Bob Hughes, Welfare Officer
Everybody wants a proper choice on where they’re living, whether ensuite, catered or in their preferred college. I disagree with the random batch allocation system – YUSU have been working with University to try and change this for years, and we are currently making some headway in reaching a more legitimate system. It comes down to whether there are enough rooms that are competitive with student housing in the city and other universities, both in terms of price and quality. The accomodation system majorly impacts your first impression of the University. It’s important to note that complaints are down from previous years, so things are slowly improving. We are going to keep the pressure on the university until we have a system that works for everyone.
Christopher Austin, Derwent Fresher
I’m lucky in that I took a gap year, and hence had a confirmed offer. As a result, I got first choice of accommodation. I chose Derwent as I read on the Student Room about its strong social aspect. I don’t believe it is fair to an extent, but on the other hand there are only certain ways to roll the dice. You are always going to have people who are upset – I’d have been if I hadn’t have got what I wanted. My main gripe was the lack of information given to us beforehand about which college, or block to choose. We just got a list of names. While I found a bit about services and facilities, I think there should be more comparison and honest assessments from students about which block is best to apply to. Most people want somewhere with a social atmosphere, which I got no sense of.
Sara Thompson, Langwith Fresher
The accommodation process wasn’t that much of an ordeal for me compared to the stress it caused some other freshers. I applied for Langwith self-catered blocks as my first choice and this is what I received, but the time leading up to the application day caused quite a lot of stress and worry -thinking I wouldn’t get what I wanted due to the random selection process. The prices of the accommodation are also quite worrying and I am lucky to have secured a job to cover the large cost of the en suite. However, I do feel most of this cost is justifiable as it is on the new campus and hasn’t been used by previous students. The distance from the Heslington West campus is a slight problem, however there’s the brand new facilities and excellent bar.
Jack Baker, Langwith Chair
There are certainly problems in how the University handles accommodation applications. An improvement certainly was seen this year as two days were left between creating your IT account and applying for accommodation. This lowered the number of students let down due to IT problems on the day. But of course we’re always concerned that the ‘batch’ system will force students into accommodation they don’t want and sometimes can’t afford. Servers definitely need to be updated to handle the added pressure of accommodation applications. Hopefully, it won’t have ruined anyone’s experience of coming to York or, what looks to be, a fantastic fresher’s week ahead and if anyone has had serious problems with the accommodation process they shouldn’t hesitate to contact YUSU.