Page 2 | Anyone with DC at Birmingham uni?

Skiingnut · 2023-03-28T11:55:14+00:00

what is the process for getting first year accommodation and do you have any recommendations please? Also, do your DC enjoy it there?

Original poster

Skiingnut · 29/03/2023 15:41

@Tree543 yes apparently - that’s why we keen on it

@oneineight v kind of you to ask your DS! Thanks so much

@Piggywaspushed Aitken has meal plan inclusive option on the website. I imagine if you opt for that you are in a flat with others on meal plan?

OP posts:

Piggywaspushed · 29/03/2023 16:15

That's new! It didn't used to! They may be trying to sort out their admin which was woeful...

Houseyvibe · 29/03/2023 16:24

I genuinely know about 70 kids at birmingham, it's the uni of choice from the schools around here and they're all in Mason or Chamberlain

derekthe1adyhamster · 29/03/2023 16:29

My DS was in bournebrook. He loved being in selly Oak, close to Aldi and the pubs - it's a five minute walk to uni which was important to him.
Watch Jess & Jessica on you tube, they give a very honest opinion of all the accommodation.
He found friends on the vale and would uber back to his halls afterwards 🤣

derekthe1adyhamster · 29/03/2023 16:30

We were in receipt of a bursary from the uni, which include £1000 towards the halls accommodation - made a big difference to his choice

LancreWowhawk · 29/03/2023 16:33

Ah! As a (too many years ago now to confess) Birmingham graduate, this brings back lots of memories! I lived on the Vale for 2 years, and loved it.

Of your list, I'd choose Shackleton too. Maple Bank is comparatively smaller and a cluster of flats, whereas Shackleton is actually a hall of residence with a bar and social centre so I think Shackleton would be better for meeting people. From memory, Maple Bank is technically associated with Shackleton, so students there can use the facilities (and that is probably where the meal plan is taken), but I think you would feel more part of things if you were in the hall proper.

Aitken I don't really know, but it is on the far side of the Vale, so just a bit more of a walk to campus.

@easycomeasygo UH stopped being a hall years ago - it is now the Birmingham Business School. So still posh, but for v different reasons!

Piggywaspushed · 29/03/2023 17:05

All the meals are in Shackleton. Aitken is literally two minutes walk from Shackleton...!

Piggywaspushed · 29/03/2023 17:06

Houseyvibe · 29/03/2023 16:24

I genuinely know about 70 kids at birmingham, it's the uni of choice from the schools around here and they're all in Mason or Chamberlain

They are the biggest halls! also do they all have loads of money?

NoIncomeTaxNoVAT · 29/03/2023 17:10

LancreWowhawk · 29/03/2023 16:33

Ah! As a (too many years ago now to confess) Birmingham graduate, this brings back lots of memories! I lived on the Vale for 2 years, and loved it.

Of your list, I'd choose Shackleton too. Maple Bank is comparatively smaller and a cluster of flats, whereas Shackleton is actually a hall of residence with a bar and social centre so I think Shackleton would be better for meeting people. From memory, Maple Bank is technically associated with Shackleton, so students there can use the facilities (and that is probably where the meal plan is taken), but I think you would feel more part of things if you were in the hall proper.

Aitken I don't really know, but it is on the far side of the Vale, so just a bit more of a walk to campus.

@easycomeasygo UH stopped being a hall years ago - it is now the Birmingham Business School. So still posh, but for v different reasons!

Same here. I was at catered halls in Manor House, which was up past Selly Oak campus. We had to get the bus to the main campus. I don't think it even exists anymore now! 😥

LancreWowhawk · 29/03/2023 21:12

@NoIncomeTaxNoVAT no, Manor House is long gone, I'm afraid. It was badly damaged by a fire a few years ago, but it was already out of use by then. I had a friend who was there, and she often told me what a pain it was to get in to campus from there.

LillianGish · 30/03/2023 23:16

DS was in Elgar Court which was nice, but farthest from campus. He says if he had his choice again he’d go for Tennis Courts (Green Community for preference). He was self-catered, but is a keen cook. Bear in mind you won’t necessarily get your first choice accommodation (I think Elgar Court was his third choice), but in DS’s words «nowhere is too terrible - it’s all about who you’re sharing with at the end of the day ». He’s loving Birmingham, living in Selly this year and off to Berlin for a year abroad next year. Great uni - you really can’t go wrong.

Original poster

Skiingnut · 31/03/2023 00:32

@LillianGish thank you for your post. V happy for your DS. Birmingham definitely high on our list

OP posts:

MarchingFrogs · 31/03/2023 11:02

derekthe1adyhamster · 29/03/2023 16:29

My DS was in bournebrook. He loved being in selly Oak, close to Aldi and the pubs - it's a five minute walk to uni which was important to him.
Watch Jess & Jessica on you tube, they give a very honest opinion of all the accommodation.
He found friends on the vale and would uber back to his halls afterwards 🤣

DS1 was in Jarratt Hall, so all but next door ro Aldi (in 3rd year was actually bang opposite the Chinese, which is more or less next door to Aldi). Being on / near Bristol Road definitely best for day to day shopping (and pubs) and yes, Jarratt / Bournebrook and the one which either is or was ?Victoria something are also closer to the main teaching areas than e.g. Chamberlain is. That was a definite 'want' for DS1, less so for DD.

DD was in Battery Park in first year (or, to be more precise, 6 months of ot, as she started in 2019). Very handy for Sainsbury's (as in, the car park roof was a few floors down from her window - fortunately, she was high enough up for it not to form her entire view of the outside world), although the price differential was enough to relegate it to true 'distress shopping' only and she would normally go down the road to Aldi. Also convenient for Selly Oak station.

Both of them.wanted self catered accommodation from the outset, though. DD would have preferred to be in Tennis Courts; she got Battery Park as her sixth preference. DS1 got Jarratt as his first - chosen on distance, rather than for the en suite.

mimbleandlittlemy · 31/03/2023 11:15

DS coming to the end of his second year - he was in Bournbrook for his first year because he wanted self-catering and en suite and he had worked through his gap year so was paying for it himself as it is one of the more expensive halls. He is a very good cook so the Meal Plan wasn't for him. His was a flat of four people, rooms were OK, small double beds, compact but reasonable storage, nice big kitchen with plenty of space for their stuff and for food etc. The flats on the floor below were 6 person ones.

He really likes Selly Oak itself, it's vibrant, lots of cafes and cheap restaurants and he had an amazing view across campus to Old Joe. This year he has been in a house share in Selly, but next year he is abroad so not caught up in the mad house hunt that goes on at the end of November/into December. He'll either come back to a house share or go back into halls in his final year - he hasn't yet decided.

derekthe1adyhamster · 31/03/2023 23:02

mimbleandlittlemy · 31/03/2023 11:15

DS coming to the end of his second year - he was in Bournbrook for his first year because he wanted self-catering and en suite and he had worked through his gap year so was paying for it himself as it is one of the more expensive halls. He is a very good cook so the Meal Plan wasn't for him. His was a flat of four people, rooms were OK, small double beds, compact but reasonable storage, nice big kitchen with plenty of space for their stuff and for food etc. The flats on the floor below were 6 person ones.

He really likes Selly Oak itself, it's vibrant, lots of cafes and cheap restaurants and he had an amazing view across campus to Old Joe. This year he has been in a house share in Selly, but next year he is abroad so not caught up in the mad house hunt that goes on at the end of November/into December. He'll either come back to a house share or go back into halls in his final year - he hasn't yet decided.

My DS is also coming to the end of his second year - maybe he was in the flat below, he was in a 6 person flat.
Lots of girls in bournebrook - maybe it was the en suites! He's doing a year in industry next year but still commuting from Birmingham. No accommodation yet because he's just confirmed the job. He doesn't seem bothered though!
He's very happy there. Found his tribe 😁

Henrythomas0990 · 20/08/2025 10:26

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