Choosing your accommodation

This article introduces typical accommodation options available and provides some tips for making the right choice for you.

Background

Once you have an offer of a place at university you will need to think about where you would like to live. If you decide that you want to live away from home, your chosen university typically offers a variety of accommodation options suited to different budget, group sizes and lifestyle preferences.

How could this affect me?

As you spend a lot of time in your accommodation, it is important that you make the right choice for you. You may be sharing facilities such as kitchen and social spaces with your flatmates. Everybody has their own way of living, socialising and thresholds for cleanliness and noise levels.

During our research, autistic students have told us things they liked and didn’t like about their accommodation. These were related to the size of rooms, noise levels, distance to shops, availability of quiet spaces, the study choices and maturity of fellow tenants, and more.

What to do next?

Find out more about the options available at your university and choose your accommodation

Practical tips

For those starting at the University of Bath, there is lots more information on our student accommodation website. You can also attend tours of our accommodation at all Open Days and Applicant Days.

As part of your accommodation application, you pick a required number of accommodation preferences you would like to live in, such as en-suite, standard or shared. You will need to rank them in your order of preference from highest to lowest. Rooms are not allocated on a first-come, first-served basis; instead we allocate rooms according to:

  • course offer status
  • room type preference
  • group gender preference
  • additional preferences
  • availability

Some of our first year undergraduate accommodation is located in the city centre, so you may not end up living on campus, and the majority of postgraduate accommodation is located in the city centre.

If your autism affects your room preference, for example you need an en-suite room or a place in a quiet house, you will need to complete the Additional Requirements for Accommodation form when you apply.

Questions to think about

Think about:

  • Whether you want to live in a lively place in the city centre, or if you would prefer a quieter location outside of the city?
  • Do you want accommodation that offers its own social calendar?
  • Do you need an en-suite room?
  • Would you prefer a room with Eat and Drink credit so you don’t need to cook your own meals?
  • Do you want to be close to the University?
  • Think about how you will get to University? Will you walk, cycle, travel by public transport?
  • How many people you would be comfortable sharing with?

About the author

This article was written by Tash Hobbs from Student Support at the University of Bath, based on an original piece by Kate Walker, Disability Advisor at Leeds Beckett University.