Exeter university accommodation

[lexie01]

My DD has a place at Exeter Uni to study Business Management. She has been offered accommodation at James Owen Hall, Sidwell St.
it isn’t on campus ( which she requested) and it’s located on one of the worst roads in Exeter. I have driven there today and it’s awful and I’m no shrinking violet. The university won’t offer her another room but she is on the verge of not going because of the halls location.
Has anyone had a child at this Hall? Looking for advice from any locals or existing uni students.
many thanks.

I don’t think university is for her then.

You’re going to live in a city - campus accommodation isn’t a guarantee and Exeter is one of the safest cities in the UK. Yes the crime rate is higher but it’s a busier street.

They’ve really fucked up this year and will regret it next year when people don’t pick them. Your DD will be fine. Lots will become available a couple of weeks in and she’ll be able to transfer to campus if she still wants to.
EDIT - DN is going there and plans to do the same. She got an off campus one too.

There are direct buses from the street to the uni. Bus A goes from there to “Pennsylvania”. She may need to walk a few steps but that’s fine. There’s also buses that go the other way (past the train station) from the high street.

you are being very very unreasonable about this.

I am sure it is safe - and Exeter generally so much safer than london or Birmingham, or any big city. But you choose a campus university for a reason - green spaces (even if the accommodation is in concrete buildings) accessible lectures and SU. This is not that - even if it is only 20 minutes to reach campus. If I was the OP and her daughter I would be disappointed.

Exeter do make it very, very clear that you may be staying off campus and that they cannot accommodate all students on campus. If a 20 minute bus ride to campus is the worst of her worries, she’s very lucky!

Accessible green spaces are all over. She is a 10 minute walk from the train station where she can get to the countryside easily.

Of course the crime rate is higher, it's the city centre. That's not an argument.

I think we're getting diverted anyway, the issue is she's not been given halls in the green area she wanted.

There's loads of countryside outside Exeter. I think anyone used to horse riding is going to be disappointed by any green space a campus University has to offer.

From sidwell street there's easy access to buses and trains which will take her all over Devon.

And yes @lexie01 of course they’ll show you the on campus accommodation because that’s what’s there! They’re not going to run you all down to the city centre and back, it would be a nightmare logistically.

Where exactly did she anticipate living in her second and third years? Where did she anticipate going out to? Sidwell St cannot be avoided if you’re an Exeter student. Unless she doesn't plan on going out? And unless things have changed radically recently, Exeter students don’t get buses to campus, they walk! Plenty will be in the same halls and based at the main campus.

Maybe the Cornwall campus would be better if she’s a bit worried about living somewhere that isn’t posh?

They operate multiple bus routes to campus - the 4 and the A

I would worry about my daughter so much if she was going to uni. But then my mum worried about me way more than I did about myself!

I think the OP’s comment about potentially having to travel back to her halls after late lectures is terribly infantilising though. I’ve heard people object to classes finishing at 5/6pm on similar grounds.

But surely there aren’t actually people who never go out after dark? In the winter it’s dark by 4pm! How do/would they hold down jobs?!

DS2 is going to Exeter. It was his insurance and we panic-booked private accommodation. Is it really bad to not be close to the campus? He'll be about a 40 min walk/25 if he gets a bus. He can't drive

Sorry for crashing thread OP 🙈

Yes I know. The point I was making was that students don’t tend to use buses - they walk. Everywhere. At least they did a few years ago.

As a mum - can totally get where you're coming from! Dd1 didn't get campus halls in her first year either in Sheffield and had to walk across the city. But she was ok and enjoyed the experience (didn't mean I didn't worry a lot!). Dd2 will go next year and campus halls will be a must for her so we will be looking carefully. If she's really not happy she could look at clearing? Waiting another year might not change the situation.

Yes she must be disappointed but is the answer to really not go to uni, try to sort out last minute plans for the year all because she didn’t get exactly what she wanted for her accommodation. The campus is walkable from there, she doesnt need to get a bus. This just seems like a massive over reaction and a good opportunity to teach your daughter adaptation skills instead which are impotent in life. So many people have told you Exeter is safe but you’re still not happy. I don’t get what the problem is then, just that your daughter didn’t get exactly what she wanted?

Disappointment at not getting any of her accommodation preferences (even, presumably, adding that the thing most important to her was location?) is natural. But the info about undergraduate accommodation clearly lists several off-campus university managed halls under 'self catered' which include James Owen, so it's not like they didn't exist when applicants were deciding where to apply / firm.

The private student hall on Cowley Bridge Road seems to still have places available to book btw - given its location, presumably most residents would be at the Streatham campus.

DD went to Exeter a couple of years ago and did get campus accomodation in her first year. Lots didn't, post COVID bulge year. However, to get into the city you walk. Everyone walks in Exeter. In her second and third year she would often walk from her shared flat, to uni, then to town, then back to uni, then back to the flat, then back into town. All up and down hills too. She went to the town gym as well, and walked down Sidwell every day, including late nights. You get very fit in Exeter. It is a safe city, and very small by any comparison.

When I was there a lot got the bus. It’s walkable of course but it’s not as if OP’s daughter’s only option is to walk

It’s totally fine. OP is being insanely overdramatic

James Owen is lovely accommodation set back from the street considerably. There are issues with drugs everywhere

I can understand your Dd’s disappointment not to be right on campus but this is honestly a minor inconvenience and I can pretty much guarantee that if your daughter keeps her place in James Owen that by the end of her first year she’ll be so glad she did because she’ll have bonded with her flatmates and others in her block. There are loads of positives - it’s such a short and sociable walk up Pennsylvania Rd to the campus from there and the benefit of the slight distance is that she’s more likely to hang out on campus after lectures and meet more people.

If she’s really so worried that she’s considering not going at all could she maybe defer her place? Deferred students usually get one of their top ranked accommodations as they are processed earlier. This was the case for my YP last year.

Ds was there and was in a house right by St Davids station, it was technically halls but a house. It was absolutely fine. He used to walk and there was a shuttle bus too.

Back to the OP, Sidwell Street is hard to avoid and will be absolutely fine. If your dd can't cope with that then she will struggle anywhere. She will be off campus next year anyway. You really need to dial down the drama and I say that as someone with anxiety myself.

Hi, yes we knew there were halls off campus but all but 2 were centred around St Luke’s so we assumed they would mostly be used by students at that campus. Indeed the hall that my daughter has been allocated is actually much closer to St Luke’s as well. Everything I read stated that about 85-90% of all first year students live on campus. This was why she chose it. Her preferences when she applied for accommodation were all for the on campus halls.
I went to a university where there was no accommodation on campus. That was fine. Everyone commuted in & many activities centred on halls rather than the university itself. That isn’t the case with Exeter. From what I can gather my daughters halls are a mixture of Postgrad & Foreign students plus undergrads from Streatham & St Luke’s with no organised social activities which isn’t at all what she wanted or envisaged her first year of university to be x

I really hope you tell her to grow up

Thanks for this. Yes her plan would be to defer until next year and work until then x

My son was there for his first year. Specifically chose it as was in town and he would be made to get up and get to the campus rather than roll out of bed 5 mins before classes. He also found a job in a bat so made it easier to get back. It was fine! Never any issues. Then went into shared houses for next two years.