Crash course in York please?

[SockFluffInTheBath]

DD put it on her UCAS form as her aspirational choice, didn’t expect an offer but got one. It’s a very doable offer so she’s likely to firm it.

Any tips on halls and the uni in general please? It’s a social sciences degree (for location). We’re familiar with York as a city, but going from scratch on the university.

I have a dd in second year thereShe’s very happy, lectures are good, pastoral support is also good.
She lives in the campus slightly further out, newer nicer accommodation, it’s easily walked to main campus, but the uni buses are good and regular.

DD is doing a social sciences masters. She was guaranteed accommodation in halls (absolutely enormous room on campus) but that could be because she's a post grad.

Excellent induction programme, lots of events through her college, lovely campus, good library& excellent lecturers.

Accommodation is expensive, but there does seem to be a good range of options from budget to premium.

Son is in his first year there and loving it. Try and find out where most of the lectures will be...east or west
It is about 20/30 min walk between two but you can get the bus for free (simply scan on and off bus no charge) accommodation on east is newer and believe slightly larger. Need to decide whether you want catered or not first and then go from there...look at prices on their web site that may also be a deciding factor.

My son was late in applying for accommodation and got James College, which is catered, the accommodation is nice and clean and he is right by the lake; he is happy with location as there is a nice bar close by!

York has a really nice vibe and the campus is lovely with lakes and gardens and it's an easy bus ride into the city. Only thing he moans about is it's quite a trek to a decent size supermarket...there is mini market on site but it is quite expensive.

Thanks everyone, lots to think about!

It's lovely. DS (autistic, shy, anxious) loved it. Loved the halls, loved his course (history) he was lucky enough to be in halls each year and he would recommend Anne Lister as his favourite but equally none of them were problematical in any way. Great student support, lovely campus, gorgeous city, walkable without feeling unsafe, good public transport. Recommend!

I think if it’s your DCs first choice they’re quite likely to get one of their preferred accom options. York was DDs reserve so it was always unlikely that she’d get her choices. Despite asking for self catered (she’s a decent cook) and shared bathroom (to keep costs down) she was given a pretty cheap ensuite catered. Catered was a perfect way of meeting people in her college from other flats and blocks. The food became boring towards the end but we both think it made a big difference to her social life. So even if DC are good cooks I wouldn’t rule out catered.

Has she visited? Either way they do a ‘offer holders day’ which will be pertinent to her course. She may find that useful to attend if possible. Also, if she’s any disability or neuro diversity they invite the students up for a couple of days to generally get to know the university and what support is available.

DD is in the first year there and loves it. Everything on campus is close by, there is a free shuttle bus between campuses and the city centre (where most socialising happens) is close enough to walk or cycle or there is a regular bus.

York doesn't allocate accommodation until A Level results day which is a major plus. It sounds as though most people do not get a top preference though, so DC should really not set their heart on anything in particular (DD got her 5th preference, but knows people who didn't get any of their preferences).

York has a college system so lots of the initial events particularly are college based. We thought this would be a major plus point, particularly with regards to settling in, but actually DD hasn't done much within her college after Freshers' week, but it might be that others' experiences are different.

My one caveat is that York is very expensive - DD's rent next year (off campus) is £180 a week (including bills) and that's probably at the cheaper end.

I think it may be college and DC dependant on how much they interact with the college. I do think DDs being catered really helped with this. Some colleges seem a LOT more social than others too. DD isn’t sporty but due to the collegiate nature she’s playing sports at college level (bottom team, but still). Again, she was encouraged to join because she was meeting these girls at bfast & dinner.
She is also paying £180 a week including bills in 2nd year and like most it’s 50 weeks of the year.
@SockFluffInTheBath the only downside has been trying to obtain a yr3 placement. DDs degree offers a ‘year in industry’ but crikey it’s blooming tough! I don’t think York are the only university where, despite having a ‘placement team’, students really struggle to actually obtain one. That’s very poorly put, but hopefully you understand me.

Not had anything through yet about offer holder days, have told her to watch for emails. DS found them really useful so I’ll get DD to hers.

Thank you for all the replies, useful to know about catering etc and the college system!

Following with interest! DD has an offer and we went to an offer holder day last weekend. Think it will probably be her firm choice.
She is adamant she wants self catering which is mainly on the East Campus despite her department being the far side of the West campus.
I'm trying to get her to at least think about Catering as I think it will be more social but she says it's a waste of money as she won't like the food! Probably true, although catered seems to be cheaper as the rooms are older so overall it's probably cheaper!

I went to uni there about 10 years ago! I stayed in Halifax. It's out of the way slightly, and is in Heslington Village, which is lovely. It's about a 20 minute walk to campus. Alcuin is also quite nice. Unless they've updated it, I'd suggest avoiding Derwent lol.

I personally never liked the feel of campus East. It always seemed quiet and the buildings have an uncanny feeling.

I used to walk everywhere, it's maybe 40 minutes to walk into the city centre, or there are regular buses. Nights out always felt very safe. It's a great place to study.

The only real downside is it's not the cheapest place to live. It also does have clubs, but they're nothing like major city clubs. It's more catered to cocktails/pubs. There are clubs ofc, but may feel small if you're used to big city ones. They were plenty huge for me lol, but I'm from a small Midlands town.

@Ladamesansmerci - my cousin was there around the same time as you and said the same about the East Campus but she's seen it recently and says it's very different from when she was there - many more colleges, buildings etc. I have a friend who was there about 35 years ago and visited a few months ago. She was in Derwent and says it hasn't changed since 35 years ago!

Ah fair enough! It was brand new when I was there. Regardless, it's a bit out of the way, but no more so than Halifax really, and the shuttle bus is reliable.

Haha yeah, Derwent has a reputation for being full of mould and just generally ancient and falling apart! Glad times haven't changed 🤣

My DD teaches there. Says it is the nicest Uni she has worked at - very collegiate for staff and students. The campus is lovely and York is known as the safest city in the UK.

I think DDs offer holder day was Easter time. There weren’t many students around but it still gave her a feel for the university. We stayed for a couple of days as she wasn’t familiar with York at all. It is a lovely city!

Derwent is pretty dire but they don’t seem to mind!

DD had to sign up to the open day via the @york portal so may be worth checking that for dates etc. I think she got the info in an email from York ( which may have have arrived a few days after the offer on UCAS).

There's been a couple of offer holder days in the last week or so, so they are definitely starting to happen. (They vary by subject).

That’s exactly what my DD said. But York was her insurance so although all her choices were self-catered she was given catered (In Derwent 🤣) BUT it was cheap and the food was fine - she particularly liked the full English every morning & didn’t need much lunch. She’s a BIG eater and adores her food but she’s not very fussy. My youngest would very much struggle with catered! DD2 loved it.
Tbh having a bit crappy accom in 1st year probs makes them less precious when it comes to looking for houses in 2nd year. Hers was cosy & warm & zero mould - no frills but absolutely fine.

Thanks for the info! DS’ self-catering halls (somewhere else) are £920 per month so I’m over the shock of the cost of halls 😅 I would like to keep DD’s to the same (or less) which should be doable.

Thank you for this. I mentioned it to DD, she got onto the portal and is now booked onto an offer holder day in March.

DD is just leaving the offer holder day at York. She’s loved it, hopefully it’s given her a boot to get her nose to the grindstone for these last few months!

That's really good to hear. DD was helping today, but at events for postgrads I think. What is your DD planning to take?

When I was at York, every college (only 6 back then) had a bar. Now there's 11 colleges and only 1 has a bar! I feel like such an old alchy being shocked by this.