How important is living in in the 1st year?

[hooladeda]

DD wants to go to a fairly local University and commute for the first year, then look at staying in halls for the second.

Although this is fine by us, I worry that she will miss out socially by not living in, and wonder if she should book halls but come home if she wants to (although I can imagine DH wouldn't be happy as we'd have to top up her maintenance loan for her to stay in halls!)

Any advice?

Thank you

Being stuck in a tiny room and having to eat on your own

Agreed, a lot of standard university rooms are fairly bijou, but there is no need to eat alone? Even if we go back to the notion of 'households' not mixing socially, your flatmates are your household, so nothing to stop you all eating in the kitchen together, or even together in someone's room. Assuming that you have chosen self-catered accommodation, but then I would, personally - plus doesn't most catered accommodation have at least one non-catered mealtime in the week, when you could order in pizza or whatever together?

Often it’s Saturday night that’s not catered so options for mixing within the household do exist. There is also mixing for coffee and drinks surely?

@MarchingFrogs

Being stuck in a tiny room and having to eat on your own

Agreed, a lot of standard university rooms are fairly bijou, but there is no need to eat alone? Even if we go back to the notion of 'households' not mixing socially, your flatmates are your household, so nothing to stop you all eating in the kitchen together, or even together in someone's room. Assuming that you have chosen self-catered accommodation, but then I would, personally - plus doesn't most catered accommodation have at least one non-catered mealtime in the week, when you could order in pizza or whatever together?

Some kitchens are far too small. My son is in a campus flat of 8. Kitchen is tiny, with one of those tiny circular tables and four chairs. They have no other "social" space as the common rooms have been locked all year. If there are 4 sat at the table, others can't fit in the kitchen at all.

My DSs flat is lovely - flat of 6 with a large kitchen (2 cookers, two fridge/freezers) a table for 6 and a seating area at the end with sofas, coffee table etc. They have set up TV and gaming area there, decorated it for Christmas etc, have communal meals and lots of socialising.

My DS lives in. For this, his entire first year, he's met ....the four people he's sharing university accommodation with. He's "met" other people on his course online via Teams, but not in person.

On the other hand, he now knows four people well enough to want to share a house with them next year, so that's something.