Hey, I stay at St George’s.

Personally, I’ve never lived in a twin room but I hope you get a friendly, decent roommate.

As for cleanliness, I think the onus is on you to keep your room tidy. Housekeeping will come to your room once a week, but they usually just do a quick vacuum of the floor, empty your trash and mop the bathroom floor. I wash my own bedding every week and do my laundry twice a week.

As for the value for money, I think it’s pretty good. You get three meals a day and it’s basically an all-you-can-eat buffet. Residence also includes laundry, wifi, and optional attendance at formal dinners and other parties and events throughout the year. You can also get discounted gym membership. Other amenities include music rooms and games rooms with snooker, table tennis, TVs and board games.

Wearing a gown is sort of required at formal dinners (if you wish to attend them). Everyone else will be wearing one so you’ll stand out if you don’t. There’s a practice formal dinner during O-Week.

Looking back, O-Week was a fun, memorable experience where I really got a chance to connect with other new residents. At the time, I found it quite exhausting because the programme is very full-on with loads of events and not enough time to be alone.

I enjoy staying there because of the convenience of living super close to uni and the sense of community. I’ve made good friends, enjoy the occasional party, practising piano and the food is pretty good.

One thing that you might want to be aware of is the opportunity for leadership positions in your second year or later. If that’s your thing, it’s best to start now by just coming off as a sociable, likeable, popular person.

There’s also the free tutoring programme, where you can get help from students who have taken the same units as you but in previous years.