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Is university accommodation now mostly mixed sex, these days?

34 replies

globalinfluence · 26/09/2026 19:22

Is all uni accommodation mixed these days? My flat at uni was 8 girls with a boys one next door. That was ideal. I would've hated to share with 8 stinking blokes. But from here all I seem to see is people mentioning mixed sex accommodation. Obv halls are mixed but it used to be floors of each sex as well.

OP posts:
spencerishot · 26/09/2026 19:24

Yes. I am old and it was mixed sex back then. Same for my DD, same for my DGD who has just gone.

Wonderknicks · 26/09/2026 19:25

All 3 of mine had single sex at different universities. The last one left 3 years ago.

MrsMitford3 · 26/09/2026 19:25

I have 3 DC post Uni and all of their first years were mixed.
I think they all liked it.

both DD and one DS then had single sex houses through sport or course although DD went back to mixed in a house when she did her Masters.

I think it is a healthy perspective to have it mixed-although when I went to Uni a million years ago it was single sex all the way.

Federica1864 · 26/09/2026 19:27

My accommodation was mixed 20 years ago!

AllJoyAndNoFun · 26/09/2026 19:28

Most unis have some single sex accommodation but tends to be people who choose it for religious or cultural reasons so if you want a party flat, probably not a good idea.

we had mixed staircases in 1993 but your direct neighbour was the same sex- still could end up sharing bathrooms with guys though.

titchy · 26/09/2026 19:35

My accommodation was mixed in the 80’s!

globalinfluence · 26/09/2026 19:43

Wow I didn't realise so much was mixed before. I was mid-late 90's (obv the best times). Maybe it depends on the uni.

OP posts:
TurmericTansy · 26/09/2026 19:53

Back in the 90s, mine was on corridors and sex-segregated by floor which suited me well.

More recently the only university we visited with single sex accom was Cardiff which still has a women only hall (or did five years ago?). I was surprised. Can't think of anywhere else other than the single sex Oxbridge colleges, if they still exist.

Out of interest, is there anywhere all all for men to live single sex if preferred?

Octavia64 · 26/09/2026 19:59

Mine was mixed in the mid nineties.

my dc both had mixed

thestraycathouse · 26/09/2026 20:07

My daughter’s flat is all girls as are several others in the block. That said her uni skews slightly female so maybe not a surprise. She’s a first year

AllJoyAndNoFun · 26/09/2026 20:10

TurmericTansy · 26/09/2026 19:53

Back in the 90s, mine was on corridors and sex-segregated by floor which suited me well.

More recently the only university we visited with single sex accom was Cardiff which still has a women only hall (or did five years ago?). I was surprised. Can't think of anywhere else other than the single sex Oxbridge colleges, if they still exist.

Out of interest, is there anywhere all all for men to live single sex if preferred?

Yeah I think there is- maybe not all unis but where they have a high % of students who might require it for cultural or religious reasons.

ToadRage · 26/09/2026 20:17

My accommodation was sort of mixed but sort of separated. The way the hall was built, it was 3 floors in two halves with an interconnecting door. Each floor had a card operated door and your card only worked on your floor, the ground floor was all boys, the middle floor was boys on one side, girls on the other and the top floor was girls only. I don't recall if there were any girls only or boys only halls. The little houses in the student village were single sex. Off campus I lived with all girls one year, we had one boy the following year, then all girls the final year.

BakedAl · 26/09/2026 20:21

I would have hated a single sex hall. We had mixed in 1994. We did have separate bathrooms though.

SnapAndTap · 26/09/2026 20:26

Id rather share with smelly blokes who understand one cooker and one sink are to remain in usable condition, on the understanding i will ignore the other half of the kitchen, than a large number of girls with excessive bathroom habbits! But then ensuite was just starting when I went to uni.

globalinfluence · 26/09/2026 20:29

ToadRage · 26/09/2026 20:17

My accommodation was sort of mixed but sort of separated. The way the hall was built, it was 3 floors in two halves with an interconnecting door. Each floor had a card operated door and your card only worked on your floor, the ground floor was all boys, the middle floor was boys on one side, girls on the other and the top floor was girls only. I don't recall if there were any girls only or boys only halls. The little houses in the student village were single sex. Off campus I lived with all girls one year, we had one boy the following year, then all girls the final year.

Yeah i think that's the sort of norm in the 90's that I knew at both unis I went to.

Not single sex halls but single sex flats/ floors / little houses / sections within.

I liked that set up. I hope it's not too uncommon today.

OP posts:
Moreholidaysthanjudithchalmers · 26/09/2026 21:51

Yes everything we saw looking at open days was mixed. Some might have options for single sex for religious reasons.

parietal · 26/09/2026 22:21

Mine was mixed in 90s. 6 boys and 2 girls and only 1 grotty bathroom.

dd has a girls only flat of 10 in 1st year but she says that is fluke not planned.

BIossomtoes · 26/09/2026 22:29

titchy · 26/09/2026 19:35

My accommodation was mixed in the 80’s!

Mine too.

Fireside10 · 26/09/2026 22:29

Mine was mixed sex - I never knew there was an alternative! I loved it though and chose mixed the whole time I was at uni as I became close friends with one guy in particular. It's not as if you share a bedroom, so I'm not sure what the concern would be. Everyone's different but I actually found two girls muckier and more annoying.

AdeleRochester · 26/09/2026 22:38

I have children at two different universities, both their halls were mixed sex.

Littletreefrog · 26/09/2026 22:54

I have experience one way or another of 4 different Unis in the naughties and all accommodation was mixed. I imagine if there is a demand for it Unis will provide single sex flats/floors but I think it will limit any choice.

FrustratedApples · 27/09/2026 01:15

Mine was all mixed sex 25 years ago.

ExplodingSmittens · 27/09/2026 18:24

Yes it seems mainly mixed but when we visited Sheffield Uni they said that you could request single sex. I personally think that you should be able to get single sex at all Unis.

Menonut · 27/09/2026 18:30

My accommodation was mixed in 1993.
My son has just graduated but did have the option to choose single sex if he wanted it.

Sumoroll · 30/09/2026 12:37

Mine was mixed, early 90s. Showers, bathrooms, loos etc were all unisex.

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