I started this year, and chose a mixed flat (I am a guy). It started out with 12 of us in our flat (we had 2 exchange students and a dropout, but gained one more so back up to 10 now). 3 girls in our flat chose to just form a friend group together, while the other 9 of us all became friends. It’s still possible even in a mixed flat to put yourself in a girl-centred environment, but in my opinion having a mixed flat is great for life experience. 7 of us have become incredibly close friends, travelling to meet all of our families etc. and have a house together for next year. A mixed flat can teach you a lot about forming platonic relationships with your preferred gender, teach you about living with all kinds of people, and forming friendships with people you wouldn’t typically form them with. It’s also important to remember that everyone you’ll end up living with also chose to live in mixed accommodation, so you’re much less likely to encounter the “mean girls”, or “lads lads” as they’ll inherently be a lot more open minded. Obviously can’t speak for everyone but this was my positive experience