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!

I agree OP.

The vast, vast majority of humans worldwide share washing facilities with other humans!

Also: cost. DS pays £5k for a shared bathroom. That leaves half his student loan for living expenses (he gets full loan).

En suite at his uni was £7-8k+. So he'd only have £2-3k left of his loan. So it was a no-brainer.

And the bonus is that his shared bathroom is cleaned every week!

This is it.
Student accommodation is only occupied by students for half the year. Accommodation without ensuite facilities is likely to stand empty for long periods but ensuite will be used by conferences, summer schools and all sorts. If new accommodation is being built it would be madness to build without an ensuite to every room

It means they can be rented out as short term lets during holidays, especially in larger cities or touristy areas. Same for conferences and so on.

It’s probably less about the students and more about the additional income generation.

Although given how expensive uni is now, I’d want my own shower.

I think I've read all your posts, but I still can't figure out why the need for this competition to the bottom?

Are you one of these people who rave about communal wards and communal bathrooms in hospitals too?

I haven't indulged in 'poncery', my dd has her loan calculated, I told her what I would be giving her a month, and she made her own decisions on how to allocate that money. She works in student holidays. Up to her what she spends her money on.

There's a guy on Tiktok who has a series of videos called "British halls of residence or Swedish prison?", where he shows photos of both and you guess which it is.

Spoiler: if it looks like somewhere you'd be happy to live, it's a Swedish prison.

😂

One of mine had an en-suite and the other didn’t. The en-suite one was a much better experience. Why does it bother you so much?

Erm no. I'm not discussing communal wards and bathrooms in hospital on this thread.

This place makes me laugh! I love all the outrage at my little thread. PMSL at toxic nostalgia.

No, it doesn't bother me greatly, no, it doesn't bother me what other people do, yes, I do understand that other people do things differently to me, yes I do understand that other families have more money or don't mind spending more money, no I am not encouraging a race to the bottom, no I don't think students should be writing on blackboards with chalk, etc.

If Mumsnet only consisted of deadly serious threads of great importance then it would be a very joyless place indeed.

No OP has a fair point, I had an en-suite bathroom in halls at uni in 2008 and can confirm I am now soft, useless and when I flat shared for the the following decade I would scream and cry every time I needed a slash for fear of the shared bathroom. Now I make my husband and children use a separate one, for I am forever conditioned.

thank you for raising this serious issue OP, en-suites are a gateway drug.

Absolutely agree but it seems that a large number have them these days - and parents willing to pay for them!

My much-loved niece has just started university and has this arrangement - I've commented more than once that they'll all be wanting gold taps next.

11 years in the future, it won't have improved I am testament to that.

Why did we do this to ourselves? 😭

Why would anyone want to share a bathroom if they didn't have to? I'd have absolutely hated it, what happens if you have the shits etc?

Should we never move forward as society just because we managed to survive without these things? If we can make life more comfortable then why not?

My sister was in halls in the late 90s and shared a bathroom, it was grim, she couldn't wait to get her own place.

There’s are article in The Times today about concern about how many students are working 20+ hrs a week. It looks at how it interferes with their studies and also excludes them socially. If more cheap accommodation was available,there would be less need for students to do this.

No problem with en-suite being available. What is important though bus a range of prices….many students are hard up. Many are going to food banks. Uni owned accommodation needs to be within their budgets. That full maintenance loan needs to cover their costs.

I think most universities have accommodation that isn't ensuite though. It isn't necessarily all that much cheaper however.

I don’t get why @LindorDoubleChoc thinks it’s poncy for kids for them to have an en-suite, but also thinks they need catered halls 🤷‍♀️

IMHO student accommodation, which used to be owned and provided by the university is now a huge money making scheme for property businesses. Visit any Uni town or city and you will find fancy new build blocks with lovely facilities, being rented to students for a handsome price. Double beds and en-suite rooms are all part of the student lifestyle being sold to our teens, at great personal cost, and which many now seem to expect.

I am actually really surprised how the majority on this thread think an en-suite is essential. It's particularly hilarious contrasted with the widespread horror of en-suites in a domestic setting on other threads where the majority seem to think that "shitting in the bedroom" is beyond the pale!

Gotta love people who don't want things to be better for the following generations. Really gives us a clue about why the state of things is where it is right now.

We’re not in the dark ages of the 1980s anymore!
Are you advocating the return of tin baths also?
En suite facilities are absolute the norm these days. I would hate to share & why should my DC?

Sharing in a house is very different to sharing in halls. Plenty of student houses have en suite facilities by the way.

Why stop at sharing bathrooms… they only really need to bath once a week and they could perfectly well share the bath water.

If we aren’t careful they will start expecting that fancy loo roll rubbish instead of torn up newspaper.

I bet they expect heating and hot running water too 😡

Who is actually ‘Indulging in poncery’?

People who give their DC access to shower before Uni?

Or people who look around a halls of residence and don’t say “En-suite shower? Sacrilege?! I shall not indulge in such disgusting luxury. My child must have the shittest experience possible”?

I can’t figure out which one OP means

I wonder if it’s partly motivated by making extra money? My DD’s choices were all shared bathroom but she was allocated a room with en suite for £2,000 per year more.

It's particularly hilarious contrasted with the widespread horror of en-suites in a domestic setting on other threads where the majority seem to think that "shitting in the bedroom" is beyond the pale!

I spotted the irony @not4profit

If more cheap accommodation was available.....

not really the direction of travel though; it's en-suites and more

https://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/united-kingdom/insights/uk-student-accommodation-report

Key Headlines Include :
Unprecedented Demand for Student Accommodation:

• Nationally, the demand for student accommodation stands at a staggering 1,489,110 students.
• 96.4% of students seek housing during their academic journey across 74 different locations in the UK.

Supply Shortage:

• Despite the demand, the net increase in beds for the 2023/24 academic year is just 8,760, highlighting a pressing need for more accommodation options.

Global Appeal:

• Seven locations have emerged as hubs, hosting over 15,000 international students, solidifying the UK's position as a global education destination.

Student-to-Bed Ratio:

• The national average student-to-bed ratio stands at 2.1:1, emphasising the continued need for additional accommodation units.

Rental Price Surge:

• The 2023/24 academic year has seen record-high rental growth of 8.02%, with the private sector experiencing even more significant growth at 9.39%.
• Glasgow leads with over 19% private sector rental growth.

Affordability:

• The average annual private sector rent outside London now stands at £7,632.55, equivalent to 77% of the maximum Student Maintenance Loan amount.
• Cardiff is currently the most affordable location for student accommodation in the UK.

The full report is worth downloading