York St John accommodation

Hello. My DD is considering York St John as insurance ( or perhaps Leeds Beckett ). Not too sure that accommodation is OK, - can anyone please share their experience? Thanks

Reply 1

YSJ_Kiera

Official Rep

Original post by Zaks_mum

Hello. My DD is considering York St John as insurance ( or perhaps Leeds Beckett ). Not too sure that accommodation is OK, - can anyone please share their experience? Thanks

Hi there!

I’m a current third-year at York St. John, studying psychology. All first years at YSJ are guaranteed accommodation in their first year. This will be in either YSJ owned accommodation or a YSJ partnered provider. I’ve visited most of the accommodations and they’re all quite nice, especially by student accommodation standards! York’s generally really safe, and the campus security team do rounds of all of the accommodation sites every night.

Is there anything specific you’re wanting to know about the accommodation? If so, let me know and I’ll do my best to help!

Kiera

Reply 2

YSJ_Alex

Official Rep

Original post by Zaks_mum

Hello. My DD is considering York St John as insurance ( or perhaps Leeds Beckett ). Not too sure that accommodation is OK, - can anyone please share their experience? Thanks

Hello!

I lived in St John Central in my first year at YSJ (page linked here) and I loved it! The location (as hinted to in the name) was fantastic, right in the centre of York. I could get to the Shambles from my flat in about 5 minutes! Campus wasn't too far either, about a 10 minute walk away. It's also great for students who love clubbing or staying out late because of it's location - all the best places are no more than a 10 minute walk away, and it also means the shorter Uber rides home are cheaper haha. I had a standard room, so I had a single bed (but enough floor space for a camper bed/blow up mattress when my friends from home stayed over) and a huuuge desk with an en-suite, and definitely more than enough storage space. SJC is one of the more modern accommodations so we had no issues with damp/mould or anything like that. The facilities are all up-to-date and well kept. I shared a large kitchen with 5 other flat mates and we were never fighting over space. It was honestly perfect for what I wanted so I'm happy to promote it!

If you're interested in coming up to York for the day I'd strongly suggest coming to one of our open days - we have one on the 1st of July (open day page linked here) where you'll get to have a look around some of our most popular accommodation sites and rooms, and ask the students who live their for their honest opinions, as well as getting a feel for our campus and the subject in particular you're interested in.

If you have any particular accommodations you're interested in I'm happy to ask some other ambassadors for their personal experiences to report back to you.

Hope this helped! :smile:

Alex
Student Ambassador

Reply 3

Zaks_mum

Thank you for your reply. Just worried that when my DD went to the offers day there was very little accommodation available! It looked as though only the places farthest away had spaces. I don't understand how this is possible. She's worried about being far away and feeling isolated.

Reply 4

YSJ_Kiera

Official Rep

Original post by Zaks_mum

Hi again!
The furthest accommodation sites from YSJ are Abode and Limes Court, but even these are only about a 20-minute walk from campus. Limes Court is exclusively for YSJ students, so your child will likely meet others from the university within their flat and nearby flats. Abode is shared between YSJ and University of York students, so they might have a mix of both in their flat. For example, I had a friend at Abode who lived with two UoY students; the rest were from YSJ.
I lived in a studio apartment in private accommodation about 25 minutes away, and I still met lots of other YSJ students!
Also, accommodation isn't the only way to meet people. Students often make friends through their course, sports teams, societies, and university events. York is a small, walkable city, so it's common for students to visit each other’s accommodation easily, no matter where they live.

The accommodation portal opened a little while ago, and many students will have already selected and been offered the closest sites. That’s likely why there are fewer rooms left in those locations now. I personally don't feel that I missed out on anything by living further away - I just had to get up slightly earlier for 9am lectures!

Hope this reassures you a little. Is your DD planning on living in a flat with other students or a studio?

Kiera
Senior Student Ambassador

Reply 5

Double Brian

Original post by Zaks_mum

Hello. My DD is considering York St John as insurance ( or perhaps Leeds Beckett ). Not too sure that accommodation is OK, - can anyone please share their experience? Thanks

Hi buddy, you can consider Leeds accommodation directly, as York and Leeds are next to each other, with a short train ride, so it is easy to commute. York does not have as many rentals as Leeds. You will have more choices and better deals at Leeds student accommodation.

Reply 6

Zaks_mum

Original post by YSJ_Kiera

Hi again!
The furthest accommodation sites from YSJ are Abode and Limes Court, but even these are only about a 20-minute walk from campus. Limes Court is exclusively for YSJ students, so your child will likely meet others from the university within their flat and nearby flats. Abode is shared between YSJ and University of York students, so they might have a mix of both in their flat. For example, I had a friend at Abode who lived with two UoY students; the rest were from YSJ.
I lived in a studio apartment in private accommodation about 25 minutes away, and I still met lots of other YSJ students!
Also, accommodation isn't the only way to meet people. Students often make friends through their course, sports teams, societies, and university events. York is a small, walkable city, so it's common for students to visit each other’s accommodation easily, no matter where they live.
The accommodation portal opened a little while ago, and many students will have already selected and been offered the closest sites. That’s likely why there are fewer rooms left in those locations now. I personally don't feel that I missed out on anything by living further away - I just had to get up slightly earlier for 9am lectures!
Hope this reassures you a little. Is your DD planning on living in a flat with other students or a studio?
Kiera
Senior Student Ambassador

Hi thanks for your reply. My DD plans to be in a flat. She can't decide between YSJ or Leeds Beckett based in accommodation options, as the courses appear similar although I got a better impression at the YSJ Psychology presentation.

Reply 7

Zaks_mum

Original post by Double Brian

Thanks. Do you commute from Leeds? I am just thinking about the cost!

Reply 8

YSJ_Alex

Official Rep

Original post by Zaks_mum

Thanks. Do you commute from Leeds? I am just thinking about the cost!

Hi again!

Me and Kiera are both Psychology students, so if you have any course-related questions that might help make a decision we'd be happy to answer any of those too!

In terms of commuting, coming from Leeds is a very popular option for some of our older students, who find houses with people they have met from the University, typically coursemates, and have the luxury of more condensed timetables in their later years. I don't commute myself so I can't speak for commuting from Leeds as a whole, but one of my coursemates commutes (her family live in Leeds) and I know she sometimes has issues with the train times during sessions scheduled at 9am or later in the evening when it would be hitting rush-hour. It might also be difficult in terms of maintaining those first delicate friendships when you first start university - spontaneous library or coffee trips become quite difficult to commit to when you are commuting and you have to plan everything about an hour ahead, and you can miss out on some later nights out because of worries about how you might get home (unless of course, you are staying with friends).

I asked said friend about what she thinks about commuting from Leeds:
"It's not too difficult to navigate Leeds, and the journey is quite nice, gives me some quiet time to read and do uni work (soundproof headphones are a must). Main issue is you're putting a lot of trust in the trains being on time - they might be delayed or cancelled (cancellations are admittedly very rare), and depending on the schedule you might be able to hop on another train without missing too much of the lecture/workshop. You'll have to get up much earlier than people who live in York (have one friend who lives a 6 minute walk away from campus - so jealous!) but if you're an early bird it's not too bad, a bit rough in the dark in the winter maybe. It's also good practice for the future too if you end up getting a job with early starts. In terms of tickets, I get a monthly pass, which basically means I can get on and off wherever I want along the line as long as it's the same train company. Because of our timetable (Psychology BSc) being quite spread out at first it's worth getting - it's a bit over £200 per month."

Admittedly, accommodation in Leeds for students is cheaper than in York, but the ticket for the train might end up pushing the price the other way - if it's equivalent to an extra £50 a week. Definitely some budgeting to be done there!

Hope this was helpful :smile:

Alex
Student Ambassador

(edited 1 week ago)

Reply 9

Double Brian

Original post by Zaks_mum

Thanks. Do you commute from Leeds? I am just thinking about the cost!

Yes, the train from York to Leeds is quite frequent, with direct services available through TransPennine Express or Northern Rail. You can get discounted railcards as a student, like the 16-25 Railcard that offers up to a third off fares. If you book in advance, you might get cheaper tickets. You can consider Monthly/Annual Travel Passes, which are always one of the more affordable ways. There are several accommodations near the train station, like Brotherton House Leeds, which is less than a 10-minute walk away from Leeds train station. It won't take you too much time to commute. The accommodation in Leeds is generally cheaper than in York, at around £110 per week, largely beyond the traffic costs.

(edited 2 weeks ago)

Reply 10

Sue70

Original post by Zaks_mum

Hi,
Due to a change in our daughter's circumstances we have a room tenancy available in a very modern students accommodation block which we are looking for someone to transfer the tenancy over to (this is the only way for us to be released from paying for it, even though she is not going to be living there). It is a lovely place and called The Coal Yard (https://prestigestudentliving.com/student-accommodation/york/the-coal-yard?utm_source=Google%20Business&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=The%20Coal%20Yard%20Google%20Business%20Profile). Staff were lovely and very helpful. It felt very safe and secure. 5 mins walk from the university itself and walking distance to numerous supermarkets and amenities. If this is of interest to you, please feel free to message and we can answer any questions that you may have

Reply 11

Sue70

Original post by Zaks_mum

Hello. My DD is considering York St John as insurance ( or perhaps Leeds Beckett ). Not too sure that accommodation is OK, - can anyone please share their experience? Thanks

Hello, my daughter is going to YSJ in September but has decided to travel instead of living in accommodation. We have a flat in the Coal Yard that we are trying to get a new tenant to replace her with if you're interested??

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