Accommodation/costs for Newcastle University

[TulipsandButterflies]

Hello,
Is there anyone on here with a student in their first year at Newcastle University? I’m just after a bit of advice on accommodation and living costs.
DS left 6th form last summer and decided to take a gap year (he has a part time job) but he accepted the offer from Newcastle University to study civil engineering. He received an email from the university a few weeks ago to say that they were releasing 20-30% of the hall’s accommodation to students with firm offers. We were considering Marris House or Windsor Terrace. The only place left was Park View (which is still available) at £164 a week for 40 weeks. We were hoping for something a bit cheaper as DS will be coming home 2-3 nights a week around the weekend as we only live 35 miles away from Newcastle and he gets free train travel. He has a car but is leaving it at home. He wants the experience of going away to university. I went to Sunderland and did the long commute on the bus (before getting a car) each day which was hard and I regret not having the full university experience (wish I’d gone down south now as I went to uni when it was free).
His maintenance loan is going to be approximately £4.5k so we are £2k short on rent. We can pay this but I’d rather not. I believe the rest of the rooms are shown on the website on 1st July?? Can anyone confirm this happened last year and did you get your first choice then? I am reluctant to sign up for Park View (I think the rooms look small for the cost) if Marris House (or somewhere else) is available in July.
Also, I am thinking about giving him £30 a week for food (self-catering) especially as he will be home at weekends. I have said he will have to use his part time job money for lunches and going out and about in Newcastle. He is saving most of his salary and doing extra hours this year and they are keeping him on for Sunday’s and holidays once he starts uni. His travel will
be free home. He has a train pass via his dad’s job.

Does this seem reasonable?

Any advice on the accommodation would be great. He needs to be close to the engineering campus which I believe is close to the Hancock Museum and RVI hospital. We are going up
next weekend for a look at where places are.

He wants uni accommodation the first year and will find a private landlord for the second year. Should I just book Park View or wait until the release of the 60-70% of rooms? I have checked daily for the last 3 weeks and it’s still only listing Park View.

DD was at Park View and really liked it there. The rooms are en suite and small, but so well designed with loads of storage. They are like bedrooms in a hotel aimed at business people. The kitchens are large and have a communal seating area with a TV.

Park View was really convenient for DD as all her lectures were in the medical school next door (whch is in the RVI). She was also lucky to get a room at the front which overlooked the park.

I have heard good things about Marris House.

Also, most rooms in modern halls are small. We looked at Castle Leazes and they were pretty grim and as small as the ones in Park View.

Why does your DS intend to come home every weekend?

I have heard bad things about Castle Leazes.

He wants to come home to see us (I hope) but his part time job is here and they are keeping him on one day a week at weekends and in the Uni hols. He may get a part time job in Newcastle of course and stay there. We are 35 miles away so it’s easy for him to come home. I think he wants a mix of the two.

Often it is the students who go home every weekend who don't form the strong friendships. They often bond over doing weekend activities together. I think your sons needs to keep an open mind about regular weekend visits.

Yes, Castle Leazes isn't very nice.

I'm struggling to understand re the accommodation release. My son has got an unconditional place for Newcastle. He has applied for accommodation and from what I understood you apply for three in order of preference and you should get an allocation before 30 June as he has a confirmed place.

From what I understood they would release about 40% of the accommodation prior to 30 June then the rest released afterwards so you were competing with all those with conditional offers.

Maybe I've misunderstood but why not apply for what you want now, see if you get it and if not decline and reapply when they release further?

My son has just returned from Saturdays Offer Holder day at Newcastle and is absolutely fizzing. He says he’s going to firm it which is excellent as I think he’ll be very happy there (if he gets the grades of course 🤞🏼)

When he was there he looked at the accommodation and it sounds like everyone is chasing the same 3 or so Halls, the ones you’ve mentioned above. Given the accommodation guarantee they offer for first years includes both University and Privately managed you might want to consider taking the Park View room as at least your son will then get a university owned hall. In our experience with our eldest, if you come in later you are more likely to get privately managed. While this worked out great for her & she’s made some fabulous friends through it, it was more expensive and we were subsiding her. From the sounds of thing this may well happen to our son as his offer for Newcastle is conditional.

I would also add in our experience accommodation costs get less as they go through university- my eldest’s were highest in her first year & least in this her fourth year. I’m sure that your son will enjoy and make friends wherever he goes

I fact comment on accommodation (apart from Castle Leazes being grim in the 90s!), but Civil Eng at Newcastle is highly regarded in the industry (I went there, am a civil eng in the N of England).

It’s only showing Park View available to him when you go through the application. We were going to apply for three.

I think we might have to accept Park View as it looks like he could end up missing out altogether. I have a couple of Newcastle students working for me on the holidays and they said the costs go down each year as they find places cheaper through word of mouth.

Ahhh, that’s good! Glad you stayed in the north east. Did you do the sandwich year?

@TulipsandButterflies I did a slightly circuitous route as a mature, then postgrad, student. So my "sandwhich" was actually my first couple of years at work. If I had my time again, obvs with the benefit of hindsight, I'd have done the Newcastle BEng in Civil and Environmental Eng straight from school. I worked in the NE fir a bit, but my career has largely been in Yorkshire.

I'm sure your son will have a marvellous time x

He’s looking forward to it!

Hi. My daughter had a gap year and starts this September. She wanted Castle View so she was happy. Good luck to your son.

My DD is a second year at Newcastle. She applied for the same ones as your son OP. She says the accommodation at Castle Leazes is cheaper but much poorer quality. Park View much larger than Marris or Windsor and that's why it has more availability. My daughter was in an 8 bed flat in Park View and loved it. She is sharing with some of her year 1 flatmates in year 2 and will be in year 3. It's close to lectures and walkable to all the city centre from there. The only issue was the lack of a large supermarket in the area (all pricey small Tesco Express types). She shopped at Grainger market (good for cheap fresh fruit, veg, meat and fish and they did group trips by Uber to Aldi.

I could have written your post word for word @mushroom3.
DD lived in Jesmond for years 2 and 3.
She stayed in Newcastle to work after she graduated.

@RampantIvy my DD lives in Jesmond and it seems everyone she knows from year 1 lives there too, she loves the city, so I think she is following in your DDs footsteps!