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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

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Original poster

Catered or self-catered accommodation

72 replies

questioner123 · 22/03/2019 17:38

Can I have your words of wisdom please to help my DD decide between these two accommodation options?

She is a vegertarian and quite fussy, but hates being around mess and raw meat haha, hence why she is considering catered!

Many thanks everyone

OP posts:

Xenia · 24/03/2019 14:15

My Wills son's twin was at Churchill and he by the way loved it - it was his first choice. (Catered). They wanted separate halls (understandably), although it was quite useful that they were near by each other (not that that is likely to be relevant - just about no one else will have twins at the same university at the same time).

They also often went for lunch with friends so I don't think the fact you have breakfast and dinner means you don't socialist with those outside your hall and also it depends on your course and hobbies as to where you make friends.

Some people are also not happy anywhere so I suspect a lot of things depend just on the personality of the individual.

The breakfast and dinner in the week is probably about right for most students as you might well be out at lunch time and then breakfast and lunch at the weekend is only fair on domestic staff too and seems to work well other than if you get up o late as my son sometimes did that he might go down to breakfast late with a friend and then for lunch with another friend at 1 or something like that.

TapasForTwo · 24/03/2019 14:28

"if you are on a heavily loaded course with regular early starts there can be a tension within the work life balance."

That is so true. All the people in the BF's flat are doing similar humanities courses with very few contact hours or early starts. DD will be doing a science course - 25 hours+ a week with mostly 9 o'clock starts. She would really struggle in a flat like her BF's.

Needmoresleep · 24/03/2019 15:00

Tapas, another issue for mathematicians/scientists is that knowledge tends to be cumulative. If you party too much in your first term, catch up becomes very difficult or at least can seem that way, regardless of whether January exams count. This is not true of all subjects. Being about to sneak off to the library with coursemates can be very important, as is proximity to 9.00am lectures and lectures.

BubblesBuddy · 24/03/2019 15:32

DD had a flat mate who was a medic and another a vet. They managed just fine. The great thing about Wills is that the "parties" are not really held in the accommodation. No space! The students go out and come back. Again, people managed and no one failed! In fact every single one of DDs science friends did rather well! Perhaps universities should reserve accommodaion for scientists who do not want to mix with anyone else and have such full on studying they are jealous if they see others with less full on timetables (not their fault of course)? Would that solve the problems? Just live with people doing the same course from y1.

Needmoresleep · 24/03/2019 15:45

I did not realise Wills had flats.

Were there wardens in Wills in your DDs day? Has your DD any information of how students find it now wardens are gone. My understanding is that the Wills warden was a bit of a legend and did his utmost to ensure that students were not isolated. Feeling isolated somewhere everyone else is having a ball, is almost the worst of all worlds. I wonder what happens now.

AdvancedAvoider · 24/03/2019 15:54

My dd opted for self catering because she's vegetarian and very fussy. She's coped with the meat eaters in the flat and she's turned into a bit of a fuss pot about mess.

However she's really started to become quite a good cook, couldn't cook a thing when she left.

Xenia · 24/03/2019 16:16

My son in Wills last year was in bit ilke that pictured - lnk below - where there were about 9 boys in one section - so eg 2 or 3 rooms and a bathroom on each story of a section - he was top floor; so it was in kind of 3 story little sections if I remember correctly. They had a bath and loo in a bathroom on his top floor and the next floor down had a shower. So not really flats in that sense.
www.bristol.ac.uk/accommodation/undergraduate/residences/wills/

BackforGood · 24/03/2019 16:37

In catered halls students tend to get to know more people and there is more of a sense of community.

Eh ??

I really am not invested in whether the OP's dd chooses a catered hall or uncatered, but that is a ridiculous statement.

Why would you 'get to know more people' or have 'more of a sense of community' because your food is being cooked for you ?

TapasForTwo · 24/03/2019 16:51

"Tapas, another issue for mathematicians/scientists is that knowledge tends to be cumulative. If you party too much in your first term, catch up becomes very difficult or at least can seem that way, regardless of whether January exams count."

DD is very much aware of it. If she missed any chemistry and biology lessons at school for one reason or another she would go and see the teacher to catch up.

BubblesBuddy DD is under the CFS team and would struggle to party all the time and keep up with the work. Most young people have the stamina to get away with it. Unfortunately DD doesn't. I hope she recognises her limitations and adjusts accordingly. I do know that in year 2 the students in the BF's block of flats are splitting into a flats for the medics/scientists and flats for the humanities students.

Needmoresleep · 24/03/2019 17:08

Tapas, which University is your DD headed to. DD is very dyslexic (typical scientist) so a quuet place to study and lots of sleep are important.

I think Bristol makes a mistake (or did when DD was applying) of not offering quuet halls which are not single sex. Leeds have that option and it worked out really well for a friend's DS.

TapasForTwo · 24/03/2019 17:18

Newcastle. We looked at Bristol, but she hated it. It didn't help that our train home was cancelled after Birmingham - apparently something that Cross Country do quite frequently, but it was the final straw. Newcastle is far enough away, but much easier to get to, with several options from where we live.

I found a website that rated halls in Newcastle and what they were good for - proximity to university, how sociable they were, how close to the city centre etc.

bigTillyMint · 24/03/2019 17:52

Just incase anyone is interested in self-catered city centre halls at Bristol, DD was in one. She deliberately chose to be there as she wanted to be in town for all the opportunities it offers. Hers was a 7-person flat with decent sized (small double bed) bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a big kitchen/sitting room with 2 fridges, cookers, etc and loads of cupboards so plenty of space to cook.

She was lucky and gelled immediately with her flatmates (now sharing a house) and they were very sociable. It seems that city centre accommodation offers a good mix of ex state-school, with some ex private and virtually no ex public school students, plus a number of international students. It is easy to get to lectures and to the library to study and also offers easy access to clubs and bars which many students in those halls enjoy.

soulrider · 24/03/2019 18:07

Broadgate Park is literally just over the road from some of the UoN halls - yes it's technically off campus as it's the other side of the road, but I wouldn't base a decision not to apply on it

I had 6 weeks in catered halls at Nottingham before moving to Broadgate Park, I hated the restricted meal times in halls, especially as we had 5pm lectures to to get an evening meal involved a sprint back to the halls, and there was some weirndness over breakfast times at a weekend. I couldn't afford to be paying for catered halls and then having to still buy food as well.

Admittedly, it was a long time ago, but everyone in my flat (block of 6) was a first year, and the adjacent flats the same.

TapasForTwo · 24/03/2019 18:24

Are catered halls becoming less popular?

BubblesBuddy · 24/03/2019 18:30

The city centre halls are all about clubbing and drinking - the delights of the city centre. The university is up the hill at Clifton. The unite flats are quite expensive.

Yes, when I said flatmates, I meant cluster-mates! The rooms are in groups. Boys and girls clusters around the quad.

In my post I described the formal meals, the common room and other areas students meet each other. The cluster groups get to know each other very well. I fail to see why people sneer at this. Of course the students make friends. I was merely pointing out that you don’t need a kitchen to make friends! In fact, as there isn’t party space in Wills, if I’d suitable for study and you can shut yourself in your room and work!

BubblesBuddy · 24/03/2019 18:30

if is suitable for study....

TapasForTwo · 24/03/2019 18:33

I think maybe it depends on the design and layout of the halls. I don't know the halls at Bristol at all, but having looked at catered halls elsewhere I feel that in some cases being in catered could be quite isolating for the shy and unconfident. Those with social anxiety would be terrified of turning up at a canteen to sit with complete strangers to eat.

Needmoresleep · 24/03/2019 18:57

Bubbles, did your DD get a chance to revisit either last year or this? She might find her information is out of date. From what my own DD has said BigTilly has it about right. Perhaps because city centre halls are privately managed they seem better able to keep a lid on student behaviour.

There are a lot of factors to consider beyond catered/self catered. However StokeyB is very cut off and unless you are the sort of student who has money for taxis, or a car (which a couple of DDs flatmates did) there are real advantages in being more central.

Xenia · 24/03/2019 19:27

Most students in Stoke Bishop don't feel cut off. They probably feel at the centre of things but I am sure wherever people end up they can find people they like (or no people if they like being on their own) and it all tends to work out fine. I wanted a catered hall at university but got put in a big uncatered flat of 10 which was absolutely fine.

Original poster

questioner123 · 24/03/2019 23:06

Hi everyone. Wow thank you all for your detailed insights and opinions. Lots to consider but DD is leaning to Wills! Your comments are all helpful, thanks!

OP posts:

Muchtootall · 24/03/2019 23:47

BubblesBuddy: I believe some self catered students can buy a catering package so that they can have meals in catered halls but I am not sure of the details.
NeedsMoreSleep: On the wardens, I sense from what my DC says and from other posts I have read that there was some sadness about Wardens disappearing from halls. However current students don’t miss what they never had!

MarchingFrogs · 25/03/2019 00:37

Ibelieve some self catered students can buy a catering package so that they can have meals in catered halls but I am not sure of the details.

It seems they can (not that DD would have gone for this, had she actually liked Bristol enough to apply and fortunate enough to be offered a place):
www.bristol.ac.uk/accommodation/undergraduate/choosing/catered-accommodation/#meal-card

Meal cards for self-catered residences

Students living in Goldney Hall, Manor Hall, Richmond Terrace, Queens Road, University Hall, Durdham Hall and Hiatt Baker's self-catered hall can purchase a meal card to take advantage of residential catering, not having to shop, cook or wash up instead and join students in a catered residence (Clifton Hill House, Churchill Hall or Hiatt Baker Hall) for meals.

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