There are lots of threads on TSR from students who chose en-suites who after experiencing it, said it wasn’t worth the money and from those sharing who say it wasn’t as bad as they’d thought.
Of course, at this point, the people they will share with are total unknowns and strangers. They have only ever lived with family and the idea of shared facilities is an unknown they don’t fancy. But actually, in 2 years, when many have spent a year in hall with shared facilities and then a year in a house with 1 or 2 bathrooms, it’s much less of an issue and they are far more blasé about it.
I agree that in many halls, an en-suite room has tiny living space. Often a pod, like the type fitted in caravans in holiday parks, is fitted in what is already a small bedroom. Those pods do t have windows and are often very damp, and reduce what is already a small bedroom. Rarely are the non-en-suite bedrooms as small.
And I suppose it depends how much extra it costs, it seems in some places it’s not much more, but in other places it can add thousands to the cost. That extra cost is worth thinking about, given most students are borrowing the money and hvae to pay it back with interest over many years.
My DS is up for a shared bathroom. He’s not too phased by the idea and thinks of other stuff he can do with the money or how many extra shifts in his job that en-suite will cost. Where he’s hoping to go, some of the accommodation has shared bedrooms too. He’s not overly keen on that but if that’s what he gets allocated,he will cope. I know some young people have medical needs etc which mean an en-suite is pretty essential. For lots it’s something that would make them feel more comfortable and more and more accommodations offer them, as all the new halls tend to be built with them, partly as a way to charge more rent. But Ithink the horror at the idea of sharing is something parents can either encourage or dampen down with their own attitudes to such things. If they get allocated shared bathrooms,most of them will cope just fine.