to think University students without particular needs do not need an en-suite shower room?

[LindorDoubleChoc]

I'm so surprised that University Halls of Residence now offer this as an option to more or less all their students. What the hell? How many of you are indulging your offspring with this poncery and why? (exceptional needs aside of course).

When I went to Uni in the dark ages of the 1980s no one had an ensuite. Almost no one had a wash basin either. Is it a money making exercise?

New build houses are the same. Not every bedroom needs separate washing/bathing facilities. The first world's gone mad!

This has made me very nostalgic for my room in my Uni halls 31 years ago 😱. Long corridor of about 12 rooms with a block of toilets, showers and baths at one end. The baths were absolutely huge and there was a never ending supply of piping hot water. I could wallow in 3 baths a day if I so wished!

My room had a single bed and a small washbasin and the most amazing under floor heating. I could lay my wet washing out on the floor and it would all be dry by morning - no need to pay for the tumble dryers!!

I was very sad to hear the halls were knocked down and replaced with modern en-suite style facilities a few years ago. Although, having said that I have 2 DDs at Uni currently and both refused to consider anything other than an en-suite room when in halls.

For some students, the move is hard enough without having to worry about being embarrassed by their stinky or noisy poo or prolonged toilet visits due to period shit etc. Not everyone is easy-breezy and cool with everything.

You can't choose who you live with and how hygenic they will be - they are strangers to you when you first move in. It's not the same as year 2 when you get a house-share with people you have already met and you're more confident and settled.

DD is paying £10 more a week for ensuite because it was all that was left accomodation wise, but I'd have paid it anyway given the choice because it removes one of the many elements of things to be anxious about.

Next year - when she's found her feet - she will be in a houseshare and be sharing a bathroom. She is fine with that, but very grateful to have that bit of privacy right now.

I bloody love outdoor toilets. Wish this made a come back. No smells or noises to worry about. my favourite pub still have outside loos.

In terms of students not having en suites would save them shed loads of money. They all seem to manage sharing with each other when they're on holiday or earning money as reps, chalet stewards etc.

My DD loved her tiny ensuite at Uni.
I was more shocked about having blokes and women in the same flat ( but I am very old).

My DD hopes to go to uni next year, she doesn't want to share a bathroom with other people. The price difference between ensuite and shared bathroom was fairly minimal. I don't have a problem with it

@Iateitallofit I agree. In your first year you are absolutely taking pot luck with who you are sharing with. You have no idea who is going to clean up after themselves and who is going to leave shared facilities in a virtually unusable state.

My university provided a daily cleaner who did all of our ensuite rooms and shared kitchen. To really horrify you, they also did everybody’s laundry, we left it in a bag outside our door and it was collected, washed and we picked it up from the laundry! This was standard for everybody in halls!

Things change OP, amazingly enough.

Two generations ago an outside loo was normal for a big chunk of the population.

And given how the world is, it’s a bit weird to focus on bathrooms as evidence the world has gone mad.

Mixed sex floor with 20 people sharing 4 showers and 6 loos : all in one large utility block, no separation into male/female. I was 17 (had been put ahead a year at and had come from an all girls school. Looking back now, an en suite would have been great!!!

And for all those saying things move on. well yes. and they now have to move back . Climate change and all that.

I went 26 years ago - we were the 2nd year in the halls and we had an en-suite in our rooms.

Apparently they are very run down now though.

Goodness how angry are you? Calm down, your kids will be fine and if others want to pay for an en suite , as we did, it doesn’t reflect on you.

Can you explain that to me, how does sharing a communal shower v having your own inpact climate change?

I didn't go to uni but my sister did 20 years ago and she had an en suite, it's not that new.

Why is that, @lightisnotwhite ?

The same amount of water is going to be used whether showers are communal or ensuite, if everyone takes one a day, and probably the same amount of flushing whether loos are in a block or in individual rooms.

I’d have loved an en suite at uni. People always smoked weed in the shower rooms and it permanently stunk in there. Used to help me sleep if I showered before bed, mind….

YANBU.

20 years ago, how I understood it is en-suites weren't built because of students, they were built because of the lucrative conference-hosting trade in the vacations. Professionals and businesspeople do 'need' an en-suite shower room.

PS: I had an en-suite in one year, and I didn't like it because frankly I couldn't afford the increased rent that room commanded, but it was all that I was offered.

Why bother with Halls at all. Get them sleeping rough on the streets. Builds resilience and character. Or just accept that some people make different choices to you Op.

I'm off to seal the doors shut to our bathrooms, completely unnecessary facilities. What the hell was I thinking.

IMO university students these days have to work a lot harder - the sheer number of students (vs. amount of graduate jobs), need to get a 2:1 and do extracurriculars etc. When fewer people went just having a degree, even a third, was enough to give you more opportunities over others. Of course you'll get people on here saying 'I worked 40 hours a day alongside my studies, had instant noodles for 3 years and got a first' but students have enough to worry about besides 'basic living'.

Also there seems to be a lot of mental health/special needs about these days. Neurodiversity, anxiety, physical issues like IBS etc. Of course, many more people with extra needs are going to university and being supported (rightly so) but surely it's a bigger problem for the uni if they 'don't have enough en-suites to give these people rather than the other way around. It's a big minority, I'd say, not a very small number of students.

“@Badbadbunny Back in the 80s, plenty of people still had outside toilets at home!”

what utter rubbish, maybe in the 1960s but not having an outside toilet was very rare in the UK by the 80s.

DS 2nd year.
2nd year if having en-suite.
I wouldn’t expect him to share a bathroom with anyone, I am not snobby at all, absolutely working class but like the fact he has his own bathroom.
His particular uni guarantee university accommodation for the entire time they are there which is maybe why they have en-suite options.

Ensuite in all rooms in my halls in 1995... it's not that new.

More infrastructure in the first , more cleaning, more upkeep, more water (because people do use private facilities more) .
Of course there is a cost otherwise everyone would have a bedroom with a bathroom attached. Its all resources regardless if its land labour or fixtures and fittings.

How is having your own shower / toilet and keeping them clean yourself any less indulgent or poncey than having cleaners clean up after you as an adult at 18?