Accommodation thoughts...

Hi everyone! 

Hope you've all had a good week, this weeks post is as promised all about accommodation in particular these three bullet points:

• First year and how living in halls was for me
• What I think are the benefits of living in halls
• Tips for those of you that are thinking about living in student accommodation

Let's start this off with my experience of living in halls. So my thoughts were similar to most people who are heading off to uni "living in halls will be great, I'll have amazing flat mates" "I'll never be lonely or bored" etc. Just FYI this post is going to give you a very negative view of living in halls at first but I promise keep reading and you'll realise why I'm being so honest, it gets better is all I'll say.. 

I moved into my flat, I was the first one there which was difficult enough it felt like I was waiting a lifetime for my next flat mate to arrive, she arrived that evening and wasn't exactly welcoming or friendly. She sat in her room and barely came out and this was exactly how she carried on throughout the next couple of months. The next day my other three flat mates moved in, one was so lovely at first we got ready and went out to the first freshers event that night, this is actually the night I met one of my closest friends I've made at university, still to this day we are such good friends. After this everything kind of went briefly downhill in the living department(just to clarify university itself, the course, friends I'd met outside of my flat was all brilliant). My flat mates bar one were not as nice as they seemed and made it difficult to be in the flat, I wont lie it wasn't a good experience. 

HOWEVER...

The team at reception were brilliant, they managed to get me another room in a different flat within a week or two, I moved in just before Christmas break started and that changed my whole living experience. My new flat mates were so friendly and I got on so well with all of them as soon as I moved in, it made everything so much easier having a relaxed, welcoming living environment. 

I think the reason behind all of this is because I was put into a flat where they all had similar interests and I just didn't 'fit' into those interests.

Benefits.. 

• Being independent, not relying on my parents at first was hard but I am so thankful for this now. 
• Meeting new people, although my experience wasn't great first off, I ended up meeting some really great people in the end. 
• Managing work loads, not only having to manage my university assignments but I also had a part time job whilst I was in first year. 

I really did learn a lot from living in halls of residence for my first year and although it wasn't my cup of tea to live in student housing for my second year(I commute) I am so glad I lived in Bedford for a year. I would never have met some of the friends I have now otherwise and I feel like the experience wouldn't have been nearly as good. 

These are some pictures of the halls in Bedford. 

A few tips I would give those of you thinking about moving into student housing or halls of residence for your first year at university:

1. Meet your housemates if you're choosing to live in a student house, there is nothing worse than being stuck living with people you don't get on with and it would be ten times harder in student housing as you don't have people in the same situation next door. 
2. In terms of halls, if there are options to choose the type of flat mates you want to live with i.e. loud, quiet, party people etc.. do so. Make sure you're being honest with yourself and not just picking the party flats because you think thats what uni is all about.
3. Visit the halls/house you're going to apply for. Make sure its convenient for you and has everything you need/want in and around it there's nothing worse than applying for accommodation and then getting there to realise its not at all what you wanted. 

I hope this post has informed some of you into how to make a decision about accommodation, its a scary decision to make so just be sure that you're making the right one. 

Until next time, 

M. 

Decisions, Decisions...It's too difficult!

I had a think about what I should write a blog post about this week and I decided a post about how I made my early decisions about university and what spurred me on to make the choices I did. I hope this post interests you all and gives you an idea of the reasons I chose the University of Bedfordshire.

One of the hardest decisions before I even knew if I had got into uni was what universities to put down as my firm and insurance choices.I picked both the University of Bedfordshire and another university just as close to where I live as Bedford is(about 40 minutes). I made this decision because at the time I did not feel ready to leave home, I am still unsure on whether this was the right choice for me but it's the one I chose so I've got to live with it. I'm still unsure because I don't know whether living here and paying as much money as I am to live here is actually more beneficial for me than if I were living at home..to be honest I would probably be much better off if I was still living at home. However, I'm not and I am very glad I decided to take the plunge and move away from home because now I've learnt that it's not for me for the full three years and it has helped me realise that I would actually thoroughly prefer to live at home for the remainder of my studies. I am not slating moving away from home at all, I just think that I've 'got the t-shirt' and in my opinion it's not worth missing home as much as I do. I am so glad I've had the experience though and I wouldn't change my decision of moving here, I would just change the people I was put with in the first place.

If I were choosing a university again I wouldn't change the University of Bedfordshire as a uni as it is fantastic and I love studying here. I might perhaps consider changing the location to somewhere a bit more lively, so a city uni, however this would be such a tossing and turning decision because I don't know if I would be ready to move to a big city on my own. I think my home sickness would kick in and I could feel worse than I did just 40 minutes down the road..
Thinking about it, I have definitely made the right decision for me in allowing myself to live the university lifestyle for a year, finding out it's not entirely for me and having the option to move back home and still carry on my studies. I think if you're like me and are not sure about staying close to home or moving away you should consider universities that will allow you the opportunity to start off living there for your first year and then if it's right for you carry on living wherever that may be or if not, move home and commute to university whenever you have lectures or seminars.At the end of the day most universities cut contact time even further as you progress through your course so you may not even have to travel to uni everyday which would be a bonus for anyone who decides to live at home.

Think carefully and for yourself. Don't pick a university just because someone else is, do what's right for you.