Uni Accommodation - A Guide

Hi everyone!

I’m a second year student at the University of Exeter and would love to share some advice to help you all research and find the right accommodation for your needs, and to know what to expect when you’re there. I was honestly terrified to move away from home in first year but ended up really enjoying the independence and was so sad to move out for the summer!

Before Applying

Depending on the university, the aspects you’ll have to consider when choosing which accommodations to apply for will include:

•

price point

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en-suite or shared bathroom

•

catered or self-catered

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location relative to campus and town

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amount of flat/housemates

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available facilities e.g. laundry, gyms, social spaces

Some unis and accommodations also have the options for quiet flats, alcohol free flats, or flats of a specific gender.

This may seem like an overwhelming amount of choices but taking it step by step, considering each at a time, can help. Most universities will have a list or website with all available accommodations, and you can often filter by each aspect listed above to find one that matches your preferences most closely - I found it most helpful to discuss my budget first and go from there.

I would really recommend making a list or spreadsheet containing all the accommodation options with the relevant details for each to quickly and easily reference. This means when you start considering each aspect you can easily find and cross off any options that don’t fit. Of course there may not be an option that fits all of your preferences perfectly in which case, a bit more thought is needed to consider your priorities. Consulting friends and family can also really help as a fresh perspective may be useful to notice or suggest things you hadn’t considered.

Another great option after narrowing your choices down is to make sure you’re looking at any provided images or virtual tours for each accommodation to see which is more your vibe and where you can see yourself living. For example, at Exeter, we have virtual tours of all accommodation options so you can view the bedrooms, bathrooms and shared areas as if you were standing in them which I found very helpful. Open days to see them in person is even better if you’re able to attend, and the student ambassadors helping you at the open days will be more than happy to share their personal experiences with whichever accommodations they or their friends lived in.

When You’re There

Decorating your room to make it cosy and welcoming can make even the smallest room become one you’re excited to come back to and relax in at the end of a busy day. My favourite part of moving in was covering my cork board in photos from home, and ending up with twice as many photos by the end of the year from all my uni friends and experiences! Houseplants or decorative fake plants, posters (check the regulations on blu-tack or tape on the walls first!), comfy pillows and blankets, string lights and fake candles were my other choices to really personalise the vibe.

Making an effort to befriend your flatmates will also make it much easier to settle in - setting up things like bin rotas, and ensuring fridge and cupboard spaces are shared fairly are important to make sure your shared areas stay clean, organised, and easy to live in. My flat in first year all went down to do our laundry together in the first week so we could learn how to use the app for it, and chat and get to know each other while we waited for it to finish!

Unis will also have maintenance teams who will be available to contact if you have any issues with appliances, plumbing etc breaking or malfunctioning - I somehow managed to break my oven just by switching it on in my first week of uni so it’s good to know ahead of time who to contact! Researching the accommodation support for your uni may also be reassuring - while most people I know at Exeter had pretty good experiences with first year accommodation, those who did struggle with flatmate disagreements and similar issues were able to get it sorted easily by contacting the support team. I know a couple of people who were offered the option to move accommodations at various points during the year and got more lucky the second time around so there are always options if it’s just not working for you.

The main thing to remember is that while accommodation is a big part of university life, everyone is in the same boat of moving to a new place to live independently. Try not to get too attached to your first choice of accommodation - even if you don’t get exactly what you wanted, you may be surprised by how quickly you settle in and start considering it home - I certainly was! I visited friends in lots of different accommodations that I hadn’t applied for and honestly they were all places I think I could’ve adjusted to and thrived in.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Bella
University of Exeter Student Ambassador

(edited 3 weeks ago)