Student rented accommodation - any Unis to avoid or recommend

[Barwell76]

Hi
My ds is in year 12 and he is starting to think about Uni choices for his application next year.
As well as thinking about courses and the location we are trying to research accommodation. There is a lot of info on the Uni website about Halls in the first year, some guarantee if you firm the offer, some guarantee if firm or insurance.
But I was wondering about your student DCs recent experience with finding private rentals for year 2 and 3. I was reading an old thread about a shortage of rentals in St Andrews and it got me thinking which other cities do students find it hard to find reasonably priced accommodation. (He isnt considering London Unis due to price, probably not Scotland either due to distance).

Re Newcastle - Jesmond is still walking distance from the university, so no public transport costs to worry about.

You'll get a lot more for your money if you avoid affluent cities in the south. Bristol, Bath, Oxford, Exeter are all notoriously expensive. You'll get a cheaper room in the Midlands or North. Cardiff and Swansea are also cheap for student rentals.

However, I do agree with all those saying that your dc should be looking at course and University as a much bigger priority than housing in Yrs 2 and 3

However, I do agree with all those saying that your dc should be looking at course and University as a much bigger priority than housing in Yrs 2 and 3

I agree, but I think for some students it might be the difference between whether they go to university or not.

What about Nottingham? Decent uni and relatively cheap accommodation. My DC friends there all seemed happy at Nottingham. I’m not sure what the quality of their accommodation was like however.

Thankyou all for your advice and thoughts. A pp mentioned the facebook group WWIKAU, I have joined it and it looks really useful so thanks for that.
Obviously the price of accommodation won't be the main factor in my ds's decisions but we are at this stage trying to gather information on all aspects of the different Unis. As he is only in the first term of y12 I am not really sure yet what grades he is likely to get, he gets his first progress report this week so will know a bit more then.

As said, chose uni by course choice and quality. Does he have any ideas which unis he's interested in, that may help with more specific advice about different areas.

I found out recently that my DD pays a third more than the average Cambridge student. She manages. She has about £2400 left over (as we top up student loan money) and easily manages on that, paying for food, utilities, going out, clothes and also train back home (600+ miles away). Students know how to have a good time on very little!

@Madmog

As said, chose uni by course choice and quality. Does he have any ideas which unis he's interested in, that may help with more specific advice about different areas.

I found out recently that my DD pays a third more than the average Cambridge student. She manages. She has about £2400 left over (as we top up student loan money) and easily manages on that, paying for food, utilities, going out, clothes and also train back home (600+ miles away). Students know how to have a good time on very little!

Tbh he is clueless at the moment about unis. He wants to do Computer Science, he isnt doing Further Maths A level though so that will rule out the very top ones.

Have a look at Swansea, a relative of mine did computer science there without further maths.

@CrimbleCrumble1

Have a look at Swansea, a relative of mine did computer science there without further maths.

Yes thanks will do. It is on our (very long) list.