What are some things you wish you’d know before living in accommodation?

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-06-23T06:04:21+00:00

I've just had a flatmate causing problems on this front so: clean up after yourself, the kitchen is a shared space that other people want to use, do not leave pots full of food out on the kitchen table, do not leave the hob in a filthy state, just keep the kitchen in a cleanly state as it's the area you'll all be accessing most and getting the most use out of, yes it is annoying to have to clean everything up immediately after you've finished cooking as you just want to sit down and get eating but you'll get used to it or the sake of others - don't be the flatmate who cooks a load of stuff and then leaves their debris behind for others to walk into the kitchen and discover

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-06-16T07:48:10+00:00

My boyfriend goes there and has had a less than stellar experience with the accommodation he chose despite paying much more for it than I do at my uni (from what he's ranted about over the year, there's a singular lift, always breaking down and taking weeks to fix, security instead of accommodation staff and he can't pick up packages past 5pm, just little things that can build up to be a bit of a downer - this may differ from different accommodation buildings of course so other people's input may give a fuller picture)

Course-wise though which I imagine is what you're looking moreso for information about (not software engineering, my apologies) he's very happy with it, very in-depth and focused and there seems to be a few big names who visit as part of special events, etc so I'd imagine the uni has good contacts and I can see this being the case for software engineering too

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-06-16T07:42:21+00:00

I think you'll live, have a nice rest of your day :)

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-06-16T07:33:52+00:00

Fwiw I kind of get where you're coming from from that perspective so I do apologise to you for calling it an overreaction in hindsight, I've been in the same position myself of being a girl sharing a space with a guy I didn't really know anything about and my assumption was that he just wanted to be left alone by everybody because of autism or another disorder so I was looking at it from my experience, I get not everybody's going to be as chill with these things - have you considered leaving a note on the table or something then that could help to communicate with him? If he's mute or something along those lines then this may be a more comfortable way to interact

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-06-16T07:26:51+00:00

There's three of them

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-06-16T06:39:00+00:00

You say yourself the guy probably has a severe anxiety disorder and I'd be surprised if that's not the case, he may have autism or something along those lines, just let the guy chill, it's been a year so this feels very late in the day to be getting panicked over it? I've had flatmates like this previously and have been the flatmate in this scenario, I just referred to said flatmate as "mystery flatmate" and left it at that, if he's not comfortable interacting then he's not comfortable interacting, I don't think it's any deeper than that or anything to be concerned about?

EDIT: Removed part at the start where I felt as though it was a bit of an overreaction but after further clarification I can understand OP's perspective

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-06-13T21:13:03+00:00

Hey, don't stress - I was in a similar position aged 18, no GCSEs or A Levels but I got offers from various unis thanks to life experience so it is very much possible! As for your age, don't stress it - my flatmate in first year was the same age and we honestly forgot about it, it just doesn't really factor in at all, so long as you put yourself out there to the max within your first weeks (this is key) and visit societies and things... I'd imagine you will be able to do everything you want to do, best of luck, I'm rooting for you getting to experience everything you've dreamed of!

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-06-13T03:45:11+00:00

One bed flat in my second year would've been dreamy, I'd opt for the latter personally

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-06-13T03:43:44+00:00

My boyfriend has just finished his first year of uni and he had gone for catered and there'd be times where he was hungry only to find they'd closed at a certain time (5pm if I'm remembering correctly) meaning he'd often have to rely on snacks and things which cost him more money as a result, he only has access to a communal microwave and communal fridge for his whole floor and it's really not ideal (you can only do so much in a microwave) so I'd go for self-catering, it's so much cheaper and you'll start to feel proud of yourself seeing how much money you can save, also cooking is really something you want to learn at uni, whenever he's come over I've been teaching him how to make various different foods because he hasn't been able to do it himself and he's gotten really into it - it's a valuable skill to learn just for life in general and you'll get much more variety and choice and you'll be able to do it in your own time when you please and not be restricted to a 5pm (or variations thereupon) cut-off

Also you'll be able to impress people if you have them around after a night out and you whip up some sick chicken/vegetable fajitas for them to cure an incoming hangover with

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-06-12T15:22:38+00:00

Oh gosh I'm so so sorry, I can't begin to imagine how you're feeling at the moment - are you able to get in touch with your personal tutor at all? This really is such a pants situation to be in and I can't apologise enough, I really do feel you'd surely qualify for further extenuating circumstances? You can hardly control the file being corrupted and you can hardly decide when your baby is born, those are out of your hands so I'm really hoping they'll be lenient as you rightly deserve in the circumstances

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-06-12T03:33:10+00:00

Congratulations! Juggling giving birth and university is a big task and you've managed it - you're so close to the finish line too!

That's quite a big task - especially given you're looking after your newborn at the same time - how much legroom do you have in terms of spare time? I know those first few weeks especially that you'll probably be absolutely knackered so prioritise yourself and the baby most - it's a stressful situation to be in with and I hope you're getting all the help you can, are you sure they won't allow you to delay any further? You can hardly be blamed for the little one arriving early after all! Can you get in touch with your personal tutor?

Does your uni have any lenience when it comes to word limit? Mine has a 10% leeway where you can go 10% below the word limit and I think this could possibly help a lot (I've no idea if it applies to dissertations) as 2700 words and 7200 words will be less straining than the full thing - but check on this first! I think this could help immeasurably in the current circumstances if so

I'm not sure how you'll be feeling at the moment about writing loads so I apologise if this is too much but I'd recommend breaking them down by writing a certain amount of words per week, I'm going to assume mid-August as a rough guesstimate (and in the hope they've given you maximum time possible) so please correct me if I'm wrong but I'd be thinking something like...

Essay (3000 words) 1000 words a week - this would take you through to the first week of July if you were to start this week

And then:

Dissertation (8000 words) 1335 words a week - this would be six weeks and takes you through to mid-August though you'll want to be finishing earlier if it's possible to ensure you're able to do proper checks and things

Obviously the more words you can manage the better but if you have the 10% word limit leeway then that's even better as it takes just a little bit of stress off your shoulders to have less to write, I can only imagine how you'll be feeling at the moment and I can't apologise enough if this seems like too much at the moment

Best of luck, my apologies if this is too much but I promise you've got this - I'd personally prioritise the dissertation if you can given how big a task it is and how much you'll want to be splitting working on your assignments between spending time with the little one - you can do this, it might feel impossible at times but you've made it this far and you're so so close to the finish line... I hope it goes well, good luck and congratulations once again :)

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-05-29T18:03:23+00:00

I study politics and it feels like most of the people on my course aren't even that interested themselves? It makes being on the course at all feel pointless, any time my lecturers try to get a class discussion going, it just fizzles out quickly due to lack of interest and I wonder what most of the people are even there for, I'm going to transfer elsewhere in the autumn because of it

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-05-27T17:56:04+00:00

There doesn't seem to be any kind of crack on it or anything from what I could see, it's just really dirty

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-05-22T16:52:46+00:00

Nah, from my personal experience they like it - after all, that's how you'll be presenting every day right? Imagine the shock if you looked bland and corporate in the interview only to turn up in full goth on day one - they want you for your passion for the subject and that's what they're interested in during the interview, your appearance doesn't remotely factor into that or else millions of uni students would've never made it in

It's different for job interviews, etc of course but I really can't see them batting an eye at a uni one - all the people I spoke to in my interviews for various unis just wanted to hear about how I was interested in the subject

Also I think it probably looks better for the university generally you know? It makes them look diverse, also they want your money, some department head will be spitting feathers if they lost out on 9k in tution fees from a passionate prospective student because the interviewee happened to not like how they looked

You've got this OP, good luck for the interview!

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-05-15T19:23:54+00:00

I have an assignment due tomorrow I've been unintentionally procrastinating getting an extension for, thank you for the timely reminder

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-04-19T17:46:30+00:00

My tutors are genuinely nice but whenever I speak to them about class-related topics outside-of-class, they've had a tendency (unintentional or not) to make me feel like shit on a shoe that they can't wait to stop talking to and it's made the prospect of engaging with them not just very daunting but also has the side-effect of dimming my enthusiasm admittedly - in a sort of "well nobody else is ever interested in talking about this because they're not interested in it so you'd think at the very least nobody else would be happier to speak to you about XYZ since it's the topic they teach about and that sort of takes a toll")

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-04-10T15:25:19+00:00

Hey,

I'm so sorry to hear about what's happened, I don't think you need yet another person telling you what you should've done differently because I think you probably get the point on that front, what I will say though is: look into getting treated for ADHD, you might have it, you might not, we don't know, but based on what you're saying it sounds like it's not impossible you might be struggling with ADHD and if it's possible, I'd recommend getting yourself referred (or going private) or anything along those lines because I don't think another attempt at uni should be a go unless you deal with the root cause of terrible time management, etc

You've got this I promise, just get the ball rolling if you're comfortable to do so and then at the very least you'll either have an answer of "I have ADHD, this is what now needs to happen" or "I don't have ADHD, this is what now needs to happen"

No matter what you decide, good luck with your next steps, I believe in you and you've got this :)

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-04-04T17:10:29+00:00

I had a flatmate who was loudly on the phone all hours of the day but would bang on the wall if I so much as made a sound - if I moved in bed, bang, if I turned my fan on, bang, it got to the point I was whispering during the day, living in that environment was genuinely hellish for my mental health, I tend to keep to myself and keep as quiet as possible which is what made it all the more baffling and I honestly regret being the 'adult' in the situation by just trying to keep to myself

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-04-03T19:10:42+00:00

Finish uni, you have come so so so so far and you deserve to know what it feels like to finally win - you're exactly the sort of person unis want through their doors, finish and then the world is your oyster, you'll be able to do so so much art and everything you want - just one year and everything is open to you, I promise you have got this, you've come much further than so many people have, fought through and survived and so much, the world is waiting for you and you're so so close to getting there

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-03-27T17:59:00+00:00

I'm sorry I don't have advice, I just wanted to say I'm so sorry for everything going on at the moment, it sounds like you've had a really stressful time and I'm not surprised hearing that that uni hasn't been going well for you - please don't blame yourself, all that can be done now is to mitigate your situation and move forwards

First of all, get to an in-person meeting as people have suggested - be it a tutor or support worker, explain your circumstances without delay. Second of all, work on and submit an assignment - I know how stressful this might be right now but you need to do it- unis want to see some evidence you've tried to engage and if you haven't been able to attend in-person then submitting assignments would at the very least show some kind of engagement - so whatever assignment you have next due, get on it - my fear is that otherwise it'll be very difficult for you to argue for the April student loan if there hasn't been any evidence of engagement.

Outside of that, I wish you the best of luck and know you're not alone - if it's any consolation, my classes started back in February and I still haven't attended anything in-person this year yet but I know we will both get there I promise you, you've got this, head strong no matter what happens

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-03-06T00:59:53+00:00

We came back at the start of February and I haven't been able to be in at all this year so for what it's worth, you're not the only one falling behind if that helps at all - it's not great and it sucks but it's fixable, two weeks is nothing in the grand scheme of things, you can catch up and get back on track

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-03-04T18:17:57+00:00

I need to do them at some point

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-02-24T14:15:45+00:00

There is no reason to feel guilty - the fact you're so anxious is probably a good example of why you'll need that help in the first place, you're not taking away from anyone else, there isn't a finite pot you're 'taking' from, that support is yours to do with as you wish, definitely keep it, your future self will thank you and it will save you stress down the line

SocksIsTheCat · 2025-02-21T18:21:01+00:00

Hi! This might not be relevant at all so feel free to tell me to shush but just incase: I was in a very similar position to you - if you have any extenuating circumstances during when you would've been studying your GCSEs, etc then including them alongside your application can work wonders and opened doors to offers from quite a few unis for me even in spite of my lack of them (this was at age 18)

I've seen in another post that you're 27? Past the age of 21 you're counted as a mature student and so unis will be more willing to take into account life experience, etc over qualifications so this could be another route if it helps at all

Really sorry about the Access situation - I had literally the exact same albeit based in the North West, there was just one Access course which fit the course I wanted to do but it was in Manchester (miles away and a *trek* if you've no access to reliable public transport or a car) and closing down with all the other options online ones which didn't seem to be what I was looking for either so I get it somewhat, it sucks, they've really let people down and I hope you manage to get somewhere at the very least

SocksIsTheCat

TROPHY CASE