Catering or self-catering accommodation

[debjud]

Does anyone have experience/views on whether a DD should go for catering or self-catering accommodation in first year? First choice is Leeds, 2nd choice Edinburgh. I am concerned that if I pay for catering, she might often not get to refectories during the times they are serving meals and will be paying to self-cater anyway (she's not v organised). But on the other hand, I do want her to eat properly, so maybe having food available is better?

[MillyMollyMama]

My DD had an offer from Durham but rejected it as she was allocated a college out by the park and ride. Van Mildert I think. Durham have a habit of allocating students to somewhere they don't want!

Regarding eating meals in hall, I think they tend to go with the flow of their friends and how much money they are prepared to spend on the luxury of eating out. To have a meal, or not have a meal, tends to be a group decision. It is fun to go out on someone's birthday for example. Also, you cannot micro manage when and where they eat. At my DDs Uni hall, most ate in, most of the time, but they didn't get a Saturday evening meal and had Sunday brunch, so Saturday/Sunday was a microwave meal from Waitrose or a meal out. Occasionally a picnic! She will adjust and it will be fine.

[Isthiscorrect]

Interesting reading. Ds has been allocated catered and he is ok with that although he too is a competent cook. For me I'm glad though, as a pp says they can concentrate on other stuff. And yes I want him not to feel he has to eat in halls all the time.

[Mitzi50]

MillyMollyMama - she is hoping to go to Durham. I think she will enjoy where ever she goes but is actually a very competent cook and generally very self sufficient so she was hoping to save some money by self catering.

" I wanted DD to have a life, not feel she must have every meal in the hall because we had paid for it." - this is how I feel though.

[MillyMollyMama]

Mitzie50. Where is your DD hoping to go? My DD always maintains that settling into the required academic standard, the essay writing, meeting deadlines, making new friends and the organisation of your new life means catered is SO much easier in the first year. One less thing to worry about! Her hall was 2 miles from Uni faculty but although the meals were average, to be kind, it was just so much easier than cooking and lugging all the food home. They had a shared kitchenette between 6 for snacks, drinks and lunches if required. All the self catered people get food parcels from home or buy microwave food so they don't learn to cook really! Sometimes DD and friends would go out for a meal but I wanted DD to have a life, not feel she must have every meal in the hall because we had paid for it.

[timetoclean]

Definitely catered. I was half-catered I guess - had breakfasts in with the rent for halls. I NEVER went to breakfast as was never up on time and still feel massively guilty that my mum was paying for it! It also meant the equipment in our halls for cooking was barely there - we had a microwave, kettle and fridge in a cupboard for 7 people to eat from. So you couldn't even cook hob-type food or anything oven related which meant either microwave meals or buying food, so my first year in halls was expensive and very unhealthy. By about 2 months in I would have died for a home made spag bol!

[Mitzi50]

Glad to read the positive views on catered accommodation. DD has been allocated a fully catered college at her first choice uni (so no other option) and was quite upset. I will show her this thread. Fingers crossed now that she gets the grades!

[mumeeee]

I meant to say one thing we did to help her. Was to get her to do a weekly shopping list then sent her off to the shops with £30 to see how much she could get. She actually got everything for £25. The downside was she took 3 hours to do it and the shops are less then a 15 minute walk from us,

[mumeeee]

HercShipwright. DD3 has managed very well catering and cooking for herself although her mealtimes can be a bit haphazard. She did use the hob but it was electric so no option of setting things on fire . I also bought her some toastie pockets whicih she could use in the toaster. She was 21 when whe started uni so bit older than some students and had already cooked at home.

[HercShipwright]

mumeeee DD1 is dyspraxic (as am I). I never once went to a formal hall, or ate in the canteen. I did however set the kitchen on fire. Twice. And nearly cut my own finger off in the second year (LOTS of stitches and a tetanus jab) :( I'm banned from the kitchen at home these days after setting my own hair (which was long at the time) on fire on Xmas eve a few years back while making soup. BUT. I would still expect DD1 to go for self catering just because she doesn't eat quickly, is very very picky about food (issues with textures) and has problems with cutlery etc when flustered.I'm worried that she might have the same sort of experiences I did but...she has to learn. Most of the things she eats can be microwaved or grilled so hopefully she will steer clear of gas hobs. I see a lot of toasted sandwiches in her future. And a lot of salad.

[mumeeee]

Formal meals where you have to dress up would be DD3's worse nightmare. She made lots of friends in halls and not just the ones in her flat. She also made friends on her course and the clubs she joined. She is Dyspraxic and self catering meant she could eat when she wanted and take her time over meals.

[Bearcatt]

Another vote for catered.
Both DS's went catered for their first year.
There was the opportunity to make friends with far more people at meals (300) in a catered hall than in a small flat for 6 or 8 and who knows whether you would even get on with those people in a small flat.
There were formal dinners to go to and dress up for a few times a term.
Both DS's moved into houses with hall friends and catered for themselves in the later years of their degrees.
For their lunches in the first year they had a card where they could spend up to about £5.50 (I think) in any cafe on campus.

[debjud]

Thanks for all your input everyone. DD has opted for catered in the knowledge that year 2 onwards will be s/c anyway.

[Hobnobissupersweet]

But catered students at leeds do not get fed in the main refectory milly Molly . They get fed in the hall in which they are resident, which might well be bodington, 4 miles away up the massively busy otley road and they don't fancy the bus fare there and back for tea if doing something in th evening. It is quite easy to miss meals if you take advantage of uni life and join some societies. Why does it matter, because she then has to buy food in addition to food already paid for.
Charlie Mo is a catered hall on campus in Leeds and very fancy now, but eye wateringly expensive (circa £170/week!) and the students still complain the food is grim. Whereas my old ( very long time ago) stomping ground of Henry price is also on campus, self catering with large communal kitchens and eating areas and around £120/ week. The price at the catered hall is 12 meals/ week so still need to buy more food on top of that, ie no lunches provided and only brunch at the weekend.

[DinoSnores]

I did catered in my first year (breakfast and dinner, brunch only at weekends). It was better to meet lots of people and will give her a safety net of meals so would recommend that.

[BourbonBaby]

I vote catered too - DD was catered and DS wasn't. DD settled much better (for other reasons too) but as others have said it guarantees a social occasion each day and means you aren't constrained to a set group of people. Also one less thing to worry about - they will cook 2nd year on wards and for the rest of their lives!
For DD it also meant her hall had formal meals which were her highlights of uni - very boozy and lots of fun from what I have heard!

[MillyMollyMama]

I think catered is best for the first year because it promotes a much greater breadth of friends if they have formals and means they have less to worry about in their first year. Definitely the way to go at Edinburgh! Why would she miss meals, and, if she does, does it matter? Are you actually ever going to know? Halls don't provide lunches anyway and most self respecting students would never have a packed lunch. Coffee shops are the destination of choice at lunchtime for many. Leeds is a campus university so getting to the refectory is easy, it is all on site. Where else would she go when everyone else would be there? If she wants to self cater though,let her. She will no doubt self cater in subsequent years.

[yourlittlesecret]

I think catered with S/C facilities is the best option. So they can get their own breakfast when they get up at lunchtime and snacks but don't always have to cook.

I am teaching DS to cook a few more things besides his staple macaroni cheese.
I gave him a detailed recipe for spag bol and left him to it. Half an hour later I could still hear chopping and went to investigate. He was just finishing the 3rd head (not 3rd clove) of garlic

[mumeeee]

All 3 of my DDs have done self catering. DD3 is in her first year and is Dyspraxic and not organised at all. However she has managed to cook for herself and sometimes has cooked with her flatmates. I have found learning to fend for yourself is part of the experience of uni and a good thing to do in the first yea

[Hobnobissupersweet]

My older two have both used self catering from the start. At the unis they are at catered halls are very expensive, you still often have to provide your own evening meals at the weekends ( on poor facilities) and both say their friends in catered halls spend a quite a bit on food on top. They both reckon they would have missed quite a few meals as well due to sports/sat morning lie ins etc.

[BackforGood]

I was going to say similar to CreamTeas - Universities vary.
ds's first choice have the equivalent of £25.50 a week on a card topped up each term , and can spend that in any outlet on the campus, whenever they want, so if he missed some, he could eat his way through them on another day. Some other places we looked you have to be in your own hall of residence at the time the meal was being served and tough if you missed it (lie-in / sports fixture / meal out with friends / hoe for weekend / visiting friends elsewhere / etc) - couldn't believe places were still operating such an archaic process.
Also, where ds is, I was surprised that the catered hall only cost about £10 more than the non-catered, despite the fact they would get £25.50 worth of credit included ???
That all said, he preferred the accommodation in the self catered, and is happy to cook for himself anyway so is hoping for that.

[senua]

Plus, even on a catered option,they'll most likely have to provide for themselves for some part of the weekend, so plenty of chance to get the experience of cooking for themselves.

But you have to look at facilities. In some places, they supply little more than a kettle and a microwave.

[creamteas]

It does depend really on how the 'catered' works. In some places, it is set times for eating and in others you get a card to use in the cafes etc whenever you want.

In the latter case, it will not add structure, be more sociable or stop them eating chips everyday

[BeckAndCall]

Another vote for catered - my eldest two both did a catered first year and it was great socially - they had a regular group to each with and it gives them some structure to the day. That said, neither of them made breakfast more than half a dozen times, but they did eat dinner every night.

Plus, even on a catered option,they'll most likely have to provide for themselves for some part of the weekend, so plenty of chance to get the experience of cooking for themselves.

[MandMand]

Catered halls usually offer a packed lunch option which can be collected at breakfast time, if she's not likely to make it back in time for lunch. Many also offer the option to eat in other dining halls or food outlets in different parts of the campus using your meal credits, so catered halls are often more flexible than you might think.

[sashh]

Self cater, you can still go and buy ready made food in most universities.