Bristol open day - can't see accommodation

[WobblyLondoner]

My DS is going to this on Saturday and was booked to look at some accommodation in the East Village to get a sense of what is available. We just had a look online and they have cancelled any viewing of East or West Village 'for unforeseen circumstances'; the only other accommodation you can see is already over-subscribed (ie no more slots to go and have a look).

He's a bit disappointed; I can't say I blame him. Isn't giving people a chance to look around accommodation options a fairly standard thing to offer at an open day?

My dd is moving in to halls this Friday-she got her first choice accommodation as did her flat mates she connected with via insta, so I wonder if the kids struggling to find accommodation somebody mentioned had Bristol as a backup choice?

We have just got home after three hour drIve back.
She very much liked her taster session - and fortuitously on a part of Sociology she is mentioning in her PS - inequality in healthcare. She took loads of notes. She said she was the only person there without a parent, but as the last taster lecture of the day there were plenty of seats in the lecture hall.
But the verdict is there didn't seem to be any heart to the place. Unlike other open days we have been to (albeit all Art schools). Where you go to the central area and everything is set up there and you peel off as needed, at Bristol you just suddenly see a bunch of students and parents wandering around. Other than the girl working in the cafe we didn't meet anyone to talk to. There wasn't any student ambassadors at the social science building, though there were plenty at bus stops directing people and selling sandwiches and drinks. No stands representing various subjects or societies. I mean there may have been, but we didn't see them.
So she liked the lecture but not the uni. We live in London and she's not really a city person so I think somewhere smaller or a campus would suit her better. Plus those hills - maybe it's her MS but while she sped ahead and the heat didn't hinder her, she did say they would become a pain!
Have to say it was nice seeing so many fresh faced 18 year olds all looking so sincere! And my daughter bought seven books on sociology/anthropology/politics and one novel from that bookshop!

I think you are wrong about “heart” in Bristol. Students make it for themselves. It’s not a campus and not ready made. You and your friends are what matters. It is not a Students Union type place either. DD hardly went in there. It’s living in a city but, if you don’t want a city, Bristol is an odd uni to look at. We live in the country and, as dd boarded, no campus would have suited her.

The uni is on top of a hill. You don’t have to go to the bottom of it! Unless you want all the bars!

Yes, contrary to the comments about choosing a Bristol city accommodation for the party lifestyle, my DS doesn't drink or go clubbing however, he wanted to live in a city centre as we live in a tiiiiiiny village with no public transport and he loved the idea of being in a busy urban environment. Thankfully, he has loved it. Most of our dc want something different from
Uni than they have had in their home environment and these open days are a great way of finding the places you feel could be home and those that definitely would not fit the bill. I hope that all those searching for their best fit find exactly that, then it's all in their hands.

@boodlebeep Im only quoting what other dc have told me. Why they chose the city centre and not SB or Clifton. You can live anywhere and not drink. Most dc, we have found, enjoy life to the full at uni. Even the rather quiet ones at home discover there’s fun out there. Especially if you are rural in the first place. Many city unis have a lively nightlife but no one has to join in. The other great thing about cities is a richer cultural environment with museums, galleries, restaurants, theatres, professional sport and music venues. Dc don’t have to want any of that but some do.

@mondaytosunday we went to look at Bristol last year but not on an open day - ds also spent a lot of time in a second hand book shop and we bought some ridiculously heavy books! It was one of the things that he liked about Bristol - but, surprisingly, he swung from city to campus and Bristol was the only non-campus uni he applied to (then didn't choose it).
We know several current students at Bristol who are really happy there and I'm sure he would have been if he'd picked it.