Shared room on campus vs own room a bus ride away?

[Lemoncurd]

Daughter is going to her insurance university choice (Bath), which means that accommodation is through the second round of applications and not guaranteed.
The options remaining are shared rooms on campus or city centre accommodation. One of the city options is solely for 1st year undergraduates.

She can't decide what to prioritise, we and most adults keep saying she should go for campus. She and all of her peers feel that they really wouldn't want to share a room but still would want to be on campus if possible.

She is introverted, has been treated for anxiety for a few years and social anxiety was a factor. Being on campus might be better for this and helping her to make friends more easily, but at the same time she is someone who needs time to herself to get away from things (had 10 people over for a sleepover but took herself off to her own room to sleep!).

Appreciate that she might not get the accommodation type she chooses anyway (if any!) but anyone had any experience of shared rooms or any thoughts?

Still having a nerve wracking wait to hear if daughter even has an university run accommodation place here! @Absolutechaos if you don't mind me asking, did you register a disability/special circumstances?

I even resorted to phoning the accommodation office this week, they said they were still issuing offers. I asked if it was looking like all 1st years would get accomodation and they skirted the question and said if they weren't, they had a seperate student accommodation team to help find accommodation elsewhere.

@Lemoncurd she was originally offered an ensuite room in the city but they retracted that (apparently they needed more rooms for isolating students) and then offered her one on campus! We did submit medical evidence about her anxiety etc (mainly to avoid a shared room as that would have been a deal breaker). I think we might have been given some priority as this was sorted out a couple of weeks ago - not sure if it was the medical evidence or the fact that Bath was her firm choice (she didn't apply until the second accom round on 16/8 though). I don't want to panic you but it looks like the last round of undergrad accom offers might have been earlier this week as I have seen a lot of posts on the freshers FB site complaining about being offered a room in the city options. Apparently there is a LOT of movement once uni starts with people not showing up, withdrawing etc so there may be an option to go onto a waiting list for when a room opens up - but that would mean not committing to anything else long term. It is really hard isn't it. I hope you get a good outcome. From everything I read , they all end up enjoying their first year accom even if it wasn't what they originally wanted or hoped for.

@Absolutechaos so pleased to hear that your daughter got a room on campus in the end. Still no news, just waiting for the 'Sorry we can't offer a place' email.
My husband has been really worried about this from the start as the same happened to him, we asked multiple people at the Bath open day about it and they reassured my daughter that all 1st years had received accommodation (although some in the city). She was considering putting it as her firm to avoid this, but thought she had to take a chance (hers needed 3 A stars and she was only borderline on one subject so it was very close).

I've read through the criteria again, but don't think we can get paperwork together for priority on the waiting list for anxiety. It says it needs a doctor's signature, but she was signed off from her psychiatrist a year ago as they left the clinic. She had a lot of support at school with weekly meetings with the pastoral team for the last 3-4 years but not really any contact with a GP.

I would say definitely her own room off campus. The bus is really easy for getting in/out so that’s really not an issue and if she ends up paired with someone she doesn’t get on with, or with a party animal that doesn’t let her sleep it could really affect her badly. I think if you’re introverted/anxious you really need your own space in order to look after yourself well.

@Lemoncurd sorry you are still waiting. It's probably worth submitting what evidence you have as you have nothing to lose. Ours was a single CAMHS report (psychiatrist) who then signed off as DD turned 18. Ours probably won't be sufficient for DSA but we are waiting to hear from them. I hope you get some good news soon.

Oh my, that will teach me for off loading, shortly after posting daughter called and has a place!
Thankfully she has her own room too, you all convinced us that that was definitely the right thing for her, thanks so much for all the advice!

Glad to hear it worked out! 👍👍

@Lemoncurd - yay!!!! Glad it all worked out.

My DD is also going to Bath, but didn't get any of her 10 (all on campus) preferences, and has been offered a room in the city in halls which from what little information we can find appear to be mainly for post graduates and exchange students. I wondered if anyone knew if they are likely to put the undergrad students together? She is pretty gutted as not only will she be a half hour bus ride away from campus, but she is afraid she'll be isolated from students of her own age in her accommodation. Bath was her first choice and she applied well before the deadline, so its a bit of a mystery why she got allocated the room she did. The student living accommodation people more or less said take it or leave it.

@Canileavenow T G? Scouring forums, it looks like lots of 1st Years are there this year, I'm sure they will be put in flats together. They looked really nice. Close to the bus station too! I lived up the hill from there in my second year.

@lemoncurd yes you are right*@lemoncurd*

Whoops, sorry. Good to hear you think the first years will be put together. I will see if my DD can maybe get in contact with some of the other students in T G prior to her arrival. Hopefully that will make her feel less worried. Many thanks.

I wouldn’t share either. I actually lived out of uni and travelled on by bus (almost 2 hours each way) every day to avoid staying on campus. Introverts definitely need their own space.

I would never want to share a room with anyone - not even someone i knew well! Ive visited Bath as an adult and stayed on the uni campus for cheapness. There is a good bus service into the city center - about a 10 - 15 minute ride with acceptable frequency. Also in city center she will be on hand for clubs/pubs/bars if attracted to that side of student life.