For a lot of young people, moving out to go to uni or college is the first time they end up living independently. In between lectures, pub crawls, parties, and meeting people, you might manage to grab a few hours of sleep, maybe even be in your own place. Read on for information on university accommodation, visit the linked pages for more information on renting privately.

University Accommodation

Most first years and international students are guaranteed a place in university housing. Depending on your uni, housing can be very different, from halls of residence to university-owned flats. Your university will have information on their website about what kind of housing they offer, and who gets priority.

Catered and Self-Catered

You might get a choice between catered and self-catered accommodation. Banish the thoughts of waiters passing trays of hors-d’oeuvres - catered means that your meals are provided for you – usually breakfast lunch and dinner during the week. You might get left to fend for yourself at the weekend.

Self-catered means you’re on your own. You’ll have access to a kitchen and usually plates, cutlery, pots and pans will be provided but you are responsible for feeding yourself.

There are good and bad aspects to both.

The Good:
If you’re the kind of person who just won’t cook, or who doesn’t want to be bothered with shopping and planning meals, catered is probably for you. It means your accommodation will cost more, but you’ll only have to worry about snacks and weekend meals. Also, once you’ve paid for your room you don’t have to worry that you’ll be living on beans on toast at the end of the term when money runs out.

The bad:
You might not like the food and if you have special food requirements or are a veggie you might not get too many options. Also, remember that meal times are usually set so if you like your breakfast at 10 and lunch at 2 you might be out of luck.

Self-catered is great if you like cooking and shopping – and budgeting! It means you eat when you want to eat, and only what you like. On the bad side, it means dishes and cleaning up, shopping – and doing it three times a day. You’ll probably save over catered accommodation, but you’ll have to be a good shopper.

Living in halls is a great way to meet people, and can be a total party. Not that we’re wanting to sound like your mum here, but in the early days it can be hard to get a balance right between work and going out. Living in halls, there’s always a distraction if you want one, and it might take you a while to get used to turfing people out of your room when you actually do need to get some work done. You’ll get used to it though, and remember it’s your space – even if you might not be able to paint the walls green and put in satellite tv.