prior to moving. (I don’t like surprises haha)
Im 21 as well so I know that I have a chance of living with 18 year olds which I’m totally cool with but just on edge that there’ll be a massive difference in maturity as one of my flatmate/ now friend was a year younger than me last time and is more immature.

Hi

Please try not to worry about this, It might just be a case of your other flatmates haven't found the group chat yet. I am sure that once everybody has moved in, you will be able to get to know each other better.

University has lots of different people of all different ages so, there may be a possibility of different levels of maturity to begin with but I would think that it should change as more people develop more responsibilities.

I hope this helps,

Matt
Wrexham Uni Reps